Potential of GDGTs as a temperature proxy along an altitudinal transect at Mount Rungwe (Tanzania)

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are membrane lipids of high molecular weight and include the isoprenoid GDGTs (iGDGTs) produced by Archaea and the branched GDGTs (brGDGTs) produced by unknown bacteria. Several indices have been developed to describe the relationship between GDGT distribution and environmental parameters: the TEX86 (tetraether index of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbons), based on the relative abundances of iGDGTs, and the MBT (methylation index of branched tetraethers) and CBT (cyclisation ratio of branched tetraethers), based on the relative abundance of brGDGTs. For soils, most studies have focused only on the relationship between brGDGT distribution and environmental parameters, without examining the iGDGT distribution. We have analysed both brGDGT and iGDGT distributions and determined GDGT-derived proxies along an altitudinal transect at Mt. Rungwe, Tanzania. MBT/CBT-derived temperature values were found to correlate linearly with altitude (R2 0.75), as observed before for the other altitudinal transects investigated. The MBT/CBT-derived temperature lapse rate along Mt. Rungwe (0.7 °C/100 m) was similar to the in situ measured one and was consistent with results obtained previously for an altitudinal gradient in the same region at higher altitude. This confirms the robustness of the MBT/CBT as a paleoelevation proxy in East Africa. In addition, a linear correlation (R2 0.50) between TEX86 and altitude was observed, likely reflecting the effect of the adiabatic cooling of air with altitude on iGDGT distribution. This suggests that TEX86 might be used to track temperature change in terrestrial settings, in addition to the MBT/CBT indices.