What is the TEX86 paleothermometer?

The TEX86 paleothermometer is an organic technique used to estimate past ambient temperatures from geological materials. It relies on membrane lipids known as glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, or GDGTs, which are synthesized by marine archaea. By analyzing the relative abundances and structures of these molecules, scientists can reconstruct ancient environmental temperatures.

What we know

• TEX86 is an organic paleothermometer based on membrane lipids from mesophilic marine Nitrososphaerota. [2]
• Paleothermometers provide estimates of ambient temperature at the time a natural material formed, often using organic molecular proxies. [3]
• Some structural forms of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids form the basis for the TEX86 paleothermometer. [4]
• GDGT membrane lipids are synthesized by archaea and some bacteria, serving as useful biomarkers in the geological record. [4]

Where to go next

• how it workedWhat are GDGT lipids?
• the bigger pictureWhat is a paleothermometer?
• a case in pointWhat is crenarchaeol?
• compared withHow do archaeal membrane lipids differ from bacteria?
• how we knowWhat are Nitrososphaerota?
• an unexpected connectionHow do extreme heat adaptations help reconstruct past climates?Although isoprenoid GDGTs used in temperature proxies were first discovered in extremophilic archaea adapted to high temperatures, their mesophilic marine relatives provide the lipid basis for reconstructing ancient ocean temperatures via TEX86.

Sources

• [1]TEX86 (Wikidata Q3757284) · CC0 1.0
• [2]TEX86 · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Paleothermometer · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Crenarchaeol · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. What is proton emission radioactive decay?
2. /What is the TEX86 paleothermometer?