Submarine Geological Study of the Bottom Sediments of the Adjacent Seas of the Japanese Islands with Special Reference to the Distribution of Organic Matter in Sediments

Abstract

Organic matter content in the marine sediments is related to both the sediment characteristics and the morphological features of the floor. Organic matter content is closely related to the grain size composition of the sediments, and, in the case of the area of slow or too rapid deposition of detrital sediments, it is low in all types of sediments. Thus the organic matter distribution in sediments depends partly upon hydrodynamic situations and partly upon conditions which affect the preservation of organic matter. The concentration and composition of organic acids in the sediments of Lake Biwa vary with the depth from the surface of sediments. On the other hand, there are some differences in composition of organic acids in the sediments of each station of the sea off San'in district.