Long chain diols in settling particles in tropical oceans: insights into sources, seasonality and proxies

For the tropical Atlantic, we observe that generally less than 2 % of LCDs settling from the water column are preserved in the sediment. The Atlantic and Mozambique Channel traps reveal minimal seasonal variations in the LDI, similar to the TEX86 and UK'37.

However, annual mean LDI-derived temperatures are in good agreement with the annual mean satellite-derived sea surface temperatures (SSTs). In the Cariaco Basin the LDI shows larger seasonal variation, as do the TEX86 and UK'37. Here, the LDI underestimates SST during the warmest months, which is likely due to summer stratification and the habitat depth of the diol producers deepening to around 20 to 30 m.