Recognition of alkenones in a lower Aptian porcellanite from the west-central Pacific

ODP Leg 198 drilling on Shatsky Rise recovered a lower Aptian porcellanite (∼120.5 Ma) deposited during oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a that contains C36–C39 alkadienones: C37:2 and C39:2 alkadien-2-ones and C36:2 and C38:2 alkadien-3-ones. This alkenone distribution differs from that typical of contemporary sediments and haptophyte algae, but resembles that of Cretaceous sediments from the Blake-Bahama basin. The discovery of alkenones in the early Aptian extends their sedimentary record by 15 M.y. to 120.5 M.y. and demonstrates the potential for long-term survival of these diagnostic functional lipids under favorable depositional conditions and subsequent shallow burial. It also contributes to the understanding and reconstruction of evolutionary developments in alkenone distributions and biosynthesis over geologic time.