Biomarkers record environmental changes along an altitudinal transect in the wettest place on Earth

Ernst, Nora S.; Peterse, Francien; Breitenbach, Sebastian F. M.; Syiemlieh, Hiambok Jones; Eglinton, T. I.

doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2013.05.004

Cited by 49 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In the Fiesch soil transect in the upper Rhône River basin (1188-2848 m altitude, -2.8 to 6.5 • C MAAT, and 1203-2085 mm MAP), we also did not observe a positive relationship between the CL MBT' and MAAT ( Figure 8D). Hence, it is not surprising that the Fiesch transect dataset also showed no altitudinal trend of the reconstructed MAAT (data not shown) in contrast to other similar studies (e.g., Sinninghe Damsté et al, 2008;Peterse et al, 2009b;Ernst et al, 2013;Coffinet et al, 2014). We do not understand why the Fiesch transect data are different to other altitudinal transect data for the moment.…”

Section: Discussion Abundance and Distribution Of Gdgts In Soilscontrasting

confidence: 63%

Tracing tetraether lipids from source to sink in the RhÃ´ne River system (NW Mediterranean)

et al. 2015

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In this study, we investigated soils and river suspended particulate matter (SPM) collected in the Rhône and its tributary basins as well as marine surface sediments taken in the Rhône prodelta (Gulf of Lions, NW Mediterranean). Thereby, we traced the signal of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) from the source to sink via the Rhône River and its tributaries and identified sources of brGDGTs in rivers and marine sediments. Soil pH rather than the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) explains most of the observed variances of the brGDGT distribution in our soil dataset. The observed changes in the distribution of brGDGTs in the river SPM indicate that brGDGTs brought by the river to the sea are primarily derived from the lower Rhône and its tributary soils, even though in situ production in the river itself cannot be excluded. In marine surface sediments, it appears that the input of riverine brGDGTs is the primary source of brGDGTs in the Rhône prodelta, although the brGDGT composition may be further modified by the in situ production in the marine environment. More work is required to assess fully whether brGDGTs can be used to reconstruct the terrestrial paleoenvironmental changes using marine sediment cores taken in the Rhône prodelta close to the river mouth.

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Section: Discussion Abundance and Distribution Of Gdgts In Soilscontrasting

confidence: 63%

Tracing tetraether lipids from source to sink in the RhÃ´ne River system (NW Mediterranean)

et al. 2015

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“…The scatter in the estimated temperature-altitude relationship here compares with the scatter reported from other mountain slopes showing r 2 values varying between 0.55 and 0.77 (Sinninghe Damsté et al, 2008;Peterse et al, 2009b;Ernst et al, 2013;Liu et al, 2013;Coffinet et al, 2014). Several factors, such as soil type, seasonality, soil moisture content, etc.…”

Section: Mbt and Mbtsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…Rungwe in East Africa the CBT-MBT temperature lapse rate was À7°C/km (Sinninghe Damsté et al, 2008;Coffinet et al, 2014), whereas the MBT 0 -CBT temperature lapse rate decreased to ca. À4°C/km (Coffinet et al, 2014, and our remarks in the Introduction); in Asia, the MBT-CBT temperature lapse rate ranged between À4.8 and À6.3°C/km (Peterse et al, 2009b;Ernst et al, 2013;Liu et al, 2013), whereas the recalculated MBT 0 -CBT temperature lapse rate by Ernst et al (2013) averaged À3.6 ± 0.6°C/km. The lower lapse rate of the MBT 0 -CBT temperature than that of the MBT-CBT temperature, as well as the higher MBT 0 -CBT temperature than the MBT-CBT temperature in cold, high elevation sites (Fig.…”

Section: Mbt and Mbtmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…In Meghalaya, NE India, the MBT 0 -CBT index based on Eq. 6 was preferred by authors due to its improved accuracy of MAAT estimates; however, the MBT 0 -CBT based lapse rate (À3.0°C/km according to reported data therein) was lower than that from measured MAAT (À4.7°C/km) (Ernst et al, 2013). On the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and Mt.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Mountainous slopes therefore provide ideal places for testing the brGDGT-derived indices as a MAAT proxy in a wide temperature range within a limited distance. Indeed, studies along several mountainous slopes from Asia, Africa and South America have shown the altitudinal temperature trend from the brGDGTderived indices in soil (Sinninghe Damsté et al, 2008;Peterse et al, 2009b;Ernst et al, 2013;Liu et al, 2013;Anderson et al, 2014;Coffinet et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2015). Among them, two studies, one at Mt.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leaf wax biomarkers in transit record river catchment composition

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Rivers carry organic molecules derived from terrestrial vegetation to sedimentary deposits in lakes and oceans, storing information about past climate and erosion, as well as representing a component of the carbon cycle. It is anticipated that sourcing of organic matter may not be uniform across catchments with substantial environmental variability in topography, vegetation zones, and climate. Here we analyze plant leaf wax biomarkers in transit in the Madre de Dios River (Peru), which drains a forested catchment across 4.5 km of elevation from the tropical montane forests of the Andes down into the rainforests of Amazonia. We find that the hydrogen isotopic composition of leaf wax molecules (specifically the C 28 n-alkanoic acid) carried by this tropical mountain river largely records the elevation gradient defined by the isotopic composition of precipitation, and this supports the general interpretation of these biomarkers as proxy recorders of catchment conditions. However, we also find that leaf wax isotopic composition varies with river flow regime over storm and seasonal timescales, which could in some cases be quantitatively significant relative to changes in the isotopic composition of precipitation in the past. Our results inform on the sourcing and transport of material by a major tributary of the Amazon River and contribute to the spatial interpretation of sedimentary records of past climate using the leaf wax proxy.

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Biomarkers record environmental changes along an altitudinal transect in the wettest place on Earth

Cited by 49 publications

References 21 publications

Tracing tetraether lipids from source to sink in the RhÃ´ne River system (NW Mediterranean)

Tracing tetraether lipids from source to sink in the RhÃ´ne River system (NW Mediterranean)

Warm season bias of branched GDGT temperature estimates causes underestimation of altitudinal lapse rate

Leaf wax biomarkers in transit record river catchment composition

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