Definition of alkenone
plural alkenones
: any of various long-chain unsaturated ketones that are produced by phytoplanktonic algae (such as the coccolithophores)
Note:
Analysis of the chemical structure of alkenones present in marine sediment is used as a method to determine past sea temperatures.
- To further the current climate debate, the chapter “Deep Sea Mud” explains how compounds such as alkenones, left by the marine alga Emiliania huxleyi, among other species, provide a temperature proxy.
- —Karen Bushaw-Newton, Bioscience, 1 Sept. 2009
