Articles | Volume 15, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5831-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5831-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
04 Oct 2018
Research article |
| 04 Oct 2018
| 04 Oct 2018
Quantification of lignin oxidation products as vegetation biomarkers in speleothems and cave drip water
Inken Heidke
Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz,
Duesbergweg 10–14, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Denis Scholz
Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz,
J.-J.-Becher-Weg 21, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Thorsten Hoffmann
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz,
Duesbergweg 10–14, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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Guo Li, Yafang Cheng, Uwe Kuhn, Rongjuan Xu, Yudong Yang, Hannah Meusel, Zhibin Wang, Nan Ma, Yusheng Wu, Meng Li, Jonathan Williams, Thorsten Hoffmann, Markus Ammann, Ulrich Pöschl, Min Shao, and Hang Su
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VOCs play a key role in atmospheric chemistry. Emission and deposition on soil have been suggested as important sources and sinks of atmospheric trace gases. The exchange characteristics and heterogeneous chemistry of VOCs on soil, however, are not well understood. We used a newly designed differential coated-wall flow tube system to investigate the long-term variability of bidirectional air–soil exchange of 13 VOCs at ambient air conditions of an urban background site in Beijing.
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Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2019-8, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2019-8, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Aerosol particles are a major public health concern, but particle properties contributing to their toxicity are not well known. Oxidising components such as peroxy acids might contribute significantly to particle toxicity. However, there is a lack of analytical methods for their characterisation. We synthesized three peroxy acids, developed an analysis method and showed that degradation affects peracid yield, likely leading to underestimation of their concentration in conventional analyses.
Ru-Jin Huang, Junji Cao, Yang Chen, Lu Yang, Jincan Shen, Qihua You, Kai Wang, Chunshui Lin, Wei Xu, Bo Gao, Yongjie Li, Qi Chen, Thorsten Hoffmann, Colin D. O'Dowd, Merete Bilde, and Marianne Glasius
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3447–3456, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3447-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3447-2018, 2018
Julian Rüdiger, Jan-Lukas Tirpitz, J. Maarten de Moor, Nicole Bobrowski, Alexandra Gutmann, Marco Liuzzo, Martha Ibarra, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2441–2457, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2441-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2441-2018, 2018
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Volcanic gas emission studies are important for monitoring active volcanoes, obtaining insights into subsurface processes and opening up an interesting domain for atmospheric chemistry investigations. Using an unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly called a drone, we were able to study various volcanic gases at sites which are typically too dangerous to access otherwise. The use of drones for volcano monitoring and gas measurements in harsh environments was successfully assessed.
Jonathan Liebmann, Einar Karu, Nicolas Sobanski, Jan Schuladen, Mikael Ehn, Simon Schallhart, Lauriane Quéléver, Heidi Hellen, Hannele Hakola, Thorsten Hoffmann, Jonathan Williams, Horst Fischer, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3799–3815, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3799-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3799-2018, 2018
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Using a newly developed experimental setup, we have made the first direct measurements (during autumn 2016) of NO3 reactivity in the Finnish boreal forest. The NO3 reactivity was generally very high (maximum value of 0.94/s) so that daytime reaction with organics was a substantial fraction of the NO3 loss. Observations of biogenic hydrocarbons (BVOCs) suggested a dominant role for monoterpenes in determining the NO3 reactivity, which displayed a strong vertical gradient between 8.5 and 25 m.
Hannah Meusel, Alexandra Tamm, Uwe Kuhn, Dianming Wu, Anna Lena Leifke, Sabine Fiedler, Nina Ruckteschler, Petya Yordanova, Naama Lang-Yona, Mira Pöhlker, Jos Lelieveld, Thorsten Hoffmann, Ulrich Pöschl, Hang Su, Bettina Weber, and Yafang Cheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 799–813, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-799-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-799-2018, 2018
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The photolysis of nitrous acid (HONO) forms the OH radical. However, not all sources are known. Recent studies showed that HONO can be emitted from soil but they did not evaluate the importance to the HONO budget. In this work HONO emissions from 43 soil and biological soil crust samples from Cyprus were measured in a dynamic chamber and extrapolated to the real atmosphere. A large fraction of the local missing source (published earlier; Meusel et al., 2016) could be assigned to soil emissions.
David Cabrera-Perez, Domenico Taraborrelli, Jos Lelieveld, Thorsten Hoffmann, and Andrea Pozzer
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-928, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-928, 2017
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Aromatic compounds are present in rural and urban atmospheres. The aim of this work is to disentangle the impacts of these compounds in different important atmospheric chemical species with the help of a numerical model. Aromatics have low impact OH, NOx and Ozone concentrations in the global scale (below 4 %). The impact however is larger in the regional scale (up to 10 %). The largest impact is in glyoxal and NO3 concentrations, with changes up to 10 % globally and 40 % regionally.
Hannah Meusel, Yasin Elshorbany, Uwe Kuhn, Thorsten Bartels-Rausch, Kathrin Reinmuth-Selzle, Christopher J. Kampf, Guo Li, Xiaoxiang Wang, Jos Lelieveld, Ulrich Pöschl, Thorsten Hoffmann, Hang Su, Markus Ammann, and Yafang Cheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11819–11833, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11819-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11819-2017, 2017
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In this study we investigated protein nitration and decomposition by light in the presence of NO2 via flow tube measurements. Nitrated proteins have an enhanced allergenic potential but so far nitration was only studied in dark conditions. Under irradiated conditions we found that proteins predominantly decompose while forming nitrous acid (HONO) an important precursor of the OH radical. Unlike other studies on heterogeneous NO2 conversion we found a stable HONO formation over a long period.
Martin Brüggemann, Laurent Poulain, Andreas Held, Torsten Stelzer, Christoph Zuth, Stefanie Richters, Anke Mutzel, Dominik van Pinxteren, Yoshiteru Iinuma, Sarmite Katkevica, René Rabe, Hartmut Herrmann, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 1453–1469, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1453-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-1453-2017, 2017
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Using complementary mass spectrometric techniques during a field study in central Europe, characteristic contributors to the organic aerosol mass were identified. Besides common marker compounds for biogenic secondary organic aerosol, highly oxidized sulfur species were detected in the particle phase. High-time-resolution measurements revealed correlations between these organosulfates and particulate sulfate as well as gas-phase peroxyradicals, giving hints to underlying formation mechanisms.
Hannah Meusel, Uwe Kuhn, Andreas Reiffs, Chinmay Mallik, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez, Jan Schuladen, Birger Bohn, Uwe Parchatka, John N. Crowley, Horst Fischer, Laura Tomsche, Anna Novelli, Thorsten Hoffmann, Ruud H. H. Janssen, Oscar Hartogensis, Michael Pikridas, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, Bettina Weber, Jos Lelieveld, Jonathan Williams, Ulrich Pöschl, Yafang Cheng, and Hang Su
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14475–14493, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14475-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14475-2016, 2016
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There are many studies which show discrepancies between modeled and measured nitrous acid (HONO, precursor of OH radical) in the troposphere but with no satisfactory explanation. Ideal conditions to study the unknown sources of HONO were found on Cyprus, a remote Mediterranean island. Budget analysis of trace gas measurements indicates a common source of NO and HONO, which is not related to anthropogenic activity and is most likely derived from biologic activity in soils and subsequent emission.
Guo Li, Hang Su, Xin Li, Uwe Kuhn, Hannah Meusel, Thorsten Hoffmann, Markus Ammann, Ulrich Pöschl, Min Shao, and Yafang Cheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10299–10311, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10299-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10299-2016, 2016
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Indoor and outdoor formaldehyde (HCHO) are both of considerable concern because of its health effects and its role in atmospheric chemistry. The heterogeneous reactions between gaseous HCHO with soils can pose important impact on both HCHO budget and soil ecosystem. Our results confirms that HCHO uptake by soil is a complex process involving both adsorption/desorption and chemical reactions. Soil and soil-derived airborne particles can either act as a source or a sink for HCHO.
R. Oswald, M. Ermel, K. Hens, A. Novelli, H. G. Ouwersloot, P. Paasonen, T. Petäjä, M. Sipilä, P. Keronen, J. Bäck, R. Königstedt, Z. Hosaynali Beygi, H. Fischer, B. Bohn, D. Kubistin, H. Harder, M. Martinez, J. Williams, T. Hoffmann, I. Trebs, and M. Sörgel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 799–813, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-799-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-799-2015, 2015
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Nitrous acid (HONO) is a key species in atmospheric photochemistry since the photolysis leads to the important hydroxyl radical (OH). Although the importance of HONO as a precursor of OH is known, the formation pathways of HONO, especially during daytime, are a major challenge in atmospheric science. We present a detailed analysis of sources and sinks for HONO in the atmosphere for a field measurement campaign in the boreal forest in Finland and wonder if there is really a source term missing.
U. R. Thorenz, L. J. Carpenter, R.-J. Huang, M. Kundel, J. Bosle, and T. Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13327–13335, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13327-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13327-2014, 2014
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Phytoplankton suspensions were treated with high and low ozone levels, and volatile iodine (I2)-containing compounds were measured. Iodocarbon emissions were independent of the ozone level. I2 emission showed a strong dependency on the ozone level in the air as well as on the iodide concentration in the sample suspension. The experiments show that microalgae suspensions are capable of emitting I2 by the reaction of ozone with dissolved iodide at the air-water interface under natural conditions.
R.-J. Huang, W.-B. Li, Y.-R. Wang, Q. Y. Wang, W. T. Jia, K.-F. Ho, J. J. Cao, G. H. Wang, X. Chen, I. EI Haddad, Z. X. Zhuang, X. R. Wang, A. S. H. Prévôt, C. D. O'Dowd, and T. Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2027–2035, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2027-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2027-2014, 2014
J. Wildt, T. F. Mentel, A. Kiendler-Scharr, T. Hoffmann, S. Andres, M. Ehn, E. Kleist, P. Müsgen, F. Rohrer, Y. Rudich, M. Springer, R. Tillmann, and A. Wahner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2789–2804, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2789-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2789-2014, 2014
G. Lohmann, A. Wackerbarth, P. M. Langebroek, M. Werner, J. Fohlmeister, D. Scholz, and A. Mangini
Clim. Past, 9, 89–98, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-89-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-89-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Paleobiogeoscience: Organic Biomarkers
Locally Produced Sedimentary Biomarkers in High-Altitude Catchments Outweigh Upstream River Transport in Sedimentary Archives
Comparison of paleobotanical and biomarker records of mountain peatland and forest ecosystem dynamics over the last 2600 years in central Germany
Hyperspectral imaging sediment core scanning tracks high-resolution Holocene variations in (an)oxygenic phototrophic communities at Lake Cadagno, Swiss Alps
A Holocene temperature (brGDGT) record from Garba Guracha, a high-altitude lake in Ethiopia
Human and livestock faecal biomarkers at the prehistorical encampment site of Ullafelsen in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria – potential and limitations
The influence of lateral transport on sedimentary alkenone paleoproxy signals
Exploring the use of compound-specific carbon isotopes as a palaeoproductivity proxy off the coast of Adélie Land, East Antarctica
Development of global temperature and pH calibrations based on bacterial 3-hydroxy fatty acids in soils
Lignin oxidation products in soil, dripwater and speleothems from four different sites in New Zealand
From leaf to soil: n-alkane signal preservation, despite degradation along an environmental gradient in the tropical Andes
Comparison of the U37K′, LDI, TEX86H, and RI-OH temperature proxies in sediments from the northern shelf of the South China Sea
Reconstructing N2-fixing cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea beyond observations using 6- and 7-methylheptadecane in sediments as specific biomarkers
Highly branched isoprenoids for Southern Ocean sea ice reconstructions: a pilot study from the Western Antarctic Peninsula
Organic signatures in Pleistocene cherts from Lake Magadi (Kenya) – implications for early Earth hydrothermal deposits
Biomarker evidence for the occurrence of anaerobic ammonium oxidation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during Quaternary and Pliocene sapropel formation
Ideas and perspectives: hydrothermally driven redistribution and sequestration of early Archaean biomass – the “hydrothermal pump hypothesis”
Ubiquitous production of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) in global marine environments: a new source indicator for brGDGTs
Diploptene δ13C values from contemporary thermokarst lake sediments show complex spatial variation
Improved end-member characterisation of modern organic matter pools in the Ohrid Basin (Albania, Macedonia) and evaluation of new palaeoenvironmental proxies
Assessing the potential of amino acid 13C patterns as a carbon source tracer in marine sediments: effects of algal growth conditions and sedimentary diagenesis
Distribution of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in surface soils of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau: implications of brGDGTs-based proxies in cold and dry regions
Biostratigraphic evidence for dramatic Holocene uplift of Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Ridge, SE Pacific Ocean
A laboratory experiment on the behaviour of soil-derived core and intact polar GDGTs in aquatic environments
Transport of branched tetraether lipids from the Tagus River basin to the coastal ocean of the Portuguese margin: consequences for the interpretation of the MBT'/CBT paleothermometer
Bacteriohopanepolyols record stratification, nitrogen fixation and other biogeochemical perturbations in Holocene sediments of the central Baltic Sea
Determination of the molecular signature of fossil conifers by experimental palaeochemotaxonomy – Part 1: The Araucariaceae family
Imbalanced nutrients as triggers for black shale formation in a shallow shelf setting during the OAE 2 (Wunstorf, Germany)
Occurrence and distribution of ladderane oxidation products in different oceanic regimes
Growth phase dependent hydrogen isotopic fractionation in alkenone-producing haptophytes
Alex Brittingham, Michael T. Hren, Sam Spitzschuch, Phil Glauberman, Yonaton Goldsmith, Boris Gasparyan, and Ariel Malinsky-Buller
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-724, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-724, 2024
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Plant molecules, also called biomarkers, are a tool used for reconstructing climates in the past. In this study, we collected soils and stream sediments in a river catchment in Armenia in order to determine how these molecules move before deposition. We found that trees and grasses produce distinct biomarkers but these are not incorporated equally into stream sediments. Instead, biomarkers from deciduous trees overprint any upstream transport of grass biomarkers.
Carrie L. Thomas, Boris Jansen, Sambor Czerwiński, Mariusz Gałka, Klaus-Holger Knorr, E. Emiel van Loon, Markus Egli, and Guido L. B. Wiesenberg
Biogeosciences, 20, 4893–4914, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4893-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4893-2023, 2023
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Peatlands are vital terrestrial ecosystems that can serve as archives, preserving records of past vegetation and climate. We reconstructed the vegetation history over the last 2600 years of the Beerberg peatland and surrounding area in the Thuringian Forest in Germany using multiple analyses. We found that, although the forest composition transitioned and human influence increased, the peatland remained relatively stable until more recent times, when drainage and dust deposition had an impact.
Paul D. Zander, Stefanie B. Wirth, Adrian Gilli, Sandro Peduzzi, and Martin Grosjean
Biogeosciences, 20, 2221–2235, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2221-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2221-2023, 2023
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This study shows, for the first time, that hyperspectral imaging can detect bacteriochlorophyll pigments produced by green sulfur bacteria in sediment cores. We tested our method on cores from Lake Cadagno, Switzerland, and were able to reconstruct high-resolution variations in the abundance of green and purple sulfur bacteria over the past 12 700 years. Climate conditions, flood events, and land use had major impacts on the lake’s biogeochemical conditions over short and long timescales.
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
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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, 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
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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.
Blanca Ausín, Negar Haghipour, Elena Bruni, and Timothy Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 19, 613–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-613-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-613-2022, 2022
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The preservation and distribution of alkenones – organic molecules produced by marine algae – in marine sediments allows us to reconstruct past variations in sea surface temperature, primary productivity and CO2. Here, we explore the impact of remobilization and lateral transport of sedimentary alkenones on their fate in marine sediments. We demonstrate the pervasive influence of these processes on alkenone-derived environmental signals, compromising the reliability of related paleorecords.
Kate E. Ashley, Xavier Crosta, Johan Etourneau, Philippine Campagne, Harry Gilchrist, Uthmaan Ibraheem, Sarah E. Greene, Sabine Schmidt, Yvette Eley, Guillaume Massé, and James Bendle
Biogeosciences, 18, 5555–5571, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5555-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5555-2021, 2021
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We explore the potential for the use of carbon isotopes of algal fatty acid as a new proxy for past primary productivity in Antarctic coastal zones. Coastal polynyas are hotspots of primary productivity and are known to draw down CO2 from the atmosphere. Reconstructions of past productivity changes could provide a baseline for the role of these areas as sinks for atmospheric CO2.
Pierre Véquaud, Sylvie Derenne, Alexandre Thibault, Christelle Anquetil, Giuliano Bonanomi, Sylvie Collin, Sergio Contreras, Andrew T. Nottingham, Pierre Sabatier, Norma Salinas, Wesley P. Scott, Josef P. Werne, and Arnaud Huguet
Biogeosciences, 18, 3937–3959, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3937-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3937-2021, 2021
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A better understanding of past climate variations is essential to apprehend future climatic changes. The aim of this study is to investigate the applicability of specific organic compounds of bacterial origin, 3-hydroxy fatty acids (3-OH FAs), as temperature and pH proxies at the global level using an extended soil dataset. We show the major potential of 3-OH FAs as such proxies in terrestrial environments through the different models presented and their application for palaeoreconstruction.
Inken Heidke, Adam Hartland, Denis Scholz, Andrew Pearson, John Hellstrom, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 18, 2289–2300, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2289-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2289-2021, 2021
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We analyzed lignin oxidation products (LOPs) in leaf litter and different soil horizons as well as dripwater and flowstone samples from four different cave sites from different vegetation zones in New Zealand using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. We test whether the original source-dependent LOP signal of the overlying vegetation is preserved and can be recovered from flowstone samples and investigate how the signal is altered by the transport from the soil to the cave.
Milan L. Teunissen van Manen, Boris Jansen, Francisco Cuesta, Susana León-Yánez, and William D. Gosling
Biogeosciences, 17, 5465–5487, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5465-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5465-2020, 2020
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We measured plant wax in leaves and soils along an environmental gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes. These data show how the wax composition changes as the plant material degrades in different environments. Local temperature is reflected in the wax despite the level degradation. The study results warrant further research into a possible causal relationship that may lead to the development of n-alkane patterns as a novel palaeoecological proxy.
Bingbing Wei, Guodong Jia, Jens Hefter, Manyu Kang, Eunmi Park, Shizhu Wang, and Gesine Mollenhauer
Biogeosciences, 17, 4489–4508, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4489-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4489-2020, 2020
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This research reports the applicability of four organic temperature proxies (U37K', LDI, TEX86H, and RI-OH) to the northern South China Sea shelf. The comparison with local sea surface temperature (SST) indicates the impact of terrestrial input on LDI, TEX86H, and RI-OH proxies near the coast. After excluding samples influenced by terrestrial materials, proxy temperatures exhibit different seasonality, providing valuable tools to reconstruct regional SSTs under different monsoonal conditions.
Jérôme Kaiser, Norbert Wasmund, Mati Kahru, Anna K. Wittenborn, Regina Hansen, Katharina Häusler, Matthias Moros, Detlef Schulz-Bull, and Helge W. Arz
Biogeosciences, 17, 2579–2591, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2579-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2579-2020, 2020
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Cyanobacterial blooms represent a threat to the Baltic Sea ecosystem, causing deoxygenation of the bottom water. In order to understand the natural versus anthropogenic factors driving these blooms, it is necessary to study long-term trends beyond observations. We have produced a record of cyanobacterial blooms since 1860 using organic molecules (biomarkers) preserved in sediments. Cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea are likely mainly related to temperature variability.
Maria-Elena Vorrath, Juliane Müller, Oliver Esper, Gesine Mollenhauer, Christian Haas, Enno Schefuß, and Kirsten Fahl
Biogeosciences, 16, 2961–2981, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2961-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2961-2019, 2019
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The study highlights new approaches in the investigation of past sea ice in Antarctica to reconstruct the climate conditions in earth's history and reveal its future development under global warming. We examined the distribution of organic remains from different algae at the Western Antarctic Peninsula and compared it to fossil and satellite records. We evaluated IPSO25 – the sea ice proxy for the Southern Ocean with 25 carbon atoms – as a useful tool for sea ice reconstructions in this region.
Manuel Reinhardt, Walter Goetz, Jan-Peter Duda, Christine Heim, Joachim Reitner, and Volker Thiel
Biogeosciences, 16, 2443–2465, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2443-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2443-2019, 2019
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Organic matter in Archean hydrothermal cherts may contain molecular traces of early life. Alteration processes during and after deposition, however, may have obliterated potential biosignatures. Our results from modern analog samples (Pleistocene cherts from Lake Magadi, Kenya) show that biomolecules can survive early hydrothermal destruction in the macromolecular fraction of the organic matter. A conservation of molecular biosignatures in Archean hydrothermal cherts therefore seems possible.
Darci Rush, Helen M. Talbot, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Ellen C. Hopmans, Ben Douglas, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 16, 2467–2479, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2467-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2467-2019, 2019
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Sapropels are layers of sediment that regularly occur in the Mediterranean. They indicate periods when the Mediterranean Sea water contained no oxygen, a gas vital for most large organisms. This research investigated a key process in the nitrogen cycle (anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox), which removes nitrogen – an important nutrient to algae – from the water, during sapropel events. Using lipids to trace this process, we found that anammox was active during the no-oxygen times.
Jan-Peter Duda, Volker Thiel, Thorsten Bauersachs, Helge Mißbach, Manuel Reinhardt, Nadine Schäfer, Martin J. Van Kranendonk, and Joachim Reitner
Biogeosciences, 15, 1535–1548, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1535-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1535-2018, 2018
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The origin of organic matter in the oldest rocks on Earth is commonly ambiguous (biotic vs. abiotic). This problem culminates in the case of hydrothermal chert veins that contain abundant organic matter. Here we demonstrate a microbial origin of kerogen embedded in a 3.5 Gyr old hydrothermal chert vein. We explain this finding with the large-scale redistribution of biomass by hydrothermal fluids, emphasizing the interplay between biological and abiological processes on the early Earth.
Wenjie Xiao, Yinghui Wang, Shangzhe Zhou, Limin Hu, Huan Yang, and Yunping Xu
Biogeosciences, 13, 5883–5894, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5883-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5883-2016, 2016
Kimberley L. Davies, Richard D. Pancost, Mary E. Edwards, Katey M. Walter Anthony, Peter G. Langdon, and Lidia Chaves Torres
Biogeosciences, 13, 2611–2621, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2611-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2611-2016, 2016
J. Holtvoeth, D. Rushworth, H. Copsey, A. Imeri, M. Cara, H. Vogel, T. Wagner, and G. A. Wolff
Biogeosciences, 13, 795–816, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-795-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-795-2016, 2016
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Lake Ohrid is situated in the southern Balkans between Albania and Macedonia. It is a unique ecosystem with remarkable biodiversity and a sediment record of past climates that goes back more than a million years. Detailed reconstructions of past climate development and human alteration of the environment require underpinned and so in this study we go the present-day lake vegetation and catchment soils and test new proxies over one of the known recent cooling events of the region 8200 years ago.
T. Larsen, L. T. Bach, R. Salvatteci, Y. V. Wang, N. Andersen, M. Ventura, and M. D. McCarthy
Biogeosciences, 12, 4979–4992, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4979-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4979-2015, 2015
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A tiny fraction of marine algae escapes decomposition and is buried in sediments. Since tools are needed to track the fate of algal organic carbon, we tested whether naturally occurring isotope variability among amino acids from algae and bacteria can be used as source diagnostic fingerprints. We found that isotope fingerprints track algal amino acid sources with high fidelity across different growth conditions, and that the fingerprints can be used to quantify bacterial amino acids in sediment.
S. Ding, Y. Xu, Y. Wang, Y. He, J. Hou, L. Chen, and J.-S. He
Biogeosciences, 12, 3141–3151, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3141-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3141-2015, 2015
P. Sepúlveda, J. P. Le Roux, L. E. Lara, G. Orozco, and V. Astudillo
Biogeosciences, 12, 1993–2001, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1993-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1993-2015, 2015
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
C. Zell, J.-H. Kim, M. Balsinha, D. Dorhout, C. Fernandes, M. Baas, and J. S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 11, 5637–5655, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-5637-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-5637-2014, 2014
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Short summary
We developed a sensitive method to analyze the lignin composition of organic traces contained in speleothems. Lignin is a main constituent of woody plants and its composition contains information about the type of vegetation. This method offers new possibilities to reconstruct the vegetation of past millennia since it combines the advantages of lignin analysis as a highly specific vegetation biomarker with the benefits of speleothems as unique terrestrial climate archives.
We developed a sensitive method to analyze the lignin composition of organic traces contained in...
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