Alkenones and glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether lipids (GDGTs) are common biomarkers for past water temperatures. In high latitudes, determining temperature reliably is challenging. We analyzed 33 Southern Ocean sediment surface samples and evaluated widely used global calibrations for both biomarkers. For GDGT-based temperatures, previously used calibrations best reflect temperatures >5° C; (sub)polar temperature bias necessitates a new calibration which better aligns with modern values.

Productivity increases in Lake Kälksjön sediments during the last 9600 years are likely driven by the progressive millennial-scale winter warming in northwestern Europe, following the increasing Northern Hemisphere winter insolation and decadal to centennial periods of a more positive NAO polarity. Strengthened productivity variability since ∼5450 cal yr BP is hypothesized to reflect a reinforcement of NAO-like atmospheric circulation.

BlackGate seeks to MSP drill a transect to study the impact of dramatic hydrologic change in Mediterranean–Black Sea connectivity by recovering the Messinian to Holocene (~ 7 Myr) sedimentary sequence in the North Aegean, Marmara, and Black seas. These archives will reveal hydrographic, biotic, and climatic transitions studied by a broad scientific community spanning the stratigraphic, tectonic, biogeochemical, and microbiological evolution of Earth’s most recent saline and anoxic giant.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and its labile fractions are influenced by soil use and mineral properties. These parameters interact with each other and affect SOC differently depending on local conditions. To investigate the latter, the dependence of SOC content on parameters that vary on a local scale depending on parent material, soil texture, and land use as well as parameter combinations was statistically assessed. Relevance and superiority of local models compared to total models were shown.

Past export production in the southeast Pacific and its link to Patagonian ice dynamics is unknown. We reconstruct biological productivity changes at the Pacific entrance to the Drake Passage, covering the past 400 000 years. We show that glacial–interglacial variability in export production responds to glaciogenic Fe supply from Patagonia and silica availability due to shifts in oceanic fronts, whereas dust, as a source of lithogenic material, plays a minor role.

Cyanobacterial blooms represent a threat to the Baltic Sea ecosystem, causing deoxygenation of the bottom water. In order to understand the natural versus anthropogenic factors driving these blooms, it is necessary to study long-term trends beyond observations. We have produced a record of cyanobacterial blooms since 1860 using organic molecules (biomarkers) preserved in sediments. Cyanobacterial blooms in the Baltic Sea are likely mainly related to temperature variability.

Soil quality depends on the functioning of soil microbiota. Only a few standardized methods are available to assess this as well as adverse effects of human activities. So we need to identify promising additional methods that target soil microbial function. Discussed are (i) molecular methods using qPCR for new endpoints, e.g. in N and P cycling and greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) techniques for fungal enzyme activities, and (iii) field methods on carbon turnover such as the litter bag test.

Recording the precise timing and sequence of events is essential for understanding rapid climate changes and improving climate model predictive skills. Here, we precisely assess the relative timing between ocean and atmospheric changes, both recorded in the same deep-sea core over the last 45 kyr. We show that decreased mid-depth water mass transport in the western equatorial Atlantic preceded increased rainfall over the adjacent continent by 120 to 980 yr, depending on the type of climate event.

Oxygen deficiency is a major environmental problem deteriorating seafloor habitats especially in the coastal ocean with large human impact. Here we apply a wide set of chemical and physical analyses to a 1500-year long sediment record and show that, although long-term climate variability has modulated seafloor oxygenation in the coastal northern Baltic Sea, the oxygen loss over the 20th century is unprecedentedly severe, emphasizing the need to reduce anthropogenic nutrient input in the future.

The present manuscript is written as the result of an exhaustive field work with MOURA instrument on relevant sites on Earth. MOURA magnetometer was developed for Mars MetNet precursor mission to Mars. In this work we have demonstrated the capabilities of the instrument in terrestrial analogues of Mars, which cover a huge variability range in the magnetic anomalies intensities. Apart from its suitability for prospections, we insist on its advanced performance regarding paleomagnetic information.

Annually laminated sediments from the NE Bering Sea reveal a decadal-scale correlation to Greenland ice core records during termination I, suggesting an atmospheric teleconnection. Lamination occurrence is tightly coupled to Bølling-Allerød and Preboreal warm phases. Increases in export production, closely coupled to SST and sea ice changes, are hypothesized to be a main cause of deglacial anoxia, rather than changes in overturning/ventilation rates of mid-depth waters entering the Bering Sea.