@article{6cef0a4cb29c4ba1ab0927b9e8a62c34,
title = "An irrigation experiment to compare soil, water and speleothem tetraether membrane lipid distributions",
abstract = "Measurement of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) preserved in speleothems offers a potential proxy for past temperature but, in general, their origin is unknown. To understand the source of speleothem GDGTs, we undertook an irrigation experiment to activate drip sites within a hydrogeochemically well characterised cave. The cave drip water was analysed for GDGTs, inorganic elements (major ions and trace elements), stable isotopes and dissolved organic matter concentration and character. Published speleothem GDGT records from the site have been observed to be dominated by isoprenoid GDGTs and interpreted as deriving from in situ microbial communities within the cave or vadose zone. The drip water in our irrigation experiment had a GDGT distribution distinct from that of soil and speleothem samples, providing direct evidence that the distinctive GDGT signature in speleothems is derived from a subsurface source. Analysis of GDGTs in this context allowed further elucidation of their source and transport in cave systems, enhancing our understanding of how they might be used as a temperature proxy.",
keywords = "Drip water, GDGT, Paleoclimate, Speleothem, Temperature",
author = "Andy Baker and Jex, {Catherine N.} and Helen Rutlidge and Martijn Woltering and Blyth, {Alison J.} and Andersen, {Martin S.} and Cuthbert, {Mark O.} and Marjo, {Christopher E.} and Monika Markowska and Rau, {Gabriel C.} and Khan, {Stuart J.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank the staff at Wellington Caves for their support. Funding was provided by the Australian Research Council (ARC; DP110102124 ) and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training , an Australian Government Initiative, supported by the ARC and the National Water Commission . A.J.B. acknowledges the support of an AINSE Research Fellowship and Curtin University. M.O.C. was supported by Marie Curie Research Fellowship funding from the European Community{\textquoteright}s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement n°299091. The Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre acknowledges funding from G. Johnston. We thank the Sydney University Speleological Society for provision of the cave survey information used in Fig. 1 and two anonymous reviewers for comments. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 Elsevier Ltd.",
year = "2016",
month = apr,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.orggeochem.2016.01.005",
language = "English",
volume = "94",
pages = "12--20",
journal = "Organic Geochemistry",
issn = "0146-6380",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}