Rush D

Sinninghe Damsté JS

Global climate is, in part, regulated by the effectof microbial processes on biogeochemical cycling.The nitrogen cycle, in particular, is driven bymicroorganisms responsible for the fixation and loss ofnitrogen, and the reduction-oxidation transformations ofbio-available nitrogen. Within marine systems, nitrogenavailability is often the limiting factor in the growth ofautotrophic organisms, intrinsically linking the nitrogenand carbon cycles. In order to elucidate the state ofthese cycles in the past, and help envisage present andfuture variability, it is essential to understand the specificmicrobial processes responsible for transforming bioavailablenitrogen species. As most microorganisms aresoft-bodied and seldom leave behind physical fossils inthe sedimentary record, recalcitrant lipid biomarkers areused to unravel microbial processes in the geologicalpast. This review emphasises the recent advances inmarine nitrogen cycle lipid biomarkers, underlines themissing links still needed to fully elucidate past shifts inthis biogeochemically-important cycle, and providesexamples of biomarker applications in the geologicalpast

Lipids as paleomarkers to constrain the marine nitrogen cycle

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