Articles | Volume 22, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6563-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-22-6563-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Nov 2025
Research article |
| 06 Nov 2025
| 06 Nov 2025
Bacteriohopanepolyols track past environmental transitions in the Black Sea
Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, the Netherlands
Department of Geography, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
Nora Richter
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, the Netherlands
Department of Surface Waters Research and Management, EAWAG Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Nicole Bale
Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, the Netherlands
Stefan Schouten
Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, the Netherlands
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Darci Rush
Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, the Netherlands
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Short summary
This study uses bacterial compounds, bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs), preserved in Black Sea sediments to trace major environmental changes over the past 20 000 years. As the basin shifted from a freshwater lake to a permanently oxygen-poor marine environment, we observe clear changes in bacterial communities and environmental conditions. These findings offer new insight into how microbes responded to significant hydrological changes during the last deglaciation and Holocene.
This study uses bacterial compounds, bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs), preserved in Black Sea...
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