A major biopolymeric component to dissolved organic carbon in surface sea water

Marine research indicates that neutral sugars, acetate and lipid molecules bond to form a common macromolecule used in photosynthesis. As much as seven-tenths of ultrafiltered dissolved organic matter and one-fifth of total DOC in surface sea water contains acyl oligosaccarides which have been synthesized through photosynthesis. Roughly equal measurements of macromolecular dissolved organic carbon are contained within photosynthesis building block molecules at sites in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.