The C(37)-C(39) alkenones were quantified in suspended particulate matter obtained from the surface waters of the North Atlantic, including the Nordic seas, over a temperature range of 4degrees20 C. U(37)(K') values were linearly correlated to temperature over the entire range covered by our data set, i.e., 420 C (U(37)(K') = 0.027T + 0.036, r(2) = 0.97). The compilation of water column data from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Ocean and Mediterranean Sea suggests that the linear model may not be the best function for fitting U(37)(K') and in situ temperature values. It also shows that suspended matter data from warm waters (T >20degreesC) are still needed to constrain the equation of the global curve. High abundances of C(37: 4) were found in the coldest polar waters. Around 4degreesC, %C(37:4) represented up to 35%, a value that dropped to zero at temperatures above 10degreesC. Values of %C(37:4) were linearly correlated to temperature (%C(37:4) = 3.7T + 43.7, r(2) = 0.50) and salinity (%C(37:4) = 48.1S% + 1691, r(2) = 0.78). Further investigations from other oceanic basins are necessary to confirm these findings.