Publication Date:
2013-06-03
Description:
The MBT/CBT has recently gained significant attention as a novel paleotemperature proxy. It is based on the distribution of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in soils. The CBT quantifies the degree of cyclisation and relates to soil pH. The MBT' quantifies the degree of methylation and relates to mean annual temperature and soil pH. Combining these two indices allows estimation of mean annual temperature (MAT). However other factors such as soil water availability or moisture conditions have been suggested to influence the MBT'. To assess the effect of moisture conditions on the MBT'/CBT a set of 23 Iberian Peninsula soil samples covering a temperature range from 10–18 °C and a wide range of soil moisture regimes (405 mm to 1455 mm mean annual precipitation per year), was analyzed. We find that CBT is significantly correlated to soil pH confirming it as a robust proxy. In contrast the MBT' index was not correlated to MAT and was weakly correlated to annual mean precipitation (MAP). Instead we found a significant correlation between MBT' and the Aridity Index (AI), a parameter related to water availability in soils. The AI can explain 70% of the residuals of MAT estimation and 50% of the actual variation of the MBT'. This suggests that in dry environments or under moisture shortage the degree of methylation of branched GDGTs is not controlled by temperature but rather by the degree of water available. Our results suggest that the MBT/CBT index is not applicable as a paleotemperature proxy in dry subhumid to hyperarid environments.
Print ISSN:
1810-6277
Electronic ISSN:
1810-6285
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
