TEX86

TEX₈₆ is an organic paleothermometer based upon the membrane lipids of mesophilic marine Nitrososphaerota (formerly Marine Group 1 Crenarchaeota).

Basics

The membrane lipids of Nitrososphaerota are composed of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) which contain 0-3 cyclopentane moieties. Nitrososphaerota also synthesise crenarchaeol which contains four cyclopentane moieties and a single cyclohexane moiety and a regio-isomer. The cyclohexane and cyclopentane rings, formed by internal cyclisation of one of the biphytane chains, have a pronounced effect on the thermal transition points of the Nitrososphaerota cell membrane. Mesocosm studies demonstrate that the degree of cyclisation is generally governed by growth temperature.

Calibrations

Based upon the relative distribution of isoprenoidal GDGTs, Schouten et al. (2002) proposed the tetraether index of 86 carbon atoms (TEX₈₆) as a proxy for sea surface temperature (SST). GDGT-0 is excluded from the calibration as it can have multiple sources while GDGT-4 is omitted as it exhibits no correlation with SST and is often an order of magnitude more abundant than its isomer and the other GDGTs. The most recent TEX₈₆ calibration invokes two separate indices and calibrations: TEX₈₆^H uses the same combination of GDGTs as in the original TEX₈₆ relationship:

:$\text=\tfrac$

GDGT ratio-2 is correlated to SST using the calibration equation:
:TEX₈₆^H = 68.4×log(GDGT ratio-2) + 38.6.
TEX₈₆^H has a calibration error of ±2.5 °C and is based upon 255 core-top sediments.

TEX₈₆^L employs a combination of GDGTs that is different from TEX₈₆^H, removing GDGT-3 from the numerator and excluding GDGT-4’ entirely:

:$\text=\tfrac$

GDGT ratio-1 is correlated to SST using the calibration equation:
:TEX₈₆^L = 67.5×log(GDGT ratio-1) + 46.9.
TEX₈₆^Lhas a calibration error of ±4 °C and is based upon 396 core-top sediment samples.

Other calibrations exist (including 1/TEX₈₆, TEX₈₆' and pTEX₈₆ ) and should be considered when reconstructing temperature.

Caveats

There are several caveats to this proxy and this list is by no means exhaustive. For more information, consult

Terrestrial input

The branched vs isoprenoidal tetratether (BIT) index can used to measure the relative fluvial input of terrestrial organic matter (TOM) into the marine realm (Hopmans et al., 2004). The BIT index is based upon the premise that GDGT-4 (also known as crenarchaeol) is derived from marine-dwelling Nitrososphaerota and branched GDGTs are derived from terrestrial soil bacteria. When BIT values exceed 0.4, a deviation of >2 °C is incorporated into TEX₈₆ SST estimates. However, isoprenoidal GDGTs can be synthesised in the terrestrial environment and can render BIT values unreliable (Weijers et al., 2006; Sluijs et al., 2007; Xie et al., 2012). A strong co-variation between GDGT-4 and branched GDGTs in modern marine and freshwater environments also suggests a common or mixed source for isoprenoidal and branched GDGTs (Fietz et al., 2012).

Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane (AOM)

The Methane Index (MI) was proposed to help distinguish the relative input of methanotrophic Euryarchaeota in settings characterised by diffuse methane flux and anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) (Zhang et al., 2011). These sites are characterised by a distinct GDGT distribution, namely the predominance of GDGT-1. -2 and -3. High MI values (>0.5) reflect high rates of gas-hydrate-related AOM.

Degradation

Thermal maturity is only thought to affect GDGTs when temperature exceed 240 °C. This can be tested using a ratio of specific hopane isomers. Oxic