Note on the Oxidisable Organic Matter of Sea Water

In a former paper (1922) it was shown that the pH value of stored sea water decreased owing to the production of carbonic acid by organisms in it, and the oxidisable matter as indicated by this biological method appeared to be higher than the result obtained by oxidation with permanganate, according to various analyses available for comparison. These, however, were not done on the same water, so an attempt was made to determine this quantity on water of the English Channel off Plymouth. As is well known the permanganate method gives results which vary appreciably, according to the conditions of the experiment.