Ecological variability based on lipid biomarkers in astrobiologically interesting wetlands from the Argentinian central Andes.

Andean wetlands hold extremophilic communities adapted to live in harsh conditions. Here, we investigated the microbial ecology of three high-altitude hypersaline ponds from La Puna region (Argentina) showing an increasing extent of desiccation by analyzing their lipid sedimentary record. We recreated the microbial community structure and the carbon metabolisms in each lacustrine system based on the molecular distribution of lipid biomarkers and their compound-specific carbon and hydrogen isotopic signatures. We detected lipid compounds considered to be biomarkers of cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, purple sulfur bacteria, and archaea in the three Andean ponds, as well as diatoms in the intermediate salinity system. The relative abundance of purple sulfur and sulfate-reducing bacteria decreased with salinity, whereas cyanobacteria and archaea decreased their relative abundance in the mid-saline pond to increase it again and became both prevailing at the highest salinity. Carbon fixation in the three ponds was driven by a combination of the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle, the reductive pentose phosphate cycle, and the reductive acetyl-CoA pathway. This work is the first to describe molecular and isotopic lipid fingerprints in wetlands from the central Andean Puna, and serves as a basis for further biogeochemical studies in the area.

Molecular distribution and isotopic composition (δD and δ13C) of lipids dataset for a sediment core (GeoB16202-2) from the north-eastern Brazilian margin.

The distribution and isotopic composition (δ13C and δD) of lipids are proxies used to determinate paleoenvironmental conditions including precipitation regimes, vegetation changes and sources of organic matter, among others. This data article describes five datasets of distribution (n-alkanes, fatty acids, n-alkanols and sterols) and isotopic composition (n-alkanes and fatty acids) of lipids determined in 50 samples from a gravity core (GeoB16202-2) retrieved on the continental slope off northeastern Brazil. The core site is influenced by the Parnaiba freshwater discharge, the North Brazil Current and by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Previous work focused on inorganic proxies in this core revealed important clues of climatic conditions during the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1). The baseline dataset of molecular and isotopic proxies of the organic matter provided here are additional and/or complimentary evidences to help elucidate past climate change during the Quaternary in the Equatorial Atlantic, where less information is available in comparison to other regions in this ocean.

Galápagos hydroclimate of the Common Era from paired microalgal and mangrove biomarker 2H/1H values.

Tropical maritime precipitation affects global atmospheric circulation, influencing storm tracks and the size and location of subtropical deserts. Paleoclimate evidence suggests centuries-long changes in rainfall in the tropical Pacific over the past 2,000 y, but these remain poorly characterized across most of the ocean where long, continuous proxy records capable of resolving decadal-to-centennial climate changes are still virtually nonexistent despite substantial efforts to develop them. Here we apply a new climate proxy based on paired hydrogen isotope ratios from microalgal and mangrove-derived sedimentary lipids in the Galápagos to reconstruct maritime precipitation changes during the Common Era. We show that increased rainfall during the Little Ice Age (LIA) (∼1400-1850 CE) was likely caused by a southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), and that this shift occurred later than previously recognized, coeval with dynamically linked precipitation changes in South America and the western tropical Pacific. Before the LIA, we show that drier conditions at the onset of the Medieval Warm Period (∼800-1300 CE) and wetter conditions ca. 2 ka were caused by changes in the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Collectively, the large natural variations in tropical rainfall we detect, each linked to a multicentury perturbation of either ENSO-like variability or the ITCZ, imply a high sensitivity of tropical Pacific rainfall to climate forcings.

Contribuição ao estudo do magmatismo Paleo e Mesoproterozóico do SW do Craton Amazônico através da aplicação de isótopos estáveis de O, H e S / Contribution to the study of the Paleo and Mesoproterozoic magmatism of the SW Amazonian craton based on stable isotopes of O, H and S

Os isótopos estáveis de O, H e S foram utilizados para investigar a origem das rochas magmáticas nos Terrenos Jauru e Pontes e Lacerda do SW do Craton Amazônico, estado de Mato Grosso, Brasil. No Terreno Jauru as rochas granitóides do Greenstone belt Alto Jauru e da Suíte Cachoeirinha apresentam valores de δ18O entre +9,0‰ e +6,3‰ que indicam derivação a partir de magmas juvenis. Na Suíte Intrusiva Rio Branco valores de δ18O para rochas básicas estão entre +5,4‰ e +5,8‰ e para rochas félsicas entre +8,7‰ e +9,0‰; rochas intermediárias apresentam valores entre +7,3‰ e +8,3‰. Os valores mais baixos de δ18O, obtidos nas rochas básicas, são compatíveis com derivação mantélica, porém as rochas félsicas apresentam valores de δ18O compatíveis com origem crustais. Análises de isótopos estáveis de H (rocha total) forneceram valores de δD entre - 83‰ e -92‰, diferente das assinaturas de rochas metamórficas e de águas meteóricas. Resultados em sulfetos para isótopos estáveis de S em rochas básicas e intermediárias desta suíte apresentam valores de δ34S coerentes com uma fonte mantélica (entre + 0,7‰ e +3,8‰), enquanto os valores de δ34S (entre +5,2‰ e +6,1‰) obtidos nas rochas félsicas sugerem participação crustal na sua gênese. Na Suíte Santa Helena (Terreno Pontes e Lacerda) os resultados obtidos para δ18O se agrupam entre +4,4‰ e +8,9‰ indicando uma origem mantélica. O presente estudo confirma a importância da aplicação de isótopos estáveis para a compreensão de processos magmáticos e evolução crustal.

Stable isotopes of O, H and S were used to investigate the origin of magmatic rocks of the Jauru and the Pontes e Lacerda Terrains, SW portion of the Amazonian craton, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Granitic rocks of the Alto Jauru Greenstone belt and Cachoeirinha Suite, Jauru terrain, present δ18O values between +9.0‰ and +6.3‰, indicative of derivation from juvenile magmas. The Rio Branco Intrusive Suite basic and felsic rocks' δ18O values fall, respectively, within +5.4‰ to +5.8‰ and +8.7‰ to +9.0‰ ranges; the intermediate rocks present δ18O between +7.3‰ and +8.3‰. The lower values of δ18O, obtained from basic rocks, are compatible with a mantle source, however the felsic rocks present δ18O values indicative of crustal source. The stable isotopes of hydrogen yielded δD values between - 83‰ and - 92‰, different from the δD signatures of metamorphic rocks and rain water. Sulphur isotopes in sulfides from basic and intermediate rocks of the Rio Branco suite presented δ34S values coherent with a mantle source (between + 0.7‰ and +3.8‰), whereas δ34S values between + 5.2‰ and + 6.1‰, obtained from the felsic rocks, suggest crustal participation in their genesis. For the Santa Helena Suite (Pontes e Lacerda Terrain) the δ18O values fall between +4.4‰ and +8.9‰. The present study confirms the advantages of using stable isotopes to understand magmatic processes and crustal evolution.

Contribuição ao estudo do magmatismo Paleo e Mesoproterozóico do SW do Craton Amazônico através da aplicação de isótopos estáveis de O, H e S

Stable isotopes of O, H and S were used to investigate the origin of magmatic rocks of the Jauru and the Pontes e Lacerda Terrains, SW portion of the Amazonian craton, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Granitic rocks of the Alto Jauru Greenstone belt and Cachoeirinha Suite, Jauru terrain, present 18O values between +9.0‰ and +6.3‰, indicative of derivation from juvenile magmas. The Rio Branco Intrusive Suite basic and felsic rocks' 18O values fall, respectively, within +5.4‰ to +5.8‰ and +8.7‰ to +9.0‰ ranges; the intermediate rocks present 18O between +7.3‰ and +8.3‰. The lower values of 18O, obtained from basic rocks, are compatible with a mantle source, however the felsic rocks present 18O values indicative of crustal source. The stable isotopes of hydrogen yielded D values between - 83‰ and - 92‰, different from the D signatures of metamorphic rocks and rain water. Sulphur isotopes in sulfides from basic and intermediate rocks of the Rio Branco suite presented 34S values coherent with a mantle source (between + 0.7‰ and +3.8‰), whereas 34S values between + 5.2‰ and + 6.1‰, obtained from the felsic rocks, suggest crustal participation in their genesis. For the Santa Helena Suite (Pontes e Lacerda Terrain) the 18O values fall between +4.4‰ and +8.9‰. The present study confirms the advantages of using stable isotopes to understand magmatic processes and crustal evolution.

Os isótopos estáveis de O, H e S foram utilizados para investigar a origem das rochas magmáticas nos Terrenos Jauru e Pontes e Lacerda do SW do Craton Amazônico, estado de Mato Grosso, Brasil. No Terreno Jauru as rochas granitóides do Greenstone belt Alto Jauru e da Suíte Cachoeirinha apresentam valores de 18O entre +9,0‰ e +6,3‰ que indicam derivação a partir de magmas juvenis. Na Suíte Intrusiva Rio Branco valores de 18O para rochas básicas estão entre +5,4‰ e +5,8‰ e para rochas félsicas entre +8,7‰ e +9,0‰; rochas intermediárias apresentam valores entre +7,3‰ e +8,3‰. Os valores mais baixos de 18O, obtidos nas rochas básicas, são compatíveis com derivação mantélica, porém as rochas félsicas apresentam valores de 18O compatíveis com origem crustais. Análises de isótopos estáveis de H (rocha total) forneceram valores de D entre - 83‰ e -92‰, diferente das assinaturas de rochas metamórficas e de águas meteóricas. Resultados em sulfetos para isótopos estáveis de S em rochas básicas e intermediárias desta suíte apresentam valores de 34S coerentes com uma fonte mantélica (entre + 0,7‰ e +3,8‰), enquanto os valores de 34S (entre +5,2‰ e +6,1‰) obtidos nas rochas félsicas sugerem participação crustal na sua gênese. Na Suíte Santa Helena (Terreno Pontes e Lacerda) os resultados obtidos para 18O se agrupam entre +4,4‰ e +8,9‰ indicando uma origem mantélica. O presente estudo confirma a importância da aplicação de isótopos estáveis para a compreensão de processos magmáticos e evolução crustal.