TY - JOUR
T1 - Biomarker Approaches for Reconstructing Terrestrial Environmental Change
AU - Inglis, Gordon N.
AU - Bhattacharya, Tripti
AU - Hemingway, Jordon D.
AU - Hollingsworth, Emily H.
AU - Feakins, Sarah J.
AU - Tierney, Jessica E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/5/31
Y1 - 2022/5/31
N2 - The response of the terrestrial biosphere to warming remains one of the most poorly understood and quantified aspects of the climate system. One way to test the behavior of the Earth system in warm climate states is to examine the geological record. The abundance, distribution, and/or isotopic composition of source-specific organic molecules (biomarkers) have been used to reconstruct terrestrial paleoenvironmental change over a range of geological timescales. Here, we review new or recently improved biomarker approaches for reconstructing (a) physical climate variables (land temperature, rainfall), (b) ecosystem state variables (vegetation, fire regime), and (c) biogeochemical variables (soil residence time, methane cycling). This review encompasses a range of key compound classes (e.g., lipids, lignin, and carbohydrates). In each section, we explore the concept behind key biomarker approaches and discuss their successesas paleoenvironmental indicators. We emphasize that analyzing several biomarkers in tandem can provide unique insights into the Earth system. ▪ Biomarkers can be used to reconstruct terrestrial environmental change over a range of geological timescales. ▪ A multi-proxy biomarker approach provides novel insights into climate and the environment.
AB - The response of the terrestrial biosphere to warming remains one of the most poorly understood and quantified aspects of the climate system. One way to test the behavior of the Earth system in warm climate states is to examine the geological record. The abundance, distribution, and/or isotopic composition of source-specific organic molecules (biomarkers) have been used to reconstruct terrestrial paleoenvironmental change over a range of geological timescales. Here, we review new or recently improved biomarker approaches for reconstructing (a) physical climate variables (land temperature, rainfall), (b) ecosystem state variables (vegetation, fire regime), and (c) biogeochemical variables (soil residence time, methane cycling). This review encompasses a range of key compound classes (e.g., lipids, lignin, and carbohydrates). In each section, we explore the concept behind key biomarker approaches and discuss their successesas paleoenvironmental indicators. We emphasize that analyzing several biomarkers in tandem can provide unique insights into the Earth system. ▪ Biomarkers can be used to reconstruct terrestrial environmental change over a range of geological timescales. ▪ A multi-proxy biomarker approach provides novel insights into climate and the environment.
KW - biogeochemistry
KW - biomarkers
KW - lipids
KW - paleoclimate
KW - paleoenvironment
KW - proxies
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U2 - 10.1146/annurev-earth-032320-095943
DO - 10.1146/annurev-earth-032320-095943
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85132276867
SN - 0084-6597
VL - 50
SP - 369
EP - 394
JO - Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
JF - Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
ER -