ALBERT

Description: In this study we reconstruct sea surface temperatures (SSTs) using two lipid-based biomarker proxies (alkenone unsaturation index View the MathML sourceU37K′ and TEX86 index based on glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers) in 36 surface sediment samples from the Indonesian continental margin off west Sumatra and south of Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Comparison of measured temperatures (World Ocean Atlas 09) to reconstructed temperatures suggests that SST estimates based on View the MathML sourceU37K′ reflect the SE monsoon SST in the upwelling area south of Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Estimates based on TEX86 using the calibration for temperatures 〉20 °C (View the MathML sourceTEX86H) are up to 2 °C lower than View the MathML sourceU37K′-based SSTs. This offset is possibly related to either one or a combination of two factors: (i) the depth habitats of the source organisms and (ii) different seasonal production and/or seasonality of export associated with phytoplankton blooming triggered by primary productivity. In the non-upwelling area off west Sumatra, the alkenone-based SSTs are cooler than measured temperatures during the entire year, likely reflecting the limitations of the View the MathML sourceU37K′ proxy beyond 28 °C, while reconstructed temperatures based on View the MathML sourceTEX86H are consistent with mean annual SST.

Description: In the reconstruction of sea surface temperature (SST) from sedimentary archives, secondary sources, lateral transport and selective preservation are considered to be mainly negligible in terms of influencing the primary signal. This is also true for the archaeal glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) that form the basis for the TEX86 SST proxy. Our samples represent four years variability on a transect off Cape Blanc (NW Africa). We studied the subsurface production, vertical and lateral transport of intact polar lipids and core GDGTs in the water column at high vertical resolution on the basis of suspended particulate matter (SPM) samples from the photic zone, the subsurface oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), nepheloid layers (NL) and the water column between these. Furthermore we compared the water column SPM GDGT composition with that in underlying surface sediments. This is the first study that reports TEX86 values from the precursor intact polar lipids (IPLs) associated with specific head groups (IPL -specific TEX86). We show a clear deviation from the sea surface GDGT composition in the OMZ between 300 and 600 m. Since neither lateral transport nor selective degradation provides a satisfactory explanation for the observed TEX-derived temperature profiles with a bias towards higher temperatures for both core- and IPL -specific TEX86 values, we suggest that subsurface in situ production of archaea with a distinct relationship between lipid biosynthesis and temperature is the responsible mechanism. However, in the NW-African upwelling system the GDGT contribution of the OMZ to the surface sediments does not seem to affect the sedimentary TEX86 as it shows no bias and still reflects the signal of the surface waters between 0 and 60 m.

Description: A series of molecular organic markers were determined in surface sediments from the Gulf of Genoa (Ligurian Sea) in order to evaluate their potential for palaeo-environmental reconstructions. Allochthonous input can be characterized by the distributions of n-C29 and n-C31 alkanes, n-C26 and n-C28 alkanols and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), whose concentrations are generally highest near the river mouths. In the open basin however, terrestrial n-alkanes and n-alkanols may have an additional, eolian source. Autochthonous input is represented by crenarchaeol and isoprenoid GDGTs. Their concentrations are highest in the open basin showing the preference of Thaumarchaeota for oligotrophic waters. Indications of a significant degradation of sterols and C37 alkenones exclude these lipids as reliable productivity proxies. Using terrestrial and aquatic lipids as end-members allows estimating the percentage of terrestrial organic matter between 20% and 58% in the coastal area decreasing to 1–30% in the deep basin. The spatial distribution of sea surface temperature (SST) estimates using the alkenone-based UK′37 index is very similar to the autumnal (November) mean satellite-based SST distribution. Conversely, TEXH86-derived SST estimates are close to winter SSTs in the coastal area and summer SSTs in the open basin. This pattern reflects presumably a shift in the main production of Thaumarchaeota from the coastal area in winter to the open basin in summer. This study represents a major prerequisite for the future application of lipid biomarkers on sediment cores from the Gulf of Genoa.

Description: © The Authors, 2010. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. The definitive version was published in Biogeosciences 7 (2010): 483-511, doi: 10.5194/bg-7-483-2010

Description: The present paper is the result of a workshop sponsored by the DFG Research Center/Cluster of Excellence MARUM "The Ocean in the Earth System", the International Graduate College EUROPROX, and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. The workshop brought together specialists on organic matter degradation and on proxy-based environmental reconstruction. The paper deals with the main theme of the workshop, understanding the impact of selective degradation/preservation of organic matter (OM) in marine sediments on the interpretation of the fossil record. Special attention is paid to (A) the influence of the molecular composition of OM in relation to the biological and physical depositional environment, including new methods for determining complex organic biomolecules, (B) the impact of selective OM preservation on the interpretation of proxies for marine palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic reconstruction, and (C) past marine productivity and selective preservation in sediments. It appears that most of the factors influencing OM preservation have been identified, but many of the mechanisms by which they operate are partly, or even fragmentarily, understood. Some factors have not even been taken carefully into consideration. This incomplete understanding of OM breakdown hampers proper assessment of the present and past carbon cycle as well as the interpretation of OM based proxies and proxies affected by OM breakdown. To arrive at better proxy-based reconstructions "deformation functions" are needed, taking into account the transport and diagenesis-related molecular and atomic modifications following proxy formation. Some emerging proxies for OM degradation may shed light on such deformation functions. The use of palynomorph concentrations and selective changes in assemblage composition as models for production and preservation of OM may correct for bias due to selective degradation. Such quantitative assessment of OM degradation may lead to more accurate reconstruction of past productivity and bottom water oxygenation. Given the cost and effort associated with programs to recover sediment cores for paleoclimatological studies, as well as with generating proxy records, it would seem wise to develop a detailed sedimentological and diagenetic context for interpretation of these records. With respect to the latter, parallel acquisition of data that inform on the fidelity of the proxy signatures and reveal potential diagenetic biases would be of clear value.

Description: We acknowledge generous financial support by the DFG Research Center/Cluster of Excellence MARUM “The Ocean in the Earth System”, the International Graduate College EUROPROX and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research enabling the realisation of the “Workshop on Selective Preservation of Organic Matter: Processes and Impact on the Fossil Record” which formed the basis of this paper. GJMV acknowledges support by the German Science Foundation (DFG grant VE486/2).