Variations in the abundance of specific lipid biomarker compounds derived from terrestrial sources are shown to be closely related to past climatic changes. Despite biodegradation processes, which take place mostly at the water column and sediment water interface, these compounds are found well preserved in oceanic sediments. Here, their relative distribution is employed as a tool to assess changes in terrestrial fluxes to the seabed accompanying climatic variations during glacial and interglacial intervals. These changes in biomarker distribution were estimated in two sediment cores taken ttom the eastern North Atlantic, covering the past 210,000 years. Comparisons with other paleoclimate proxies showed good agreement and suggest that some specific groups of biomarkers are important indicators of changes in terrestrial inputs to the sea.
Biomarkers; Marine sediment; Chromatography; North Atlantic