TEX86

The use of TEX86 (TetraEther indeX of 86 carbons) as a tool to reconstruct past sea surface temperature variability is based on the relative cyclization of isoprenoidal glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetra ethers (GDGTs) produced by marine archaea. TEX86 is defined as :

$TEX_{86}=\frac{GDGT-2+GDGT-3+Cren'}{GDGT-1+GDGT-2+GDGT-3+Cren'}$

where GDGTs 1-3 indicate compounds containing 1-3 cyclopentyl moieties, respectively, and Cren' denotes the regioisomer of crenarchaeol, a diagnostic biomarker for the Thaumarchaeota, the primary producers of GDGTs in the marine realm. By definition, values of the TEX86 index are comprised between 0 and 1.