Affiliation:
1. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing China
2. School of Civil Engineering and Geomatics Shandong University of Technology Zibo China
3. School of Geography Liaoning Normal University Dalian China
4. School of Environmental Sciences Nanjing Xiaozhuang University Nanjing China
Abstract
AbstractTemperature variation in the past periods can provide valuable insights into the characteristics and driving mechanisms of current global warming and future changes. Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are commonly used to as a temperature proxy to quantitatively reconstruct past temperature changes. However, it still remains unclear whether the relation between brGDGTs and temperature is influenced by other environmental factors, thereby affecting the accuracy of quantitative reconstructions. A comprehensive analysis of the relation between brGDGTs and temperature across various climate regions can greatly enhance the accuracy of reconstructing past temperature changes. Here, we investigate the distribution patterns of soil brGDGTs using 28 new topsoils collected from altitudes ranging from 2100 to 4000 m.a.s.l. in the Hengduan Mountains in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), compiled previously published soil brGDGT data in China. Our results reveal distinct distribution patterns of soil brGDGTs between humid and arid regions. Furthermore, we further investigated the correlation between brGDGT indices and various environmental factors from both altitudinal and regional scales. At the altitudinal scale, brGDGT indices exhibit a stronger correlation with mean annual air temperature (MAAT) in alkaline soils (pH > 7) than that in acidic soils (pH < 7). At the regional scale, this correlation is higher in alkaline soils than that in acidic soils as well and is stronger in humid soils (mean annual precipitation [MAP] > 800 mm) than that in semi‐humid and semi‐arid soil (400 < MAP < 800 mm) and arid soil (MAP < 400 mm). In addition, brGDGT‐inferred temperature is more affected by MAP in humid alkaline soils but less affected in humid acidic soils. Therefore, caution is needed to use suitable brGDGT index for palaeotemperature reconstructions in various climate regions.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology