PALEOLIMNOLOGY | Pigment Studies

Pigments of photosynthetic organisms including chlorophylls, carotenoids, photoprotective compounds and their derivatives produced by algas, phototrophic bacteria, and aquatic plants often preserve well in the sediments of aquatic environments. In sediment cores, they can yield an estimate past primary production in aquatic systems, and provide information about past communities of algas or photosynthetic bacteria. This chapter describes the biochemical nature of pigments including their preservation in sedimentary environments, techniques for pigment analysis and a range of paleolimnological applications, including the determination of eutrophication, changes in aquatic food-web structure, lake acidification, and climate change.