Archaeal membrane lipid-based paleothermometry for applications in polar oceans
Date
2020-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Oceanography Society
Abstract
To establish whether ongoing climate change is outside the range of natural variability and a result of anthropogenic inputs, it is essential to reconstruct past oceanic and atmospheric temperatures for comparison with the modern world. Reconstructing past temperatures is a complex endeavor that employs indirect proxy indicators. Over the past two decades, promising paleothermometers have been developed that use isoprenoidal glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (isoGDGTs) from the membrane lipids of archaea preserved in marine sediments. These proxies are based on the observed relationship between lipid structure and temperature. As with all proxy indicators, observed relationships are often complex. Here, we focus on the application of isoGDGT paleotemperature proxies in the polar oceans, critical components of the global climate system. We discuss the application of and caveats regarding these archaeal membrane lipid-derived proxies and make recommendations to improve isoGDGT-derived polar ocean temperature reconstructions. We also review initial successes using hydroxylated (OH) isoGDGTs proxies in cold Arctic and Southern Ocean regions and recommend that multi-proxy approaches, including both hydroxylated and non-hydroxylated isoGDGTs, be used to contribute to the robustness of paleotemperature reconstructions.
Description
CITATION: Fietz, S., Ho, S. L. & Huguet, C. 2020. Archaeal membrane lipid-based paleothermometry for applications in polar oceans. Oceanography, 33(2):104–114, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2020.207.
The original publication is available at https://tos.org
The original publication is available at https://tos.org
Keywords
Polar oceans, Reconstructing past temperatures, Paleothermometry
Citation
Fietz, S., Ho, S. L. & Huguet, C. 2020. Archaeal membrane lipid-based paleothermometry for applications in polar oceans. Oceanography, 33(2):104–114, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2020.207.