Novel glycerol dialkanol triols in sediments: transformation products of glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether lipids or biosynthetic intermediates?

A glycerol dialkanol triol, similar in structure to glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers but devoid of the carbon atoms of one of the two glycerol termini, has been identified in Messinian sediments (similar to 6 Ma) and characterised using quadrupole ion trap and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.