Lignins are phenolic compounds existing only in vascular land plants and are chemically stable,hence,they are used as a tracer of terrigenous organic matter.In this study,we determined lignin-derivedphenols in the surface sediments across the Bering and Chukchi Seas.The cinnamyl (C),syringyl (S)and vanillyl (V) phenols,as well as Λ (total lignin in mg/100 mg OC) showed a similar trend alongtransect of the study areas.