Das Projekt "Biogeochemie mariner Palynomorpher" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hamburg, Zentrum für Meeres- und Klimaforschung, Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Institut für Biogeochemie und Meereschemie durchgeführt. The chemical composition of sedimentary organic matter is poorly understood due to its predominantly (95 percent) macromolecular nature. Although some resistant bio- and geopolymers from terrestrial and freshwater biota have been identified and transformation pathways proposed, the composition of macromolecular marine organic matter entering the geological organic carbon cycle is still largely unknown. Without this vital Information, our understanding of organic matter formation and preservation is severely incomplete. The project aims to narrow this 'marine gap'. Hereto, single-source resistant bio- and geomacromolecular fractions from plankton cultures and Sediments are analysed using pyro- and chemolysis, GC/MS, FTIR and NMR. The focus is on dinoflagellate cysts and acritarchs for their, long geological history, abundance in Sediments and high biodiversity through time. The assessment of the diversity of resistant biopolymers and their transformation through geological time is fundamental to a wide variety of disciplines as it provides insight in, e.g., the biosynthetic evolution of resistant biopolymers, the carbon cycle, organic matterpreservation, fossil fuel formation and the rate of the molecular clock.