Hydrothermal inputs drive dynamic shifts in microbial communities in Lake Magadi, Kenya Rift Valley

Abstract. The Methane Index (MI) is an organic geochemical index that uses isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) as a proxy for methane cycling. Here, we report results from core spanning > 700 ka in Lake Magadi, Kenya, which shows abrupt shifts between high and low MI values in the core. These shifts coincide with interbedded tuffaceous silt. Where tuffaceous silts are present, MI “switches off” (MI < 0.2); in contrast, where these silts are absent in the core, the MI increases (MI > 0.5). Bulk organic matter is enriched in ¹³C in Magadi during “MI-off” periods, with values of ~ −18 ‰ in the upper part of the core and −22 to −25 ‰ in the lower portion. Evidence from n-alkanes and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) support previous interpretations of an arid environment with a shallower lake where Thermoproteotal (formerly Crenarchaeota) archaea thrive in a hot spring rich environment over Euryarchaeota. Sediments deposited when the MI switches “on” showed δ¹³C_OM values as low as −89.4 ‰, but most were within the range of −28 to −30 ‰, which is consistent with contributions from methanogens rather than methanotrophs. Thus, the likely source of these high MI values in Lake Magadi is methanogenic archaea. Our results show that hydrothermal inputs of bicarbonate-rich waters into Lake Magadi cause a shift in the dominant archaeal communities, alternating between two stable states.