Biochemical composition of sediment from the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone

Sediment samples were collected by multi corer in the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone in 2022. Sediment grain size of freeze-dried sediment was measured by laser diffraction in a Malvern Mastersizer 2000. Total carbon, organic carbon, total nitrogen, δ13TC, δ13org. C, and δ15N content of freeze-dried, pulverized sediment was measured with a elemental analyzer coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (EA-IRMS). Phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFAs) were extracted from the sediment using a Bligh and Dyer extraction. Afterwards, PLFAs were derivatized to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), and their concentrations and δ13 isotopic values measured on a gas chromatograph coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (GC-IRMS).