TY - JOUR A1 - Romero-Viana, Lidia A1 - Kienel, Ulrike A1 - Wilkes, Heinz A1 - Sachse, Dirk T1 - Growth-dependent hydrogen isotopic fractionation of algal lipid biomarkers in hypersaline Isabel Lake (Mexico) JF - Geochimica et cosmochimica acta : journal of the Geochemical Society and the Meteoritical Society N2 - In this study, we evaluated the potential of the hydrogen isotopic composition of algal lipid biomarkers as a proxy for past hydroclimatic variability in hypersaline Isabel Lake, Mexico (Eastern Pacific). We compared rainfall variability recorded in the region over the last 65 years with changes in delta D values of the most abundant compounds preserved in the uppermost 16 cm of lake sediment. Changes in delta D values of the 1,15-C-32 diol (delta D-diol), a specific biomarker of algal populations, were related to rainfall variability; specifically, n-alkyl diols were more deuterium-enriched (depleted) during wetter (drier) periods. Strikingly, neither the magnitude of lipid biomarker isotopic changes over interannual timescales (of up to 70-80 parts per thousand) nor the direction of that variability can be explained by changes in delta D values of the water source or salinity fluctuations (approximately 30 on the practical salinity scale) controlled by seasonal rainfall. However, changes in sedimentary biomarker composition, higher total organic carbon content and less negative delta C-13 values of the 1,15-C-32 diol indicate enhanced algal growth during wetter periods. We find that these conditions result in less negative delta D values of n-alkyl diols. We hypothesize that due to higher lipid demand during enhanced algal growth, an increasing proportion of hydrogen for lipid synthesis is derived from the cytosol via oxidation of polysaccharides, which may cause a deuterium enrichment of the acetogenic compounds. This study has significant implications for paleohydrological reconstructions using algal lipid delta D values, particularly in highly seasonal environments such as Isabel Lake. In such environments, delta D values of specific algal lipid biomarkers may not record the full seasonal cycle in source water delta D but appear to be mainly controlled by the physiological state of algal populations. Our data provide the first evidence that changes in D/H fractionation due to algal growth conditions can be recorded in sediments. For paleoclimate reconstructions in such environments, algal growth conditions should be constrained with additional proxy data (delta C-13 values of the same biomarkers), as the net D/H fractionation between water and lipids may not have been constant over time. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2012.12.017 SN - 0016-7037 VL - 106 IS - 4 SP - 490 EP - 500 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kienel, Ulrike A1 - Plessen, Birgit A1 - Schettler, Georg A1 - Weise, Stephan A1 - Pinkerneil, Sylvia A1 - Boehnel, Harald A1 - Englebrecht, Amy C. A1 - Haug, Gerald H. T1 - Sensitivity of a hypersaline crater lake to the seasonality of rainfall, evaporation, and guano supply JF - Fundamental and applied limnology : official journal of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology N2 - The hypersaline crater lake and its catchment on seabird island Isabel (Pacific, off Mexico) was studied to explore the influence of strong seasonal variations in rainfall/evaporation and guano contribution on its limnology. The hypersaline lake water (HSW, 78 %) is up to 2.2-times enriched in inert ions relative to mean seawater. Rainfall during summer dilutes the HSW to form a less saline rainwater body (RWB) above a chemolimnion between 2 and 4 m water depth. The RWB is inhabited first by diatoms and ostracods followed later on by cyanobacteria and ciliates. Evaporation of > 1.5 m depth of lake water over the dry season increases the salinity of the RWB until the water column becomes isohaline at HSW concentrations in the late dry season. Differences in the stable isotope composition of water and primary producers in RWB and HSW reflect this development. Introduction of seabird guano and the decrease of salinity fuel a high primary production in the RWB with higher delta(CDIC)-C-13 and delta(13)Corg of particulate organic matter than in the HSW. The high N supply leads to high delta N-15 NH4 values (+ 39 % in the HSW) as the consequence of ammonia volatilization that is strongest during guano maturation and with evaporative salinity increase from the HSW. Precipitation of carbonate (calcite and aragonite) from the RWB and the HSW is hindered by the high concentration of guano-derived P. This inhibition may be overcome with evaporative supersaturation during particularly dry conditions. Carbonate may also precipitate during particularly wet conditions from the dilute RWB, where the P-concentration is reduced during an active phytoplankton production that raises the pH. Differences in the stable isotope signatures of carbon and oxygen in HSW and RWB (+ 5 % delta(CDIC)-C-13 and -3 % d18OH2O) suggest the processes of carbonate precipitation can be distinguished based on the isotope signature of the carbonates deposited. Changes in the lake system are indicated when lower temperatures and higher rainfall in the 2006 wet season introduced more and less mature guano to the lake. The lower pH was accompanied by lower ammonia volatilization and carbonate precipitation as indicated by an increased concentration of NH4, Ca, Sr and DIC, while delta H-2, delta(NNH4)-N-15, and salinity were lower. According to our results, the observed sediment laminations should reflect the introduction of catchment material (including guano) with runoff, the RWB plankton production, and the carbonate precipitation in relation to its origin and seasonality. KW - ammonia volatilization KW - carbonate precipitation KW - chemocline KW - guano KW - hypersaline lake KW - stable isotopes Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/1863-9135/2013/0405 SN - 1863-9135 VL - 183 IS - 2 SP - 135 EP - 152 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER -