The first task was to establish the Geobiomolecular Imaging Laboratory at the University of Bremen (
https://www.marum.de/en/about-us/HinrichsLab-Geobiomolecular-Imaging-Laboratory.html(opens in new window)). A new lab was built to house an ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometer, the analytical centerpiece, a micro X-Ray Fluorescence system, and infrastructure for sample preparation. This task was completed efficiently so that routine operation of the facility could start a few months after the beginning of the project.
Initially, the main resources were devoted towards establishing methods for ultra-high-resolution biomarker analysis. At that stage, we had only completed one proof of concept study that introduced mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of molecular proxies using instrumentation from the manufacturer (Wörmer et al., PNAS, 2014), but protocols for sample preparation were lacking. This goal was addressed in work package (WP) 1, the analytical backbone of the project, and WP5, which dealt with data processing. Development of methods was more complex than anticipated, especially regarding (1) preparation of samples to ensure high sensitivity and unaltered spatial distribution of the analytes and (2) the quality control, evaluation and visualization of the complex datasets, which consist of 2D maps of a vast number of mass spectra. Three published papers (Alfken et al., 2019; Wörmer et al., 2019; Alfken et al., 2020) addressed these issues and laid the groundwork for subsequent applications of the approach to geological archives. As a result of the extensive method developments, progress on the scientific interrogation of geological archives was not as rapid as initially projected.
In subsequent applications to environmental samples, micrometer scale mapping of proxies led to previously inaccessible observations. In recent sediments, comparison of MSI data to the instrumental record provided clues on mechanisms of sedimentary proxy formation (WP2). We investigated the variability of molecular proxies for sea surface temperatures (SST) with sub-annual resolution and demonstrated that MSI resolves seasonal SST fluctuations, but also showed that varying nutrient concentrations influence the amplitude of the SST signal (Alfken et al., 2020).
In older sedimentary archives, MSI allows to reconstruct climate and ecosystem variability at ultra-high resolution beyond the instrumental record. This ability is the core of WP3 and was the major focus during the last years of the project. We have published new insights regarding the mechanisms that caused the delay in cooling of Western Europe relative to the Arctic into the Younger Dryas (Obreht et al., 2020). Additionally, a number of manuscripts are close to submission or currently being revised that deal with the magnitude of decadal climate change during the last interglacial as compared to current and predicted future warming, the changes of intra- to interannual climate variability at the onset of the Holocene, and the interplay of combustion events, soil erosion and eutrophication preceding the Permian Triassic Mass Extinction.
In contrast to the fossil biomarkers used to reconstruct paleoenvironments, labile biomolecules are used in biogeochemical studies to track microbes and their actions in modern environments (WP4). By mapping biomarkers in microbial mats from hydrothermal springs, we learned how these communities are spatially structured, and how they respond to micrometer scale environmental gradients (Wörmer et al., 2020).
At this point, we have published five papers, and another seven are at advanced stages of preparation or revision. 11 undergraduate students carried out their MSc or BSc thesis work in the context of the project. The project enabled team members to significantly advance in their careers advances and follow-up funding has been generated that supports the operation of the scientific infrastructure and secures the retention of core personnel as well as further development of our approach to full maturity at an intensity level comparable to the ERC project.
