More Like this

1. Diatom-derived highly branched isoprenoids are diverse and widespread in lakes

   Diefendorf, A; Dietrich, W; Naake, H; Corcoran, M; Kmetz, A; Lowell, T; Schenk, M; Wiles, G; Wilson, M (April 2025, Organic geochemistry)

   Diatom-derived highly branched isoprenoid lipids (HBIs) are found extensively in marine sediments, but to date are only reported in a few lacustrine sediments. To expand on prior lake studies, we collected lake surface sediment samples, water samples, and filtered photic zone water from 50 lakes from the Great Plains to the northeastern United States. Samples were collected in May and June and a few sites were revisited in September and October. Studied lakes vary in climate, water chemistry (e.g., pH, salinity, alkalinity), size, and trophic states. They also vary in their diatom species compositions with 344 diatom taxa reported. We characterized HBI assemblages in each lake and found 11 different HBI compounds including one C20:0 HBI, five C20:1 HBI isomers, C21:0 HBI, C25:2 HBI, two C25:3 HBIs, and C25:4 HBI. C20:0 HBI was present in all but two lakes and was often the most abundant HBI present. HBIs were also detected in nearly all the water filter samples indicating they are produced in the photic zone. C20:0 HBI was present in all freshwater lakes, but not present or at very low con- centration in the highest salinity lakes, which were dominated by C21:0 HBI and C25 HBIs. Many of the lakes were dominated by diatom genera and species that are not known to be HBI-producing genera, suggesting there are unrecognized HBI-producing diatom taxa. This inventory, illustrating the widespread presence and diversity of HBIs from lakes across large differences in water chemistries and climate, further suggests that HBIs may be useful diatom biomarkers for paleoclimate applications. 

   more » « less
2. Seasonal and latitudinal variations in sea ice algae deposition in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas determined by algal biomarkers

   Wegner Koch, Chelsea; Cooper, Lee W.; Lalande, Catherine; Brown, Thomas A.; Frey, Karen E.; Grebmeier, Jacqueline M. (April 2020, PloS one)

   An assessment of the production, distribution and fate of highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) biomarkers produced by sea ice and pelagic diatoms is necessary to interpret their detection and proportions in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. HBIs measured in surface sediments collected from 2012 to 2017 were used to determine the distribution and seasonality of the biomarkers relative to sea ice patterns. A northward gradient of increasing ice algae deposition was observed with localized occurrences of elevated IP25 (sympagic HBI) concentrations from 68–70˚N and consistently strong sympagic signatures from 71–72.5˚N. A declining sympagic signature was observed from 2012 to 2017 in the northeast Chukchi Sea, coincident with declining sea ice concentrations. HBI fluxes were investigated on the northeast Chukchi shelf with a moored sediment trap deployed from August 2015 to July 2016. Fluxes of sea ice exclusive diatoms (Nitzschia frigida and Melosira arctica) and HBI producing taxa (Pleurosigma, Haslea and Rhizosolenia spp.) were measured to confirm HBI sources and ice associations. IP25 was detected year-round, increasing in March 2016 (10 ng m-2 d-1) and reaching a maximum in July 2016 (1331 ng m-2 d-1). Snowmelt triggered the release of sea ice algae into the water column in May 2016, while under-ice pelagic production contributed to the diatom export in June and July 2016. Sea ice diatom fluxes were strongly correlated with the IP25 flux, however associations between pelagic diatoms and HBI fluxes were inconclusive. Bioturbation likely facilitates sustained burial of sympagic organic matter on the shelf despite the occurrence of pelagic diatom blooms. These results suggest that sympagic diatoms may sustain the food web through winter on the northeast Chukchi shelf. The reduced relative proportions of sympagic HBIs in the northern Bering Sea are likely driven by sea ice persistence in the region. 

   more » « less
3. Using a Paired Chironomid δ ¹⁸ O and Aquatic Leaf Wax δ ² H Approach to Reconstruct Seasonality on Western Greenland During the Holocene

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2020PA004169  

   Corcoran, Megan_C; Thomas, Elizabeth_K; Morrill, Carrie (April 2021, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology)

   Abstract The Arctic hydrological cycle is predicted to intensify as the Arctic warms, due to increased poleward moisture transport during summer and increased evaporation from seas once ice‐covered during winter. Records of past Arctic precipitation seasonality are important because they provide a context for these ongoing changes. In some Arctic lakes, stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ¹⁸O and δ²H, respectively) vary seasonally, due to seasonal changes in precipitation δ¹⁸O and δ²H. We reconstruct precipitation seasonality from Lake N3, a well‐dated lake sediment archive in Disko Bugt, western Greenland, by generating Holocene records of two proxies that are produced at different times of the year, and therefore record different lake water seasonal isotopic compositions. Aquatic plants synthesize waxes throughout the summer, and their δ²H reflects winter‐biased precipitation δ²H at Lake N3, whereas chironomids synthesize their head capsules between late summer and winter, and their δ¹⁸O reflects summer‐biased precipitation δ¹⁸O at Lake N3. During the middle Holocene at Lake N3, aquatic plant leaf wax was strongly²H‐depleted, while chironomid chitin was¹⁸O‐enriched. We guide interpretations of these records using sensitivity tests of a lake water and energy balance model, where we change precipitation amount and isotope seasonality inputs. The sensitivity tests suggest that the contrasting trends between proxies were likely caused by an increase in precipitation amount during all seasons and an increase in precipitation isotope seasonality, in addition to proxy‐specific mechanisms, highlighting the importance of understanding lake‐ and proxy‐specific systematics when interpreting records from sediment archives. 

   more » « less
4. A 1,800-year Air Temperature Record from the Tropical Andean Highlands based on Branched GDGTs from Lake Chacacocha, Peru

   Jarunetr (December 2022, Transactions American Geophysical Union)

   Late Holocene air temperature of the tropical Andean highlands is poorly constrained. Most inferences of past temperature from this region are either qualitatively inferred from environmental proxies such as pollen, moraines, and XRF, or derived from proxies with multiple climatic drivers such as ice core oxygen isotopes. Historical temperature records are either short or nonexistent. Here we present a quantitative reconstruction of air temperature based on branched Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraethers (br-GDGTs) derived from sediments of Lake Chacacocha, southeastern Peru (13.96 S, 71.08 W; 4,860 m asl). Chacacocha’s catchment and lake remain above freezing for most of the year. Thus, we interpret calibrated temperatures to reflect mean annual air temperature, though potentially with a bias towards months with more water column mixing. The Chacacocha br-GDGT record suggests a cooling trend after the first millennium, beginning prior to the cooling recorded in global temperature reconstructions. However, a multi-centennial cooling event between 400-600 CE appears to be the strongest centennial-scale cooling of the Common Era, unlike global temperature but in agreement with regional pollen and other paleoenvironmental proxies. The Chacacocha br-GDGT record exhibits striking similarity to a diatom-inferred lake stratification reconstruction and bulk carbon isotopes from the same sediment core, suggesting that the aquatic ecosystem and the surrounding environment responded to air temperature changes. We also compare and contextualize our lacustrine br-GDGT record using br-GDGTs from nearby peatlands and soil, isoprenoid GDGTs from nearby Lake Sibinacocha, and the hydrogen and carbon isotope composition of leaf waxes from the same sediment core. Our results help to illuminate long-term temperature change and its impacts on tropical Andean environments. 

   more » « less
5. Variability of plant wax concentrations and carbon isotope values in surface lake sediments provide clues into their transport and deposition

   Bates, B.R.; Lowell, T.V.; Diefendorf, A.F.; Freimuth, E.J.; Stewart, A.K. (December 2017, AGU Fall Meeting 2017)

   Plant wax compounds preserved in lake sediments are used as proxies for paleohydrologic reconstructions. Despite their presence in lake sediments, little is known about their transport from plants to their deposition in lake sediments. By drawing on the leaf and pollen taphonomy literature combined with sediment focusing models, it is possible to develop several working hypotheses for the transport and deposition of plant waxes in lake sediments. An improved understanding of plant wax transport and deposition into lake sediments is necessary to increase the accuracy of paleohydrologic reconstructions. To better understand the controls on plant wax transport and deposition in lake sediment, we analyzed the sedimentary plant waxes from 3 lakes in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. These lakes were chosen to capture a range of basin-specific properties to evaluate their influences on the transport and deposition of plant wax compounds in surface sediments. We spatially characterized sediment properties with surface sediment samples and high-resolution underwater imaging, acoustically profiled the sub-bottom, and measured temperature profiles. From each site, we measured n-alkanes, bulk organic content (loss-on-ignition), bulk carbon and nitrogen concentrations, C:N ratios, and bulk carbon isotopes. Preliminary n-alkane concentrations and chain length distributions, as well as bulk carbon isotopes, are variable within each lake basin suggesting a mix of aquatic and terrestrial sources. The bulk carbon isotope values for two of the three lakes show a similar range of -2‰ compared to a range of -6.3‰ at the third lake. Likewise, the range of total n-alkane concentrations is much higher in the third lake suggesting that the controls on the distribution of n-alkanes and organic carbon are different between lakes. For terrestrial plant waxes, we find low n-alkane concentrations in sandy nearshore sediments relative to higher n-alkane concentrations in deeper fine-grained sediments. Combined, this information suggests that littoral processes focus organic compounds and fine sediments towards the main depo-center of the lake. These and other observations highlight important relationships between basin-specific properties and processes controlling the transport and deposition of plant wax compounds. 

   more » « less