Archaeal tetraether lipids in sinking particles in the Mediterranean Sea, Ross Sea, and western South Atlantic Ocean@en

Marine ammonia oxidizing archaea produce isoprenoid glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) with up to four cyclopentane rings. The temperature dependence of GDGT distributions has prompted their use in the paleoclimate proxy TEX86. In order to explore seasonal export dynamics of these lipids, GDGTs were quantified in sinking particles collected in sediment traps moored in the Mediterranean Sea (34.37°N, 20.04°E; moored at approximately 500, 1500, and 2500 m water depth; Sep. 1999 - Apr. 2011; series continued at 34.96°N, 18.03°E; moored at 2200 m water depth; Apr. 2017 - May 2018), Ross Sea (76.68°S, 169.02°E; moored at 392 and 789 m water depth; Feb. 2008 - Feb. 2009), and two sites in the western tropical South Atlantic (WA9; 7.5°S, 28.1°W; moored at 591 and 4456 m water depth; Mar. 1996 - Feb. 1997; and WAB1; 11.53°S, 28.52°W; moored at 727 and 4515 m water depth; Feb. 1997 - May 1998).