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Survey Of Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraethers (Gdgts) In Nevada And California Hot Springs And Selected T Thermophiles, Julienne J. Paraiso, Amanda Jean Williams, Brian P. Hedlund, Chuanlun L. Zhang

McNair Poster Presentations

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are core membrane lipids of many Archaea and some Bacteria found ubiquitously in soils and in many aqueous environments. Here, we examined the GDGT concentration in forty sediment samples from geothermal hot springs in the Great Basin (USA). Sediment samples were collected in tandem with extensive geochemical and site characterization. Hot spring temperatures ranged from 31 to 95°C and pH values from 6.8 to 10.7. Parametric Pearson's correlation coefficients and nonparametric Spearman's rho values were calculated to identify significant correlations between GDGT profiles and geochemical analytes. Isoprenoidal GDGTs (iGDGTs) negatively correlated with pH and positively …