Characterisation of organic matter in sediment from Corin Reservoir, Australia

摘要

Analytical pyrolysis was performed to characterise the organic matter present in sediments from Corin Reservoir, a major water supply for Canberra, Australia. Pyrolysis of the whole sediment yielded furans, methoxyphenols, aliphatic products and nitrogenous compounds that are indicative of carbohydrates, lignin, lipids and proteins respectively. There was a decrease in the observed relative peak area of polysaccharide and lignin-derived marker compounds with increasing depth of sediment and an increase in nitrogenous marker compounds. In addition, eucalyptol, a molecular marker compound characteristic of eucalyptus―the dominant vegetation of the surrounding catchment―was detected.