SIMPLE STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR THE ROUTINE DETERMINATION OF ORGANIC-MATTER IN MARINE SEDIMENT

For the routine determination of organic matter in marine sediment, a rough estimate is often obtained by measuring the loss of weight on ig nition (Difference-On-Ignition method: D.O.I.). This D.O.I. is to be u sed in ecological studies where organic material in sediment is used a s an environmental variable among others. A review of papers using thi s method showed a great variability within conditions used. These cond itions are generally used without accurate justification. We propose a simple standard procedure based on grain-size fraction of sediment to determine optimal temperature and time of ignition, and the influence of the sample weight. The method proposed, using the loss of weight o n ignition, will give the same accuracy in measurements of organic mat ter in marine sediments.