About the Nature of Origin of the Alkanes in the Productive Water Layer of the Open Regions of the East Part of the Black Sea

Abstract

The work analyzes the origin and differentiation of alkanes in the productive water layer of open areas of the eastern part of the Black Sea. In the studied water area, 300 water samples was taken from five horizons (surface, thermocline layer, 25, 50 and 100 m) in different seasons of 2015. The determination of the total and individual content of anthropogenic and biogenic hydrocarbons was carry out by chromatography methods. The research results were systematize according to four main types of distribution of hydrocarbons in the water column. The data obtained suggest that in the open waters of the eastern part of the Black Sea hydrocarbons were of marine biogenic origin. The natural origin of hydrocarbons in the Black Sea can be explained by significant volumes of gas emissions from mud volcanoes, gas fountains and seeps, as well as the release of hydrocarbons from bottom sediments, the presence of constantly renewable biomasses of bacteria that oxidize methane and produce hydrogen sulfide, as well as the functioning of biota in the oxygen zone of the sea.