Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) from lake sediments in Alaska, Yukon, and Northwest Territories

The purpose of this work is to investigate distributions of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) in lakes of Alaska, Yukon, and Northwest Territories and to quantify regional relationships between modern brGDGT assemblages and climate parameters. BrGDGTs are a popular indicator of past climate conditions and are well-studied on a global scale. However, the degree to which brGDGTs vary with climate parameters, such as temperature, varies with the environment in which the brGDGTs are produced and may further vary regionally. As such, maximizing the precision of reconstructed climate conditions from the brGDGT climate proxy requires the development, and subsequent employment, of environmentally appropriate calibrations. Until now, brGDGT distributions have remained uncharacterized in Alaska and NW Canada, where the number of available climate proxies is limited. This work will therefore provide new opportunities to better understand past climate and how climate varies through time in this region.