Articles | Volume 12, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3913-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3913-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Coupling δ2H and δ18O biomarker results yields information on relative humidity and isotopic composition of precipitation – a climate transect validation study
M. Tuthorn
Department of Soil Physics and Chair of Geomorphology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
R. Zech
Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
M. Ruppenthal
Geoecology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19–23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
Y. Oelmann
Geoecology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19–23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
A. Kahmen
Department of Environmental Sciences – Botany, University of Basel, Schönbeinstrasse 6, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
H. F. del Valle
Ecología Terrestre, Centro Nacional Patagónico (CENPAT), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Boulevard Brown 2825, U9120ACF Puerto Madryn, Argentina
T. Eglinton
Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
K. Rozanski
Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30–059 Kraków, Poland
M. Zech
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Soil Physics and Chair of Geomorphology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
Institute of Agronomy and Nutritional Sciences, Soil Biogeochemistry, Martin-Luther University Halle–Wittenberg, von-Seckendorff-Platz 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
Related authors
Johannes Hepp, Christoph Mayr, Kazimierz Rozanski, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Mario Tuthorn, Bruno Glaser, Dieter Juchelka, Willibald Stichler, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences, 18, 5363–5380, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Deriving more quantitative climate information like relative air humidity is one of the key challenges in paleostudies. Often only qualitative reconstructions can be done when single-biomarker-isotope data are derived from a climate archive. However, the coupling of hemicellulose-derived sugar with leaf-wax-derived n-alkane isotope results has the potential to overcome this limitation and allow a quantitative relative air humidity reconstruction.
Johannes Hepp, Bruno Glaser, Dieter Juchelka, Christoph Mayr, Kazimierz Rozanski, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Willibald Stichler, Mario Tuthorn, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-427, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-427, 2019
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Vinicius dos Santos, Didier Gastmans, Ana María Durán-Quesada, Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo, Kazimierz Rozanski, Oliver Kracht, and Demilson de Assis Quintão
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-710, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-710, 2023
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
We present novel about convective rainfall, the summer rain in the late afternoon, coupling water stable isotopes, micro rain radar and satellite data. We found tallest clouds in the afternoon and much smaller cloud at night, resulting in differences in day-night ratios in water stable isotopes. Our sampling scheme, rain and meteorological variables every 5–10 minutes, allowing to evaluate the development of convective rainfall, contributing for understanding rainfall related to extreme events.
Lucas Bittner, Cindy De Jonge, Graciela Gil-Romera, Henry F. Lamb, James M. Russell, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences, 19, 5357–5374, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5357-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5357-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
With regard to global warming, an understanding of past temperature changes is becoming increasingly important. Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are membrane lipids used globally to reconstruct lake water temperatures. In the Bale Mountains lakes, we find a unique composition of brGDGT isomers. We present a modified local calibration and a new high-altitude temperature reconstruction from the Horn of Africa spanning the last 12.5 kyr.
Marcel Lerch, Julia Unkelbach, Florian Schneider, Michael Zech, and Michael Klinge
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-91-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-91-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Charcoals and leaf waxes from vegetation accumulate in the soil and provide information about past vegetation because they are mostly resistant against physical and biological degradation. Analyzing and comparing ratios of both element types helped us to improve the evidence for vegetation reconstruction. We found that the accumulation processes and preservation of these elements depend on different environmental conditions at forest- and steppe-dominated sites in the Mongolian forest–steppe.
Jakob Labahn, Lucas Bittner, Philip Hirschmann, Christopher-Bastian Roettig, Diana Burghardt, Bruno Glaser, Slobodan B. Marković, and Michael Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 83–90, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-83-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-83-2022, 2022
Marcel Lerch, Tobias Bromm, Clemens Geitner, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, Bruno Glaser, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences, 19, 1135–1150, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1135-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1135-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Faecal biomarker analyses present a useful tool in geoarcheological research. For a better understanding of the lives of our ancestors in alpine regions, we investigated modern livestock faeces and Holocene soils at the prehistorical encampment site of Ullafelsen in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria. Initial results show a high input of livestock faeces and a negligible input of human faeces for this archeological site. Future studies will focus on mire archives in the Fotsch Valley.
Anna K. Tobler, Alicja Skiba, Francesco Canonaco, Griša Močnik, Pragati Rai, Gang Chen, Jakub Bartyzel, Miroslaw Zimnoch, Katarzyna Styszko, Jaroslaw Nęcki, Markus Furger, Kazimierz Różański, Urs Baltensperger, Jay G. Slowik, and Andre S. H. Prevot
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14893–14906, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14893-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14893-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Kraków is among the cities with the highest particulate matter levels within Europe. We conducted long-term and highly time-resolved measurements of the chemical composition of submicron particlulate matter (PM1). Combined with advanced source apportionment techniques, which allow for time-dependent factor profiles, our results elucidate that traffic and residential heating (biomass burning and coal combustion) as well as oxygenated organic aerosol are the key PM sources in Kraków.
Johannes Hepp, Christoph Mayr, Kazimierz Rozanski, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Mario Tuthorn, Bruno Glaser, Dieter Juchelka, Willibald Stichler, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences, 18, 5363–5380, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Deriving more quantitative climate information like relative air humidity is one of the key challenges in paleostudies. Often only qualitative reconstructions can be done when single-biomarker-isotope data are derived from a climate archive. However, the coupling of hemicellulose-derived sugar with leaf-wax-derived n-alkane isotope results has the potential to overcome this limitation and allow a quantitative relative air humidity reconstruction.
Michael Zech, Marcel Lerch, Marcel Bliedtner, Tobias Bromm, Fabian Seemann, Sönke Szidat, Gary Salazar, Roland Zech, Bruno Glaser, Jean Nicolas Haas, Dieter Schäfer, and Clemens Geitner
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 171–186, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-171-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-171-2021, 2021
Claudia Hahn, Andreas Lüscher, Sara Ernst-Hasler, Matthias Suter, and Ansgar Kahmen
Biogeosciences, 18, 585–604, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-585-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-585-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
While existing studies focus on the immediate effects of drought events on grassland productivity, long-term effects are mostly neglected. But, to conclude universal outcomes, studies must consider comprehensive ecosystem mechanisms. In our study, we found that the resistance of growth rates to drought in grasses varies across seasons, and positive legacy effects of drought indicate a high resilience. The high resilience compensates for immediate drought effects on grasses to a large extent.
Christopher Lüthgens, Daniela Sauer, and Michael Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 69, 261–262, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-261-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-261-2021, 2021
Lena Wohlgemuth, Stefan Osterwalder, Carl Joseph, Ansgar Kahmen, Günter Hoch, Christine Alewell, and Martin Jiskra
Biogeosciences, 17, 6441–6456, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6441-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6441-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Mercury uptake by trees from the air represents an important but poorly quantified pathway in the global mercury cycle. We determined mercury uptake fluxes by leaves and needles at 10 European forests which were 4 times larger than mercury deposition via rainfall. The amount of mercury taken up by leaves and needles depends on their age and growing height on the tree. Scaling up our measurements to the forest area of Europe, we estimate that each year 20 t of mercury is taken up by trees.
Johannes Hepp, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Verena Lanny, Jörg Franke, Marcel Bliedtner, Kazimierz Rozanski, Bruno Glaser, Michael Zech, Timothy Ian Eglinton, and Roland Zech
Biogeosciences, 17, 741–756, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-741-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-741-2020, 2020
Christopher Lüthgens, Daniela Sauer, Michael Zech, Becky Briant, Eleanor Brown, Elisabeth Dietze, Markus Fuchs, Nicole Klasen, Sven Lukas, Jan-Hendrik May, Julia Meister, Tony Reimann, Gilles Rixhon, Zsófia Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger, Bernhard Salcher, Tobias Sprafke, Ingmar Unkel, Hans von Suchodoletz, and Christian Zeeden
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 68, 243–244, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-243-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-243-2020, 2020
Łukasz Chmura, Michał Gałkowski, Piotr Sekuła, Mirosław Zimnoch, Jarosław Nęcki, Jakub Bartyzel, Damian Zięba, Kazimierz Różański, Wojciech Wołkowicz, and Laszlo Haszpra
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2019-748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2019-748, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
The rise of temperatures across the globe, mainly attributed to the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, is predicted to have an increased impact on ecosystems over the next century. One of the manifestations of this anthropogenic global warming will be the increased occurrence of prolonged droughts in the temperate climate zones. In the current study we present the evidence of an increased impact of droughts on the annual cycle of carbon dioxide over Central-Eastern Europe.
Johannes Hepp, Bruno Glaser, Dieter Juchelka, Christoph Mayr, Kazimierz Rozanski, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Willibald Stichler, Mario Tuthorn, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-427, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-427, 2019
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Bruk Lemma, Betelhem Mekonnen, Bruno Glaser, Wolfgang Zech, Sileshi Nemomissa, Tamrat Bekele, Lucas Bittner, and Michael Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 68, 189–200, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-189-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-189-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Chemotaxonomic identification of keystone plant species in the Bale Mountains are possible using lignin phenols. However, Erica could not be differentiated chemotaxonomically from all other investigated plants using n-alkanes. Unambiguous characteristic patterns of lignin phenols reflected in the plant samples were not sustained in the organic layers and mineral topsoils. This is due to degradation and organic matter inputs by roots. Therefore, the past extent of Erica is still speculative.
Betelhem Mekonnen, Wolfgang Zech, Bruno Glaser, Bruk Lemma, Tobias Bromm, Sileshi Nemomissa, Tamrat Bekele, and Michael Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 68, 177–188, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-177-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-177-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The study evaluates the ability of stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and sugar biomarkers to distinguish Erica from the dominant vegetation of the Bale Mountains in order to reconstruct the past extent of Erica on the Sanetti Plateau. No significant differences in stable isotopes are found between the dominant plant species. Although Erica is characterized by quite high (G+M)/(A+X) ratios, it cannot be unambiguously distinguished from other plants due to degradation and soil microbial effects.
Johannes Hepp, Lorenz Wüthrich, Tobias Bromm, Marcel Bliedtner, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Bruno Glaser, Kazimierz Rozanski, Frank Sirocko, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Clim. Past, 15, 713–733, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-713-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-713-2019, 2019
Ghulam Jeelani, Rajendrakumar D. Deshpande, Michal Galkowski, and Kazimierz Rozanski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8789–8805, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8789-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8789-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Analysis of stable isotope composition of daily precipitation collected along the southern foothills of the Himalayas was used to gain deeper insight into the mechanisms controlling isotopic composition of precipitation. The results suggested that the decrease in isotopic composition in the course of ISM evolution stems from large-scale recycling of moisture-driven monsoonal circulation. High d-excess of rainfall is attributed to moisture of continental origin released into the atmosphere.
Marcel Lerch, Marcel Bliedtner, Christopher-Bastian Roettig, Jan-Uwe Schmidt, Sönke Szidat, Gary Salazar, Roland Zech, Bruno Glaser, Arno Kleber, and Michael Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 66, 103–108, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-66-103-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-66-103-2018, 2018
Oliver Rach, Ansgar Kahmen, Achim Brauer, and Dirk Sachse
Clim. Past, 13, 741–757, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-741-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-741-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Currently, reconstructions of past changes in the hydrological cycle are usually qualitative, which is a major drawback for testing the accuracy of models in predicting future responses. Here we present a proof of concept of a novel approach to deriving quantitative paleohydrological data, i.e. changes in relative humidity, from lacustrine sediment archives, employing a combination of organic geochemical methods and plant physiological modeling.
Imke K. Schäfer, Verena Lanny, Jörg Franke, Timothy I. Eglinton, Michael Zech, Barbora Vysloužilová, and Roland Zech
SOIL, 2, 551–564, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-551-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-551-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
For this study we systematically investigated the molecular pattern of leaf waxes in litter and topsoils along a European transect to assess their potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Our results show that leaf wax patterns depend on the type of vegetation. The vegetation signal is not only found in the litter; it can also be preserved to some degree in the topsoil.
B. M. Voss, B. Peucker-Ehrenbrink, T. I. Eglinton, R. G. M. Spencer, E. Bulygina, V. Galy, C. H. Lamborg, P. M. Ganguli, D. B. Montluçon, S. Marsh, S. L. Gillies, J. Fanslau, A. Epp, and R. Luymes
Biogeosciences, 12, 5597–5618, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5597-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5597-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents seasonal cycles of organic matter concentration and composition in the Fraser River. Dissolved organic matter patterns are linked to flushing of shallow soil layers during spring snowmelt and fall rain events. The preliminary Hg data set indicates significant changes in concentrations during the spring freshet. Organic carbon export, as both area-normalized yield and the proportion of basin primary productivity, in the Fraser River is typical of large rivers globally.
X. Feng, Ö. Gustafsson, R. M. Holmes, J. E. Vonk, B. E. van Dongen, I. P. Semiletov, O. V. Dudarev, M. B. Yunker, R. W. Macdonald, D. B. Montluçon, and T. I. Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 12, 4841–4860, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4841-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4841-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Currently very few studies have examined the distribution and fate of hydrolyzable organic carbon (OC) in Arctic sediments, whose fate remains unclear in the context of climate change. Our study focuses on the source, distribution and fate of hydrolyzable OC as compared with plant wax lipids and lignin phenols in the sedimentary particles of nine Arctic and sub-Arctic rivers. This multi-molecular approach allows for a comprehensive investigation of terrestrial OC transfer via Arctic rivers.
F. Peterse, C. M. Moy, and T. I. Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 12, 933–943, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-933-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-933-2015, 2015
S. Vicca, M. Bahn, M. Estiarte, E. E. van Loon, R. Vargas, G. Alberti, P. Ambus, M. A. Arain, C. Beier, L. P. Bentley, W. Borken, N. Buchmann, S. L. Collins, G. de Dato, J. S. Dukes, C. Escolar, P. Fay, G. Guidolotti, P. J. Hanson, A. Kahmen, G. Kröel-Dulay, T. Ladreiter-Knauss, K. S. Larsen, E. Lellei-Kovacs, E. Lebrija-Trejos, F. T. Maestre, S. Marhan, M. Marshall, P. Meir, Y. Miao, J. Muhr, P. A. Niklaus, R. Ogaya, J. Peñuelas, C. Poll, L. E. Rustad, K. Savage, A. Schindlbacher, I. K. Schmidt, A. R. Smith, E. D. Sotta, V. Suseela, A. Tietema, N. van Gestel, O. van Straaten, S. Wan, U. Weber, and I. A. Janssens
Biogeosciences, 11, 2991–3013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2991-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2991-2014, 2014
M. Zech, R. Zech, K. Rozanski, A. Hemp, G. Gleixner, and W. Zech
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-11-7823-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-11-7823-2014, 2014
Preprint withdrawn
C. Häggi, R. Zech, C. McIntyre, M. Zech, and T. I. Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 11, 2455–2463, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2455-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2455-2014, 2014
S. R. Shah, D. R. Griffith, V. Galy, A. P. McNichol, and T. I. Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 10, 7065–7080, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7065-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7065-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Organic Biogeochemistry
Recently fixed carbon fuels microbial activity several meters below the soil surface
Distributions of bacteriohopanepolyols in lakes and coastal lagoons of the Azores Archipelago
Environmental and hydrologic controls on sediment and organic carbon export from a subalpine catchment: insights from a time series
Climate and geology overwrite land use effects on soil organic nitrogen cycling on a continental scale
Potential bioavailability of pyrogenic organic matter resembles natural dissolved organic matter pools
Compositions of dissolved organic matter in the ice-covered waters above the Aurora hydrothermal vent system, Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean
Organic matter characteristics of a rapidly eroding permafrost cliff in NE Siberia (Lena Delta, Laptev Sea region)
Microbial labilization and diversification of pyrogenic dissolved organic matter
Bacterial and eukaryotic intact polar lipids point to in situ production as a key source of labile organic matter in hadal surface sediment of the Atacama Trench
What can we learn from amino acids about oceanic organic matter cycling and degradation?
Bacteriohopanetetrol-x: constraining its application as a lipid biomarker for marine anammox using the water column oxygen gradient of the Benguela upwelling system
Active and passive fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the northern South China Sea
Cyanobacteria net community production in the Baltic Sea as inferred from profiling pCO2 measurements
Reviews and syntheses: Heterotrophic fixation of inorganic carbon – significant but invisible flux in environmental carbon cycling
Revised fractional abundances and warm-season temperatures substantially improve brGDGT calibrations in lake sediments
Archaeal intact polar lipids in polar waters: a comparison between the Amundsen and Scotia seas
Reproducible determination of dissolved organic matter photosensitivity
Technical note: Uncovering the influence of methodological variations on the extractability of iron-bound organic carbon
Anthropocene climate warming enhances autochthonous carbon cycling in an upland Arctic lake, Disko Island, West Greenland
Novel hydrocarbon-utilizing soil mycobacteria synthesize unique mycocerosic acids at a Sicilian everlasting fire
Alkenone isotopes show evidence of active carbon concentrating mechanisms in coccolithophores as aqueous carbon dioxide concentrations fall below 7 µmol L−1
Seasonal variability and sources of in situ brGDGT production in a permanently stratified African crater lake
Sediment release of dissolved organic matter to the oxygen minimum zone off Peru
Better molecular preservation of organic matter in an oxic than in a sulfidic depositional environment: evidence from Thalassiphora pelagica (Dinoflagellata, Eocene) cysts
Assessing branched tetraether lipids as tracers of soil organic carbon transport through the Carminowe Creek catchment (southwest England)
The nonconservative distribution pattern of organic matter in the Rajang, a tropical river with peatland in its estuary
Predominance of hexamethylated 6-methyl branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in the Mariana Trench: source and environmental implication
High-pH and anoxic conditions during soil organic matter extraction increases its electron-exchange capacity and ability to stimulate microbial Fe(III) reduction by electron shuttling
Sterol preservation in hypersaline microbial mats
Structural elucidation and environmental distributions of butanetriol and pentanetriol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (BDGTs and PDGTs)
Distribution and degradation of terrestrial organic matter in the sediments of peat-draining rivers, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo
Validation of carbon isotope fractionation in algal lipids as a pCO2 proxy using a natural CO2 seep (Shikine Island, Japan)
Composition and cycling of dissolved organic matter from tropical peatlands of coastal Sarawak, Borneo, revealed by fluorescence spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis
Latitudinal variations in δ30Si and δ15N signatures along the Peruvian shelf: quantifying the effects of nutrient utilization versus denitrification over the past 600 years
Diapycnal dissolved organic matter supply into the upper Peruvian oxycline
Composition and vertical flux of particulate organic matter to the oxygen minimum zone of the central Baltic Sea: impact of a sporadic North Sea inflow
Main drivers of transparent exopolymer particle distribution across the surface Atlantic Ocean
Biochemical and structural controls on the decomposition dynamics of boreal upland forest moss tissues
Spatiotemporal transformation of dissolved organic matter along an alpine stream flow path on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau: importance of source and permafrost degradation
A quest for the biological sources of long chain alkyl diols in the western tropical North Atlantic Ocean
Long-chain diols in rivers: distribution and potential biological sources
Leaf wax n-alkanes in modern plants and topsoils from eastern Georgia (Caucasus) – implications for reconstructing regional paleovegetation
The role of diatom resting spores in pelagic–benthic coupling in the Southern Ocean
Calcium content and high calcium adaptation of plants in karst areas of southwestern Hunan, China
Substrate potential of last interglacial to Holocene permafrost organic matter for future microbial greenhouse gas production
Variation pattern of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen in oceans and inland waters
C5 glycolipids of heterocystous cyanobacteria track symbiont abundance in the diatom Hemiaulus hauckii across the tropical North Atlantic
Molecular fingerprinting of particulate organic matter as a new tool for its source apportionment: changes along a headwater drainage in coarse, medium and fine particles as a function of rainfalls
Variations and determinants of carbon content in plants: a global synthesis
The Holocene sedimentary record of cyanobacterial glycolipids in the Baltic Sea: an evaluation of their application as tracers of past nitrogen fixation
Andrea Scheibe, Carlos A. Sierra, and Marie Spohn
Biogeosciences, 20, 827–838, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-827-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-827-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We explored carbon cycling in soils in three climate zones in Chile down to a depth of 6 m, using carbon isotopes. Our results show that microbial activity several meters below the soil surface is mostly fueled by recently fixed carbon and that strong decomposition of soil organic matter only occurs in the upper decimeters of the soils. The study shows that different layers of the critical zone are tightly connected and that processes in the deep soil depend on recently fixed carbon.
Nora Richter, Ellen C. Hopmans, Danica Mitrović, Pedro M. Raposeiro, Vítor Gonçalves, Ana C. Costa, Linda A. Amaral-Zettler, Laura Villanueva, and Darci Rush
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-29, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-29, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for BG
Short summary
Short summary
Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are a diverse class of lipids produced by bacteria across a wide range of environments. This study characterizes the diversity of BHPs in lakes and coastal lagoons from the Azores Archipelago, as well as a co-culture enriched for methanotrophs. We highlight the potential of BHPs as taxonomic markers for bacteria associated with certain ecological niches, which can be preserved in sedimentary records.
Melissa Sophia Schwab, Hannah Gies, Chantal Valérie Freymond, Maarten Lupker, Negar Haghipour, and Timothy Ian Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 19, 5591–5616, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5591-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5591-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The majority of river studies focus on headwater or floodplain systems, while often neglecting intermediate river segments. Our study on the subalpine Sihl River bridges the gap between streams and lowlands and demonstrates that moderately steep river segments are areas of significant instream alterations, modulating the export of organic carbon over short distances.
Lisa Noll, Shasha Zhang, Qing Zheng, Yuntao Hu, Florian Hofhansl, and Wolfgang Wanek
Biogeosciences, 19, 5419–5433, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5419-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5419-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Cleavage of proteins to smaller nitrogen compounds allows microorganisms and plants to exploit the largest nitrogen reservoir in soils and is considered the bottleneck in soil organic nitrogen cycling. Results from soils covering a European transect show that protein turnover is constrained by soil geochemistry, shifts in climate and associated alterations in soil weathering and should be considered as a driver of soil nitrogen availability with repercussions on carbon cycle processes.
Emily B. Graham, Hyun-Seob Song, Samantha Grieger, Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, James Stegen, Kevin D. Bladon, and Allison Myers-Pigg
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-194, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-194, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Intensifying wildfires are increasing pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) production and its impact on water quality. Recent work indicates that PyOM may have greater impact on aquatic biogeochemistry than previously assumed, driven by higher bioavailability. We provide a full assessment of the potential bioavailability of PyOM across its chemical spectrum. We indicate that PyOM can be actively transformed within the river corridor, and therefore, may be a growing source of riverine C emissions.
Muhammed Fatih Sert, Helge Niemann, Eoghan P. Reeves, Mats A. Granskog, Kevin P. Hand, Timo Kekäläinen, Janne Jänis, Pamela E. Rossel, Bénédicte Ferré, Anna Silyakova, and Friederike Gründger
Biogeosciences, 19, 2101–2120, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2101-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2101-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate organic matter composition in the Arctic Ocean water column. We collected seawater samples from sea ice to deep waters at six vertical profiles near an active hydrothermal vent and its plume. In comparison to seawater, we found that the organic matter in waters directly affected by the hydrothermal plume had different chemical composition. We suggest that hydrothermal processes may influence the organic matter distribution in the deep ocean.
Charlotte Haugk, Loeka L. Jongejans, Kai Mangelsdorf, Matthias Fuchs, Olga Ogneva, Juri Palmtag, Gesine Mollenhauer, Paul J. Mann, P. Paul Overduin, Guido Grosse, Tina Sanders, Robyn E. Tuerena, Lutz Schirrmeister, Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander Kizyakov, Cornelia Karger, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences, 19, 2079–2094, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2079-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2079-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Buried animal and plant remains (carbon) from the last ice age were freeze-locked in permafrost. At an extremely fast eroding permafrost cliff in the Lena Delta (Siberia), we found this formerly frozen carbon well preserved. Our results show that ongoing degradation releases substantial amounts of this carbon, making it available for future carbon emissions. This mobilisation at the studied cliff and also similarly eroding sites bear the potential to affect rivers and oceans negatively.
Aleksandar I. Goranov, Andrew S. Wozniak, Kyle W. Bostick, Andrew R. Zimmerman, Siddhartha Mitra, and Patrick G. Hatcher
Biogeosciences, 19, 1491–1514, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1491-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1491-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Wildfire-derived molecules are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment, but their biological fate remains understudied. We have evaluated the compositional changes that occur to wildfire-derived molecules after incubation with soil microbes. We observe a significant degradation but also a production of numerous new labile molecules. Our results indicate that wildfire-derived molecules can be broken down and the carbon and nitrogen therein can be incorporated into microbial food webs.
Edgart Flores, Sebastian I. Cantarero, Paula Ruiz-Fernández, Nadia Dildar, Matthias Zabel, Osvaldo Ulloa, and Julio Sepúlveda
Biogeosciences, 19, 1395–1420, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1395-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we investigate the chemical diversity and abundance of microbial lipids as markers of organic matter sources in the deepest points of the Atacama Trench sediments and compare them to similar lipid stocks in shallower surface sediments and in the overlying water column. We evaluate possible organic matter provenance and some potential chemical adaptations of the in situ microbial community to the extreme conditions of high hydrostatic pressure in hadal realm.
Birgit Gaye, Niko Lahajnar, Natalie Harms, Sophie Anna Luise Paul, Tim Rixen, and Kay-Christian Emeis
Biogeosciences, 19, 807–830, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-807-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-807-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Amino acids were analyzed in a large number of samples of particulate and dissolved organic matter from coastal regions and the open ocean. A statistical analysis produced two new biogeochemical indicators. An indicator of sinking particle and sediment degradation (SDI) traces the degradation of organic matter from the surface waters into the sediments. A second indicator shows the residence time of suspended matter in the ocean (RTI).
Zoë R. van Kemenade, Laura Villanueva, Ellen C. Hopmans, Peter Kraal, Harry J. Witte, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Darci Rush
Biogeosciences, 19, 201–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-201-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-201-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is an important nitrogen-removal process in the ocean. We assess the distribution of bacteriohopanetetrol-x (BHT-x), used to trace past anammox, along a redox gradient in the water column of the Benguela upwelling system. BHT-x / BHT ratios of >0.18 correspond to the presence of living anammox bacteria and oxygen levels <50 μmol L−1. This allows for a more robust application of BHT-x to trace past marine anammox and deoxygenation in dynamic marine systems.
Jia-Jang Hung, Ching-Han Tung, Zong-Ying Lin, Yuh-ling Lee Chen, Shao-Hung Peng, Yen-Huei Lin, and Li-Shan Tsai
Biogeosciences, 18, 5141–5162, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5141-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5141-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We report measured active and passive fluxes and their controlling mechanisms in the northern South China Sea (NSCS). The total fluxes were higher than most reports in open oceans, indicating the significance of NSCS in atmospheric CO2 uptake and in storing that CO2 in the ocean’s interior. Winter cooling and extreme events enhanced nutrient availability and elevated fluxes. Global warming may have profound impacts on reducing ocean’s uptake and storage of CO2 in subtropical–tropical oceans.
Jens Daniel Müller, Bernd Schneider, Ulf Gräwe, Peer Fietzek, Marcus Bo Wallin, Anna Rutgersson, Norbert Wasmund, Siegfried Krüger, and Gregor Rehder
Biogeosciences, 18, 4889–4917, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4889-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4889-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Based on profiling pCO2 measurements from a field campaign, we quantify the biomass production of a cyanobacteria bloom in the Baltic Sea, the export of which would foster deep water deoxygenation. We further demonstrate how this biomass production can be accurately reconstructed from long-term surface measurements made on cargo vessels in combination with modelled temperature profiles. This approach enables a better understanding of a severe concern for the Baltic’s good environmental status.
Alexander Braun, Marina Spona-Friedl, Maria Avramov, Martin Elsner, Federico Baltar, Thomas Reinthaler, Gerhard J. Herndl, and Christian Griebler
Biogeosciences, 18, 3689–3700, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3689-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
It is known that CO2 fixation by photoautotrophic organisms is the major sink from the atmosphere. While biologists are aware that CO2 fixation also occurs in heterotrophic organisms, this route of inorganic carbon, and its quantitative role, is hardly recognized in biogeochemistry. We demonstrate that a considerable amount of CO2 is fixed annually through anaplerotic reactions in heterotrophic organisms, and a significant quantity of inorganic carbon is temporally sequestered in biomass.
Jonathan H. Raberg, David J. Harning, Sarah E. Crump, Greg de Wet, Aria Blumm, Sebastian Kopf, Áslaug Geirsdóttir, Gifford H. Miller, and Julio Sepúlveda
Biogeosciences, 18, 3579–3603, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3579-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3579-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
BrGDGT lipids are a proxy for temperature in lake sediments, but other parameters like pH can influence them, and seasonality can affect the temperatures they record. We find a warm-season bias at 43 new high-latitude sites. We also present a new method that deconvolves the effects of temperature, pH, and conductivity and generate global calibrations for these variables. Our study provides new paleoclimate tools, insight into brGDGTs at the biochemical level, and a new method for future study.
Charlotte L. Spencer-Jones, Erin L. McClymont, Nicole J. Bale, Ellen C. Hopmans, Stefan Schouten, Juliane Müller, E. Povl Abrahamsen, Claire Allen, Torsten Bickert, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Elaine Mawbey, Victoria Peck, Aleksandra Svalova, and James A. Smith
Biogeosciences, 18, 3485–3504, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term ocean temperature records are needed to fully understand the impact of West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse. Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are powerful tools for reconstructing ocean temperature but can be difficult to apply to the Southern Ocean. Our results show active GDGT synthesis in relatively warm depths of the ocean. This research improves the application of GDGT palaeoceanographic proxies in the Southern Ocean.
Alec W. Armstrong, Leanne Powers, and Michael Gonsior
Biogeosciences, 18, 3367–3390, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3367-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3367-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Living things decay into organic matter, which can dissolve into water (like tea brewing). Tea receives its color by absorbing light. Similarly, this material absorbs light, which can then cause chemical reactions that change it. By measuring changes in these optical properties, we found that materials from some places are more sensitive to light than others. Comparing sensitivity to light helps us understand where these materials come from and what happens as they move through water.
Ben J. Fisher, Johan C. Faust, Oliver W. Moore, Caroline L. Peacock, and Christian März
Biogeosciences, 18, 3409–3419, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3409-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3409-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Organic carbon can be protected from microbial degradation in marine sediments through association with iron minerals on 1000-year timescales. Despite the importance of this carbon sink, our spatial and temporal understanding of iron-bound organic carbon interactions globally is poor. Here we show that caution must be applied when comparing quantification of iron-bound organic carbon extracted by different methods as the extraction strength and method specificity can be highly variable.
Mark A. Stevenson, Suzanne McGowan, Emma J. Pearson, George E. A. Swann, Melanie J. Leng, Vivienne J. Jones, Joseph J. Bailey, Xianyu Huang, and Erika Whiteford
Biogeosciences, 18, 2465–2485, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2465-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2465-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We link detailed stable isotope and biomarker analyses from the catchments of three Arctic upland lakes on Disko Island (West Greenland) to a recent dated sediment core to understand how carbon cycling has changed over the past ~500 years. We find that the carbon deposited in sediments in these upland lakes is predominately sourced from in-lake production due to the catchment's limited terrestrial vegetation and elevation and that recent increases in algal production link with climate change.
Nadine T. Smit, Laura Villanueva, Darci Rush, Fausto Grassa, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Mira Holzheimer, Adriaan J. Minnaard, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 18, 1463–1479, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1463-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1463-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Soils from an everlasting fire (gas seep) in Sicily, Italy, reveal high relative abundances of novel uncultivated mycobacteria and unique 13C-depleted mycocerosic acids (multi-methyl branched fatty acids) close to the main gas seep. Our results imply that mycocerosic acids in combination with their depleted δ13C values offer a new biomarker tool to study the role of soil mycobacteria as hydrocarbon consumers in the modern and past global carbon cycle.
Marcus P. S. Badger
Biogeosciences, 18, 1149–1160, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1149-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1149-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Reconstructing ancient atmospheric CO2 is an important aim of palaeoclimate science in order to understand the Earth's climate system. One method, the alkenone proxy based on molecular fossils of coccolithophores, has been recently shown to be ineffective at low-to-moderate CO2 levels. In this paper I show that this is likely due to changes in the biogeochemistry of the coccolithophores when there is low carbon availability, but for much of the Cenozoic the alkenone proxy should have utility.
Loes G. J. van Bree, Francien Peterse, Allix J. Baxter, Wannes De Crop, Sigrid van Grinsven, Laura Villanueva, Dirk Verschuren, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 17, 5443–5463, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are used as a paleothermometer based on their temperature dependence in global soils, but aquatic production complicates their use in lakes. BrGDGTs in the water column of Lake Chala, East Africa, respond to oxygen conditions and mixing. Changes in their signal can be linked to bacterial community composition rather than membrane adaptation to changing conditions. Their integrated signal in the sediment reflects mean air temperature.
Alexandra N. Loginova, Andrew W. Dale, Frédéric A. C. Le Moigne, Sören Thomsen, Stefan Sommer, David Clemens, Klaus Wallmann, and Anja Engel
Biogeosciences, 17, 4663–4679, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4663-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We measured dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (DON) and matter (DOM) optical properties in pore waters and near-bottom waters of the eastern tropical South Pacific off Peru. The difference between diffusion-driven and net fluxes of DOC and DON and qualitative changes in DOM optical properties suggested active microbial utilisation of the released DOM at the sediment–water interface. Our results suggest that the sediment release of DOM contributes to microbial processes in the area.
Gerard J. M. Versteegh, Alexander J. P. Houben, and Karin A. F. Zonneveld
Biogeosciences, 17, 3545–3561, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3545-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3545-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Anoxic sediments mostly contain much more organic matter than oxic ones, and therefore organic matter in anoxic settings is often considered to be preserved better than in oxic settings. However, through the analysis of the same fossil dinoflagellate cyst species from both oxic and anoxic settings, we show that at a molecular level the preservation in the oxic sediments may be better since in the anoxic setting the cyst macromolecule has been altered by postdepositional modification.
Jingjing Guo, Miriam Glendell, Jeroen Meersmans, Frédérique Kirkels, Jack J. Middelburg, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 17, 3183–3201, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3183-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3183-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The fluxes of soil organic carbon (OC) transport from land to sea are poorly constrained, mostly due to the lack of a specific tracer for soil OC. Here we evaluate the use of specific molecules derived from soil bacteria as a tracer for soil OC in a small river catchment. We find that the initial soil signal is lost upon entering the aquatic environment. However, the local environmental history of the catchment is reflected by these molecules in the lake sediments that act as their sink.
Zhuo-Yi Zhu, Joanne Oakes, Bradley Eyre, Youyou Hao, Edwin Sien Aun Sia, Shan Jiang, Moritz Müller, and Jing Zhang
Biogeosciences, 17, 2473–2485, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2473-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2473-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Samples were collected in August 2016 in the Rajang River and its estuary, with tropical forest in the river basin and peatland in the estuary. Organic matter composition was influenced by transportation in the river basin, whereas peatland added clear biodegraded parts to the fluvial organic matter, which implies modification of the initial lability and/or starting points in the subsequent degradation and alternation processes after the organic matter enters the sea.
Wenjie Xiao, Yasong Wang, Yongsheng Liu, Xi Zhang, Linlin Shi, and Yunping Xu
Biogeosciences, 17, 2135–2148, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2135-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2135-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The hadal zone (6–11 km depth) is the least explored habitat on Earth. We studied microbial branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) in the Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench. One unique feature is the strong predominance of 6-methyl brGDGT, which likely reflects an adaption of brGDGT-producing bacteria to alkaline seawater and low temperature. BrGDGTs, with elemental and isotopic data, suggest an autochthonous product for brGDGT. A new approach is proposed for brGDGT sourcing.
Yuge Bai, Edisson Subdiaga, Stefan B. Haderlein, Heike Knicker, and Andreas Kappler
Biogeosciences, 17, 683–698, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-683-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-683-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Biogeochemical processes of SOM are key for greenhouse gas emission and water quality. We extracted SOM by water or by NaOH–HCl under oxic–anoxic conditions. Chemical and anoxic extractions lead to higher SOM electron exchange capacities, resulting in stimulation of microbial Fe(III) reduction. Therefore, aqueous pH-neutral SOM extracts should be used to reflect environmental SOM redox processes, and artifacts of chemical extractions need to be considered when evaluating SOM redox processes.
Yan Shen, Volker Thiel, Pablo Suarez-Gonzalez, Sebastiaan W. Rampen, and Joachim Reitner
Biogeosciences, 17, 649–666, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-649-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-649-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Today, sterols are widespread in plants, animals, and fungi but are almost absent in the oldest rocks. Microbial mats, representing the earliest complex ecosystems on Earth, were omnipresent in Precambrian marine environments and may have degraded the sterols at that time. Here we analyze the distribution of sterols through a microbial mat. This provides insight into how variations in biological and nonbiological factors affect the preservation of sterols in modern and ancient microbial mats.
Sarah Coffinet, Travis B. Meador, Lukas Mühlena, Kevin W. Becker, Jan Schröder, Qing-Zeng Zhu, Julius S. Lipp, Verena B. Heuer, Matthew P. Crump, and Kai-Uwe Hinrichs
Biogeosciences, 17, 317–330, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-317-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-317-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study deals with two membrane lipids called BDGTs and PDGTs. Membrane lipids are molecules forming the cell envelope of all organisms. Different organisms produce different lipids thus they can be used to detect the presence of specific organisms in the environment. We analyzed the structure of these new lipids and looked for potential producers. We found that they are likely made by microbes emitting methane below the sediment surface and could be used to track these specific microbes.
Ying Wu, Kun Zhu, Jing Zhang, Moritz Müller, Shan Jiang, Aazani Mujahid, Mohd Fakharuddin Muhamad, and Edwin Sien Aun Sia
Biogeosciences, 16, 4517–4533, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4517-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4517-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Our understanding of terrestrial organic matter (TOM) in tropical peat-draining rivers remains limited, especially in Southeast Asia. We explored the characteristics of TOM via bulk parameters and lignin phenols of sediment in Malaysia. This showed that the most important plant source of the organic matter in these rivers is woody angiosperm C3 plants with limited diagenetic alteration. This slower degradation of TOM may be a link to higher total nitrogen content, especially for the small river.
Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Sylvain Agostini, Ben P. Harvey, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 16, 4451–4461, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4451-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4451-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2) in the atmosphere play an integral role in Earth system dynamics, especially climate. Past climates help us understand future ones, but reconstructing pCO2 over the geologic record remains a challenge. This research demonstrates new approaches for exploring past pCO2 via the carbon isotope fractionation in general algal lipids, which we test over a high CO2 gradient from a naturally occurring CO2 seep.
Yongli Zhou, Patrick Martin, and Moritz Müller
Biogeosciences, 16, 2733–2749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2733-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2733-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We found that peatlands in coastal Sarawak, Borneo, export extremely humified organic matter, which dominates the riverine organic matter pool and conservatively mixes with seawater, while the freshly produced fraction is low and stable in concentration at all salinities. We estimated that terrigenous fractions, which showed high photolability, still account for 20 % of the coastal dissolved organic carbon pool, implying the importance of peat-derived organic matter in the coastal carbon cycle.
Kristin Doering, Claudia Ehlert, Philippe Martinez, Martin Frank, and Ralph Schneider
Biogeosciences, 16, 2163–2180, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2163-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2163-2019, 2019
Alexandra N. Loginova, Sören Thomsen, Marcus Dengler, Jan Lüdke, and Anja Engel
Biogeosciences, 16, 2033–2047, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2033-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2033-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
High primary production in the Peruvian upwelling system is followed by rapid heterotrophic utilization of organic matter and supports the formation of one of the most intense oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the world. Here, we estimated vertical fluxes of oxygen and dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the surface to the OMZ. Our results suggest that DOM remineralization substantially reduces oxygen concentration in the upper water column and controls the shape of the upper oxycline.
Carolina Cisternas-Novoa, Frédéric A. C. Le Moigne, and Anja Engel
Biogeosciences, 16, 927–947, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-927-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-927-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the composition and vertical fluxes of POM in two deep basins of the Baltic Sea (GB: Gotland Basin and LD: Landsort Deep). The two basins showed different O2 regimes resulting from the intrusion of oxygen-rich water from the North Sea that ventilated the deep waters in GB, but not in LD.
In GB, O2 intrusions lead to a high abundance of manganese oxides that aggregate with POM, altering its composition and vertical flux and contributing to a higher POC transfer efficiency in GB.
Marina Zamanillo, Eva Ortega-Retuerta, Sdena Nunes, Pablo Rodríguez-Ros, Manuel Dall'Osto, Marta Estrada, Maria Montserrat Sala, and Rafel Simó
Biogeosciences, 16, 733–749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-733-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-733-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Many marine microorganisms produce polysaccharide-rich transparent exopolymer particles (TEPs) for rather unknown reasons but with important consequences for the ocean carbon cycle, sea–air gas exchange and formation of organic aerosols. Here we compare surface–ocean distributions of TEPs and physical, chemical and biological variables along a N–S transect in the Atlantic Ocean. Our data suggest that phytoplankton and not bacteria are the main TEP producers, and solar radiation acts as a sink.
Michael Philben, Sara Butler, Sharon A. Billings, Ronald Benner, Kate A. Edwards, and Susan E. Ziegler
Biogeosciences, 15, 6731–6746, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6731-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6731-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We explored the relationship between chemical composition and the temperature sensitivity of moss decomposition using 959-day lab incubations. Mass loss was low despite the predominance of carbohydrates, indicating the persistence of labile C. Scanning electron microscopy revealed little change in the moss cell-wall structure. These results suggest that the moss cell-wall matrix protects labile C from decomposition, contributing to the globally important stocks of moss-derived C.
Yinghui Wang, Robert G. M. Spencer, David C. Podgorski, Anne M. Kellerman, Harunur Rashid, Phoebe Zito, Wenjie Xiao, Dandan Wei, Yuanhe Yang, and Yunping Xu
Biogeosciences, 15, 6637–6648, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6637-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6637-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
With global warming, thawing of permafrost releases dissolved organic matter (DOM) into streams. By analyzing DOM along an alpine stream on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, we found DOM was mainly from the active layer, but with deepening of the active layer, the contribution of the deep permafrost layer increased, causing a change in the chemical composition of DOM. From the head- to downstream, DOM is undergoing rapid degradation, but some components are persistent and can be transported downstream.
Sergio Balzano, Julie Lattaud, Laura Villanueva, Sebastiaan W. Rampen, Corina P. D. Brussaard, Judith van Bleijswijk, Nicole Bale, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 5951–5968, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5951-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5951-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We tried to identify the microbes which biosynthesize a class of lipids widespread in seawater, the long chain alkyl diols (LCDs). We could not find any microorganism likely involved in the production of LCDs. The amounts of LCDs found are too high to be produced by living organisms and are likely to be part of the refractory organic matter persisting for long periods in the water column.
Julie Lattaud, Frédérique Kirkels, Francien Peterse, Chantal V. Freymond, Timothy I. Eglinton, Jens Hefter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Sergio Balzano, Laura Villanueva, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Ellen C. Hopmans, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 4147–4161, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Long-chain diols (LCDs) are biomarkers that occur widespread in marine environments and also in lakes and rivers. In this study, we looked at the distribution of LCDs in three river systems (Godavari, Danube, and Rhine) in relation to season, precipitation, and temperature. We found out that the LCDs are likely being produced in calm areas of the river systems and that marine LCDs have a different distribution than riverine LCDs.
Marcel Bliedtner, Imke K. Schäfer, Roland Zech, and Hans von Suchodoletz
Biogeosciences, 15, 3927–3936, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3927-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3927-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we systematically analyze leaf wax derived n-alkane patterns in eastern Georgia to test their potential for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the semi-humid to semi-arid central southern Caucasus region. We investigated the influence of vegetation types on the leaf wax signal in modern plants and topsoil material. Our results show distinct and systematic differences in the n-alkane patterns between vegetation types and prove their potential for vegetation reconstructions.
Mathieu Rembauville, Stéphane Blain, Clara Manno, Geraint Tarling, Anu Thompson, George Wolff, and Ian Salter
Biogeosciences, 15, 3071–3084, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3071-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3071-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Sinking phytoplankton from the surface ocean provide the principal energy source to deep-ocean ecosystems. Our aim was to understand how different phytoplankton communities impact the chemical nature of this sinking material. We show certain types of phytoplankton can preferentially export energy-rich storage compounds to the seafloor. Any climate-driven effects on phytoplankton community structure could thus impact remote deep-ocean ecosystems thousands of kilometres beneath the surface.
Xiaocong Wei, Xiangwen Deng, Wenhua Xiang, Pifeng Lei, Shuai Ouyang, Hongfang Wen, and Liang Chen
Biogeosciences, 15, 2991–3002, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2991-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2991-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Karst is a kind of typical calcium-rich environment, which is widely distributed. We measured the Ca2+ content of 41 plant species, as well as soil total Ca2+ and exchange Ca2+. We found out that different plants have different ways to high Ca2+ adaptation. According to the different high Ca2+ adaptation of the 17 dominant species, we divided them into 3 categories: Ca-indifferent plants, high-Ca plants and low-Ca plants. Our results can provide a theoretical basis for vegetation restoration.
Janina G. Stapel, Georg Schwamborn, Lutz Schirrmeister, Brian Horsfield, and Kai Mangelsdorf
Biogeosciences, 15, 1969–1985, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1969-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1969-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Climate warming in the Arctic results in thawing of permafrost deposits. This promotes the accessibility of freeze-locked old organic matter (OM) accumulated during the past. Characterizing OM of different depositional ages, we were able to show that OM from last glacial Yedoma deposits possess the highest potential to provide organic substrates such as acetate for microbial greenhouse gas production and therefore to accelerate the carbon–climate feedback cycle during ongoing global warming.
Changchun Huang, Quanliang Jiang, Ling Yao, Hao Yang, Chen Lin, Tao Huang, A-Xing Zhu, and Yimin Zhang
Biogeosciences, 15, 1827–1841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1827-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1827-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The latitudinal dependency of POC / PON in ocean and inland water is significant, regulated by trophic state and climate, etc. factors. POC / PON significantly increased from coastal water (6.89 ± 2.38) to open ocean (7.59 ± 4.22) with the increasing rate of 0.0024 / km. The re-examination of the global relationship between, and variations in, POC and PON could be important for the global and regional coupling between the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the ocean and freshwater.
Nicole J. Bale, Tracy A. Villareal, Ellen C. Hopmans, Corina P. D. Brussaard, Marc Besseling, Denise Dorhout, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 1229–1241, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1229-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1229-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Associations between diatoms and N-fixing cyanobacteria (diatom–diazotroph associations, DDAs) play an important role in the N cycle of the tropical North Atlantic. Heterocysts are the site of N fixation and contain unique glycolipids. We measured these glycolipids in the water column and surface sediment from the tropical North Atlantic. We found a significant correlation between the concentration of glycolipid and of DDAs, strengthening their application as biomarkers.
Laurent Jeanneau, Richard Rowland, and Shreeram Inamdar
Biogeosciences, 15, 973–985, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-973-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-973-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The source of particulate organic matter in headwaters during storm events remains an open question. We use the molecular composition of organic matter sampled during four spring–summer storms and compare it to potential sources. We identify litter, streambed and vicinal soils as the main sources of particulate organic matter. Their proportions depend on (i) the size of the catchment and (ii) the rain event.
Suhui Ma, Feng He, Di Tian, Dongting Zou, Zhengbing Yan, Yulong Yang, Tiancheng Zhou, Kaiyue Huang, Haihua Shen, and Jingyun Fang
Biogeosciences, 15, 693–702, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-693-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-693-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Plant carbon (C) content is critical to the assessment of the global C cycle. Our results showed that the global average C contents in organs were significantly lower than a canonical value of 50 %. Plant C content tended to decrease with increasing latitude, and life form explained more variation than climate. Our findings suggest that specific C content values of different organs and life forms should be incorporated into the estimations of regional and global vegetation biomass C stocks.
Martina Sollai, Ellen C. Hopmans, Nicole J. Bale, Anchelique Mets, Lisa Warden, Matthias Moros, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 14, 5789–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5789-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5789-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The Baltic Sea is characterized by recurring summer phytoplankton blooms, dominated by a few cyanobacterial species. These bacteria are able to use dinitrogen gas as the source for nitrogen and produce very specific lipids. We analyzed these lipids in a sediment core to study their presence over the past 7000 years. This reveals that cyanobacterial blooms have not only occurred in the last decades but were common at times when the Baltic was connected to the North Sea.
Cited articles
Allison, G. B., Gat, J. R., and Leaney, F. W. J.: The relationship between deuterium and oxygen-18 delta values in leaf water, Chem. Geol., 58, 145–156, 1985.
Altermatt, H. A. and Neish, A. C.: The biosynthesis of cell wall carbohydrates: III. further studies on formation of cellulose and xylan from labeled monosaccharides in wheat plants, Can. J. Biochem. Physiol., 34, 405–413, 1956.
Araguas-Araguas, L., Froehlich, K., and Rozanski, K.: Deuterium and oxygen-18 isotope composition of precipitation and atmospheric moisture, Hydrol. Process., 14, 1341–1355, 2000.
Bariac, T., Gonzales-Dunia, J., Katerji, N., Bethenod, O., Bertolini, J. M., and Mariotti, A.: Spatial variation of the isotopic composition of water (18O, 2H) in the soil-plant-atmosphere system, Chem. Geol., 115, 317–333, 1994.
Bianchi, T. and Canuel, E. A.: Chemical Biomarkers in Aquatic Ecosystems. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 392 pp., 2011.
Bowen, G. J.: The Online Isotopes in Precipitation Calculator, version 2.2., http://www.waterisotopes.org (last access: Please provide last access date.), 2012.
Bull, I. D., Nott, C. J., van Bergen, P. F., Poulton, P. R.,and Evershed, R. P.: Organic geochemical studies of soils from the Rothamsted classical experiments – VI, The occurrence and source of organic acids in an experimental grassland soil, Soil Biol. Biochem., 32, 1367–1376, 2000.
Burget, E., Verma, R., Mølhøj, M., and Reiter, W.: The biosynthesis of L-arabinose in plants: molecular cloning and characterization of a golgi-localized UDP-D-xylose 4-epimerase encoded by the MUR4 gene of arabidopsis, Plant Cell, 15, 523-531, 2003.
Burgos, J. J. and Vidal, A. L.: Los climas de la República Argentina, segun la nueva clasificación de Thornthwaite, Meteoros, 1, 1–32, 1951.
Cernusak, L. A., Wong, S. C., and Farquhar, G. D.: Oxygen isotope composition of phloem sap in relation to leaf water in Ricinus communis, Funct. Plant Biol., 30, 1059–1070, 2003.
Chikaraishi, Y. and Naraoka H.: δ13C and δD relationships among three n-alkyl compound classes (n-alkanoic acid, n-alkane and n-alkanol) of terrestrial higher plants, Org. Geochem., 38, 198–215, 2007.
Craig, H. and Gordon, L. I.: Deuterium and oxygene-18 variations in the ocean and the marine atmosphere, in: Conference on Stable Isotopes in Oceanographic Studies and Paleotemperatures, edited by: Tongiorgi, E., 9–130, Spoleto, Italy, 1965.
Dansgaard, W.: Stable isotopes in precipitation, Tellus, 16, 436–468, 1964.
Dongmann, G., Nürnberg, H. W., Förstel, H., and Wagener, K.: On the enrichment of H218O in the leaves of transpiring plants, Radiat. Environ. Bioph., 11, 41–52, 1974.
Douglas, P. M. J., Pagani, M., Brenner, M., Hodell, D. A., and Curtis, J. H.: Aridity and vegetation composition are important determinants of leaf-wax δD values in southeastern Mexico and Central America, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 97, 24–45, 2012.
Dubbert, M., Cuntz, M., Piayda, A., Maguás, and Werner, C.: Partitioning evapotranspiration - Testing the Craig and Gordon model with field measurements of oxygen isotope ratios of evaporative fluxes, J. Hydrol., 496, 142–153, 2013.
Eglinton, G. and Hamilton, R. J.: Leaf Epicuticular Waxes, Science, 156, 1322–1335, 1967.
Eglinton, T. I. and Eglinton, G.: Molecular proxies for paleoclimatology, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 275, 1–16, 2008.
Ehleringer, J. R. and Dawson, T. E. Water uptake by plants: perspectives from stable isotope composition, Plant Cell Environ., 15, 1073–1082, 1992.
Farquhar, G. D. and Lloyd, J.: Carbon and oxygene isotope effects in the exchange of carbon dioxide between terrestrial plants and the atmosphere, in: Stable isotopes and plant carbon-water relations, edited by: Ehleringer, J. R., Hall, A. E., Farquhar, G. D., Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, 47–70, 1993.
Farquhar, G. D., Cernusak, L. A.,and Barnes, B.: Heavy Water Fractionation during Transpiration, Plant Physiol., 143, 11–18, 2007.
Feakins, S. J. and Sessions, A. L.: Controls on the D/H ratios of plant leaf waxes in an arid ecosystem, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 74, 2128–2141, 2010.
Fernández, O. A. and Busso, C. A.: Arid and semi-arid rangelands: two thirds of Argentina, 41–60, RALA Report 200, 1997.
Flanagan, L. B., Comstock, J. P., and Ehleringer, J. R.: Comparison of modeled and observed environmental influences on the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of leaf water in Phaseolus vulgaris L., Plant Physiol., 96, 588–596, 1991.
Gamarra, B. and Kahmen, A.: Concentrations and δ2H values of cuticular n-alkanes vary significantly among plant organs, species and habitats in grasses from alpine and a temperated European grassland, Oecologia, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3278-6, 2015.
Gat, J. R.: Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes in the Hydrologic Cycle, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 24, 225–262, 1996.
Gat, J. R. and Bowser, C.: The heavy isotope enrichment of water in coupled evaporative systems, in: Stable Isotope Geochemistry: A Tribute to Samuel Epstein, edited by: Taylor, H. P., O'Neil, J. R., Kaplan, I. R., The Geochemical Society, Lancester, 159–168, 1991.
GeoINTA: Instituto Nacional de Technologia Agropecuaria Visualizador Integrado, available at: http://geointa.inta.gov.ar/visor/, last access: 01 August 2012.
Gessler, A., Brandes, E., Buchmann, N., Helle, G., Rennenberg, H., and Barnard, R. L.: Tracing carbon and oxygen isotope signals from newly assimilated sugars in the leaves to the tree-ring archive, Plant Cell Environ., 32, 780–795, 2009.
Greule, M., Hänsel, C., Bauermann, U., and Mosandl, A.: Feed additives: authenticity assessment using multicomponent-/multielement-isotope ratio mass spectrometry, Eur. Food Res. Technol., 227, 767–776, 2008.
Häggi, C., Zech, R., McIntyre, C., Zech, M., and Eglinton, T. I.: On the stratigraphic integrity of leaf-wax biomarkers in loess paleosols, Biogeosciences, 11, 2455–2463, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2455-2014, 2014.
Harper, A. and Bar-Peled, M.: Biosynthesis of UDP-xylose. Cloning and characterization of a novel Arabidopsis gene family, UXS, encoding soluble and putative membrane-bound UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase isoforms, Plant Physiol., 130, 2188–2198, 2002.
Hener, U., Brand, W. A., Hilkert, A. W., Juchelka, D., Mosandl, A., and Podebrad, F.: Simultaneous on-line analysis of 18O/16O and 13C/12C ratios of organic compounds using GC-pyrolysis-IRMS, Z. Lebensm. Untersuch. F. A, 206, 230–232, 1998.
Horita, J. and Wesolowski, D. J.: Liquid-vapor fractionation of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of water from the freezing to the critical temperature, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 58, 3425–3437, 1994.
Huang, Y., Shuman, B., Wang, Y., and Webb, T.: Hydrogen isotope ratios of individual lipids in lake sediments as novel tracers of climatic and environmental change: a surface sediment test, J. Paleolimnol., 31, 363–375, 2004.
Juchelka, D., Beck, T., Hener, U., Dettmar, F., and Mosandl, A.: Multidimensional Gas Chromatography Coupled On-Line with Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (MDGC-IRMS): Progress in the Analytical Authentication of Genuine Flavor Components, J. High Res. Chromatog., 21, 145–151, 1998.
Jung, J., Sewenig, S., Hener, U., and Mosandl, A.: Comprehensive authenticity assessment of lavender oils using multielement/multicomponent isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis and enantioselective multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Eur. Food Res. Technol., 220, 232–237, 2005.
Jung, J., Puff, B., Eberts, T., Hener, U., and Mosandl, A.: Reductive ester cleavage of acyl glycerides-GC-C/P-IRMS measurements of glycerol and fatty alcohols, Eur. Food Res. Technol., 225, 191–197, 2007.
Kahmen, A., Simonin, K., Tu, K. P., Merchant, A., Callister, A., Siegwolf, R., Dawson, T. E., and Arndt, S. K.: Effects of environmental parameters, leaf physiological properties and leaf water relations on leaf water δ18O enrichment in different Eucalyptus species, Plant Cell Environ., 31, 738–751, 2008.
Kahmen, A., Simonin K., Tu, K., Goldsmith, G. R., and Dawson, T. E.: The influence of species and growing conditions on the 18-O enrichment of leaf water and its impact on "effective path length", New Phytol., 184, 619–630, 2009.
Kahmen, A., Dawson, T. E., Vieth, A., and Sachse, D.: Leaf wax n-alkane δ D values are determined early in the ontogeny of Populus trichocarpa leaves when grown under controlled environmental conditions, Plant Cell Environ., 34, 1639–1651, 2011a.
Kahmen, A., Sachse, D., Arndt, S. K., Tu, K. P., Farrington, H., Vitousek, P. M., and Dawson, T. E.: Cellulose δ18O is an index of leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference (VPD) in tropical plants, P. Natl. Acad. Sci., 108, 1981–1986, 2011b.
Kahmen, A., Hoffmann, B., Schefuss, E., Arndt, S. K., Cernusak, L. A., West, J. B., and Sachse, D.: Leaf water deuterium enrichment shapes leaf wax n-alkane δ D values of angiosperm plants II: Observational evidence and global implications, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 111, 50–63, 2013a.
Kahmen, A., Schefuß, E., and Sachse, D.: Leaf water deuterium enrichment shapes leaf wax n-alkane δ D values of angiosperm plants I: Experimental evidence and mechanistic insights, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 111, 39–49, 2013b.
Kolattukudy, P.: Cutin biosynthesis in Vicia faba leaves – effect of age, Plant Physiol., 46, 759–760, 1970.
Le Houérou, H. N.: Climate change, drought and desertification, J. Arid Environ., 34, 133–185, 1996.
Matsumoto, K., Kawamura, K., Uchida, M., and Shibata, Y.: Radiocarbon content and stable carbon isotopic ratios of individual fatty acids in subsurface soils: Implication for selective microbial degradation and modification of soil organic matter, Geochem. J., 41, 483–492, 2007.
McInerney, F. A., Helliker, B. R., and Freeman, K. H.: Hydrogen isotope ratios of leaf wax n-alkanes in grasses are insensitive to transpiration, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 75, 541–554, 2011.
Merlivat, L.: Molecular diffusivities of H216O, HD16O, and H218O in gases, J. Chem. Phys., 69, 2864–2871, 1978.
Nguyen Tu, T. T., Egasse, C. L., Zeller, B., Bardoux, G. R., Biron, P., Ponge, J.-F., David, B., and Derenne, S.: Early degradation of plant alkanes in soils: A litterbag experiment using 13C-labelled leaves, Soil Biol. Biochem., 43, 2222–2228, 2011.
Pagani, M., Pedentchouk, N., Huber, M., Sluijs, A., and Schouten, S.: Arctic hydrology during global warming at the Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum, Nature, 442, 671–675, 2006.
Paruelo, J. M., Beltrán, A., Jobbágy, E., Sala, O. E., and Golluscio, R. A., The climate of Patagonia: general patterns and controls on biotic processes, Ecologia Austral, 8, 85–101, 1998.
Paul, D., Skrzypek, G., and Fórizs, I.: Normalization of measured stable isotopic compositions to isotope reference scales – a review, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 21, 3006–3014, 2007.
Pedentchouk, N., Sumner, W., Tipple, B., and Pagani, M.: delta C-13 and delta D compositions of n-alkanes from modern angiosperms and conifers: An experimental set up in central Washington State, USA, Org. Geochem., 39, 1066–1071, 2008.
Rao, Z., Zhu, Z., Jia, G., Henderson, A. C. G., Xue, Q., and Wang, S.: Compound specific δD values of long chain n-alkanes derived from terrestrial higher plants are indicative of the δ D of meteoric waters: Evidence from surface soils in eastern China, Org. Geochem., 40, 922–930, 2009.
Riederer, M. and Markstaedter, C.: Cuticular waxes: a critical assessment of current knowledge, in: Plant Cuticules – An Integrated Functional Approach, edited by: Kerstiens, K. G., BIOS Scientific Publishers, Oxford, 189–200, 1996
Rozanski, K., Araguas-Araguas, L., and Gonfiantini, R.: Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation, in: Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records, edited by: Swart, P. K., Lohmann, K.C., Mckenzie, J., and Savin, S., Geophysical Monograph 78, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC 20009, USA, 1–37, 1993.
Ruppenthal, M., Oelmann, Y., Francisco del Valle, H., and Wilcke, W.: Stable isotope ratios of nonexchangeable hydrogen in organic matter of soils and plants along a 2100-km climosequence in Argentina: New insights into soil organic matter sources and transformations?, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 152, 54–71, 2015.
Sachse, D., Radke, J., and Gleixner, G.: Hydrogen isotope ratios of recent lacustrine sedimentary n-alkanes record modern climate variability, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 68, 4877–4889, 2004.
Sachse, D., Radke, J., and Gleixner, G.: δD values of individual n-alkanes from terrestrial plants along a climatic gradient – Implications for the sedimentary biomarker record, Org. Geochem., 37, 469–483, 2006.
Sachse, D., Billault, I., Bowen, G. J., Chikaraishi, Y., Dawson, T. E., Feakins, S. J., Freeman, K. H., Magill, C. R., McInerney, F. A., van der Meer, M. T. J., Polissar, P., Robins, R. J., Sachs, J. P., Schmidt, H.-L., Sessions, A. L., White, J. W. C., West, J. B., and Kahmen, A.: Molecular Paleohydrology: Interpreting the Hydrogen-Isotopic Composition of Lipid Biomarkers from Photosynthesizing Organisms, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 40, 221–249, 2012.
Samuels, L., Kunst, L., and Jetter, R.: Sealing Plant Surfaces: Cuticular Wax Formation by Epidermal Cells, Annu. Rev. Plant Biol., 59, 683–707, 2008.
Sauer, P. E., Eglinton, T. I., Hayes, J. M., Schimmelmann, A., and Sessions, A. L.: Compound-specific D/H ratios of lipid biomarkers from sediments as a proxy for environmental and climatic conditions, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 65, 213–222, 2001.
Schefuss, E., Schouten, S., and Schneider, R. R.: Climatic controls on central African hydrology during the past 20 000 years, Nature, 437, 1003–1006, 2005.
Schmidt, H.-L., Werner, R. A., and Rossmann, A.: 18O pattern and biosynthesis of natural plant products, Phytochemistry, 58, 9–32, 2001.
Sessions, A. L., Burgoyne, T. W., Schimmelmann, A., and Hayes, J. M.: Fractionation of hydrogen isotopes in lipid biosynthesis, Org. Geochem., 30, 1193–1200, 1999.
Smith, F. A. and Freeman, K. H.: Influence of physiology and climate on δD of leaf wax n-alkanes from C3 and C4 grasses, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 70, 1172–1187, 2006.
Song X., Barbour M. M., Farquhar G. D., Vann D. R., and Helliker B. R.: Transpiration rate relates to within- and across-species variations in effective path length in a leaf water model of oxygene isotope enrichment, Plant Cell Environ., 36, 1338–1351, 2013.
Sternberg, L., DeNiro, M. J., and Savidge, R. A.: Oxygen isotope exchange between metabolites and water during biochemical reactions leading to cellulose synthesis, Plant Physiol., 82, 423–427, 1986.
Sternberg, L.: Comment on "Oxygen isotope ratios (18O/16O) of hemicellulose-derived sugar biomarkers in plants, soils and sediments as paleoclimate proxy I: Insight from a climate chamber experiment" by Zech et al. (2014), Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 141, 677–679, 2014.
Tierney, J. E., Russel, J. M., Huang, Y., Sinninghe Damsté, J. S., Hopmans, E. C., and Cohen, A. S.: Northern Hemisphere Controls on Tropical Southeast African Climate During the Past 60 000 Years, Science, 322, 252–255, 2008.
Tipple, B. J., Berke, M. A., Doman, C. E., Khachaturyan, S., and Ehleringer, J. R.: Leaf-wax n-alkanes record the plant-water environment at leaf flush, P. Natl. Acad. Sci., 110, 2659–2664, 2013.
Tuthorn, M., Zech, M., Ruppenthal, M., Oelmann, Y., Kahmen, A., Valle, H. C. F. D., Wilcke, W., and Glaser, B.: Oxygen isotope ratios (18O/16O) of hemicellulose-derived sugar biomarkers in plants, soils and sediments as paleoclimate proxy II: Insight from a climate transect study, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 126, 624–634, 2014.
Walker, C. D. and Brunel, J.-P.: Examining evapotranspiration in a semi-arid region using stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, J. Hydrol., 118, 55–75, 1990.
Waterhouse, J. S., Cheng, S., Juchelka, D., Loader, N. J., McCarroll, D., Switsur, V. R., and Gautam, L.: Position-specific measurement of oxygen isotope ratios in cellulose: Isotopic exchange during heterotrophic cellulose synthesis, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 112, 178–191, 2013.
Yakir, D.: Variations in the natural abundance of oxygen-18 and deuterium in plant carbohydrates, Plant Cell Environ., 15, 1005–1020, 1992.
Yakir, D. and DeNiro, M. J.: Oxygen and hydrogen isotope fractionation during cellulose metabolism in Lemna gibba L., Plant Physiol., 93, 325–332, 1990.
Yang, H., Liu, W., Leng, Q., Hren, M. T., and Pagani, M.: Variation in n-alkane δD values from terrestrial plants at high latitude: Implications for paleoclimate reconstruction, Org. Geochem., 42, 283–288, 2011.
Zech, M. and Glaser, B.: Compound-specific δ18O analyses of neutral sugars in soils using gas chromatography-pyrolysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry: problems, possible solutions and a first application, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 23, 3522–3532, 2009.
Zech, M., Pedentchouk, N., Buggle, B., Leiber, K., Kalbitz, K., Markovic, S. B., and Glaser, B.: Effect of leaf litter degradation and seasonality on D/H isotope ratios of n-alkane biomarkers, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 75, 4917–4928, 2011a.
Zech, M., Zech, R., Buggle, B., and Zöller, L.: Novel methodological approaches in loess research, interrogating biomarkers and compound-specific stable isotopes, Eiszeitalter & Gegenwart, Quaternary Sci. J., 60, 170–187, 2011b.
Zech, M., Rass, S., Buggle, B., Löscher, M., and Zöller, L.: Reconstruction of the late Quaternary paleoenvironment of the Nussloch loess paleosol sequence, Germany, using n-alkane biomarkers, Quaternary Res., 78, 326–335, 2012a.
Zech, M., Werner, R. A., Juchelka, D., Kalbitz, K., Buggle, B., and Glaser, B.: Absence of oxygen isotope fractionation/exchange of (hemi-) cellulose derived sugars during litter decomposition, Org. Geochem., 42, 1470–1475, 2012b.
Zech, M., Tuthorn, M., Detsch, F., Rozanski, K., Zech, R., Zoeller, L., Zech, W., and Glaser, B.: A 220 ka terrestrial δ18O and deuterium excess biomarker record from an eolian permafrost paleosol sequence, NE-Siberia, Chem. Geol., 360/361, 220–230, 2013.
Zech, M., Mayr, C., Tuthorn, M., Leiber-Sauheitl, K., and Glaser, B.: Oxygen isotope ratios (18O/16O) of hemicellulose-derived sugar biomarkers in plants, soils and sediments as paleoclimate proxy I: Insight from a climate chamber experiment, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 126, 614–623, 2014a.
Zech, M., Mayr, C., Tuthorn, M., Leiber-Sauheitl, K., and Glaser, B.: Reply to the comment of Sternberg on "Zech et al. (2014) Oxygen isotope ratios (18O/16O) of hemicellulose-derived sugar biomarkers in plants, soils and sediments as paleoclimate proxy I: Insight from a climate chamber experiment", GCA 126, 614–623, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 141, 680–682, 2014b.
Zech, M., Zech, R., Rozanski, K., Gleixner, G., and Zech, W.: Do n-alkane biomarkers in soils/sediments reflect the δ2H isotopic composition of precipitation? A case study from Mt. Kilimanjaro and implications for paleoaltimetry and paleoclimate research, Isotope in Environmental and Health Studies, accepted, 2015.
Zech, R., Zech, M., Markovic, S., Hambach, U., and Huang, Y.: Humid glacials, arid interglacials? Critical thoughts on pedogenesis and paleoclimate based on multi-proxy analyses of the loess-paleosol sequence Crvenka, Northern Serbia, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoecol., 387, 165–175, 2013.
Short summary
Stable water isotopes (18O/16O and 2H/1H) are invaluable proxies for paleoclimate research. Here we use a coupled 18O/16O and 2H/1H biomarker approach based on plant-derived sugars and n-alkanes. Applying this innovative approach to a topsoil transect allows for (i) calculating the deuterium-excess of leaf water as a proxy for relative humidity and (ii) calculating the plant source water isotopic composition (~precipitation). The approach is validated by the presented climate transect results.
Stable water isotopes (18O/16O and 2H/1H) are invaluable proxies for paleoclimate research. Here...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint