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Master project: Can hydrogen isotopic composition of long-chain diols reconstruct precipitation?
The stable isotopic composition of environmental water (i.e. δ2H value) is an important tracer of the hydrological cycle.
The stable isotopic composition of environmental water (i.e. δ2H value) is an important tracer of the hydrological cycle. In the last decades, lipid biomarker δ2H compositions have become particularly effective tools in lacustrine and marine archives to reconstruct paleohydrologcial changes throughout Earth history, because δ2H values of environmental water are recorded in the δ2H values of lipids from photosynthesizing organisms.
Long-chain diols are biomolecules commonly found in sedimentary archives from freshwater environments and are produced by eustigmatophytes (phototrophic microorganisms). These biomarkers are resistant to degradation and can be found in sediments up to 65 Ma old. As such they are the perfect candidate to be studied over long time-scale and give insight into paleo-precipitation regime.
The stable isotopic composition of environmental water (i.e. δ2H value) is an important tracer of the hydrological cycle. In the last decades, lipid biomarker δ2H compositions have become particularly effective tools in lacustrine and marine archives to reconstruct paleohydrologcial changes throughout Earth history, because δ2H values of environmental water are recorded in the δ2H values of lipids from photosynthesizing organisms.
Long-chain diols are biomolecules commonly found in sedimentary archives from freshwater environments and are produced by eustigmatophytes (phototrophic microorganisms). These biomarkers are resistant to degradation and can be found in sediments up to 65 Ma old. As such they are the perfect candidate to be studied over long time-scale and give insight into paleo-precipitation regime.
In this research project you will test the potential of long-chain diol isomers and their δ2H values to trace precipitation and to become a new paleo-hydrological proxy.
In this research project you will test the potential of long-chain diol isomers and their δ2H values to trace precipitation and to become a new paleo-hydrological proxy.