Seasonal effects of water temperature and dissolved oxygen on the isoGDGT proxy (TEX86) in a Mediterranean oligotrophic lake

Abstract

To appraise the application of isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (isoGDGTs) as paleoclimate proxies in small lakes we investigated the effect of seasonal variability in temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) on the GDGT contents and its proxy in the water column of an oligotrophic karst lake in the Catalan pre-Pyrenees (Lake Montcortés). From October 2013 to November 2014, we collected suspended particulate matter (SPM) monthly at three depths and retrieved the sediment from a trap located at 20 m below the lake surface. The GDGT contents in the SPM and sediment trap presented a marked seasonal variation, showing the highest values in summer and autumn. In addition, the isoGDGT proxy TEX86 in SPM and sediment trap showed a marked seasonal variability which matched the temperatures of the upper water column and fit the published global trend between TEX86 and mean annual lake surface temperature (LST). However, in the hypolimnion where oxygen was depleted for most of the study period, we found that TEX86 co-varied with DO. This further confirms previous claims with seasonal field data that the sedimentary TEX86 LST signal may be confounded by DO conditions. Consequently, the application of TEX86 to estimate LST should be carefully appraised in environments with depleted DO conditions.