Loss of nitrogen via anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) in the California current system during the late Quaternary

The California current system (CCS) hosts one of the largest oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the world: the Eastern North Pacific (ENP) OMZ, which is dissociated into a subtropical and tropical region (i.e., the ESTNP and ETNP). In the modern ENP OMZ, bioavailable nitrogen (N) is lost via denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Even so, paleo-reconstructions of N-loss have focused solely on denitrification. Fluctuations in bulk sedimentary ?15N over glacial-interglacial cycles have been interpreted to reflect variations in denitrification rates in response to ETNP OMZ intensity changes. This ?15N signal is thought to be transported northwards to the ESTNP OMZ. Here, we present the first CCS sedimentary record of ladderane lipids, biomarkers for anammox, located within the ESTNP OMZ (32?N; 118?W). Over the last two glacial terminations (~160 cal ka BP), ladderane concentrations were analysed in combination with the index of ladderanes with five cyclobutane moieties (NL5), short-chain (SC) ladderane degradation products, and productivity proxies. This shows that: 1) ladderanes derived from anammox bacteria living within the ESTNP OMZ water column; 2) ladderanes were continuously present, with relatively high concentrations during both glacial- and interglacial-periods, showcasing the ESTNP OMZ must have retained an anoxic core in which N-loss occurred; and 3) anammox abundance appears to have been driven both by OM-remineralization and advection changes, which regulated nutrient and oxygen levels. Our study shows that anammox was an important feature in the CCS and provides a more holistic picture of N-loss dynamics and the development of the ESTNP OMZ over glacial-interglacial cycles. Lastly, ladderanes and their SC-products were also detected in 160?500 cal ka BP sediments (15.7?37.5 mbsf; analysed at a low temporal resolution), highlighting their potential as anammox biomarkers in relatively deeper buried sediments for future studies.