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

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