Philip A. Meyers

TL;DR: The amount and type of organic matter in the sediments of lakes and oceans contribute to their paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatological records as discussed by the authors, but only a small fraction of the initial aquatic organic matter survives destruction and alteration during sinking and sedimentation.

TL;DR: In this article, the organic matter content of sediments is inferred from bulk properties such as elemental compositions, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios, Rock-Eval pyrolysis data, and organic petrography.

TL;DR: The factors affecting the amounts and types of organic matter in lacustrine sediments are summarized in a review, and synthesis, of published studies as discussed by the authors, and the interplay of the factors influencing the organic matter content of lake sediments is illustrated by overviews of sedimentary records of four lake systems--Lake Biwa (Japan), Lake Greifen (Switzerland), Lake Washington (Pacific Northwest), and the Great Lakes (American Midwest).

TL;DR: The organic matter content of lake sediments contains information that helps to reconstruct past environmental conditions, evaluate histories of climate change, and assess impacts of humans on local ecosystems as discussed by the authors, and serve as proxies of organic matter delivery and accumulation.

TL;DR: For example, despite the extensive early diagenetic losses of organic matter in general and of some of its important biomarker compounds in particular, bulk identifiers appear to undergo minimal alteration after sedimentation as discussed by the authors.