Palaeoclimate records in compound-specific δD values of a lipid biomarker in ombrotrophic peat

Compound-specific deltaD values recorded by means of gas chromatography-thermal conversion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-TC-IRMS) of the biomarker n-alkane (n-tricosane; n-C-23) representative of the dominant Sphagnum species in a 40 cm peat profile from Bolton Fell Moss, Cumbria, UK, correlate with vegetation changes in the past >200 years (age depth model based on Pb-210 dating). The bog vegetation is sensitive to climate change correlating with the global scale cooler period of the later 19th and early 20th centuries. The correlation with meteorological records suggests compound-specific deltaD values of lipid biomarkers have potential for use as a new climate proxy. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.