ABSTRACT

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Concentrations of dissolved non-polar hydrocarbons extracted from waters taken at several stations and depths in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea ranged from traces to 75 micrograms/liter, with the highest occurring in the Florida Strait. In all cases except in the Florida Strait, this fraction was characterized by relatively large amounts of n-alkanes having between 15 and 20 carbon atoms and relatively small amounts of n-alkanes with more than 20 carbon atoms. In the Florida Strait there were much larger concentrations of n-alkanes above C(20). There was an unresolved envelope in the gas chromatograms of all the samples that extended approximately from the C(15) to the C(23) positions.


Thomas M. Iliffe, Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, P.O. Box 1675, Galveston, Texas 77553, USA.
E-mail: iliffet@tamug.edu

Keywords: hydrocarbons; Gulf of Mexico; Loop Current; Caribbean; Florida Strait.