Guano-derived δ13C-based paleo-hydroclimate record from Gaura cu Musca Cave,SW Romania

The δ¹³C values of 23 unevenly spaced guano samples from a 17-cm long clay sediment profile in Gaura cu Musc? Cave (GM), in SW Romania, made it possible to preliminarily characterize the Medieval Warm Period summer hydroclimate regime. The beginning of the sequence (AD 990) was rather wet for more than a century, before becoming progressively drier. After a brief, yet distinct wet period around AD 1170, drier conditions, with a possible shift from C₃ to a mixed C₃-dominated/C₄ type vegetation (2 ‰ lower δ¹³C values), prevailed for almost half a century before the climate became colder and wetter at the onset of the Little Ice Age, when bats left the cave. The guano-inferred wet and dry intervals from the GM Cave are mirrored by changes in the color and amount of clay accumulated in the cave. They also agree well with reconstructions based on pollen and charcoal from peat bogs and δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O on speleothems from other Romanian sites. Overall, these results indicate that the δ¹³C of bat guano can provide a sensitive record of the short-term coupling between local/regional climate and the plant–insect–bat–guano system.     

The δ18O and δ13C records in an aragonite stalagmite from Furong Cave,Chongqing, China: A-2000-year record of monsoonal climate

A 7-cm long aragonite stalagmite, FR0510-1, from Furong Cave, Chongqing, was dated by ²¹⁰Pb and ²³⁰Th methods, revealing a-2000-year record of climate history under the influence of the East Asian Monsoon. The FR0510-1 record resembles Dongge Cave DA record on 10–100-year scales, but quite different from the Wanxiang Cave WX42B record, indicating that while stalagmite δ¹⁸O record represents local/regional moisture change, spatial variability of the monsoonal rainfall over eastern China must take into account. During the past 2000 years, climate in Chongqing was relatively wet in the intervals of 50 BC–AD 250, AD 1150–1450 and AD 1600–1950, and relatively dry during the periods of AD 250–1150 and AD 1450–1600. Dry conditions were prevailing over the Medieval Warm Period, whereas wet climates were dominant during the most time of the Little Ice Age in Chongqing area.     

The East Asian monsoon during MIS 2 expressed in a speleothem δO record from Jintanwan Cave, Hunan, China

Stalagmite J1 from Jintanwan Cave, Hunan, China, provides a precisely dated, decadally resolved δ¹⁸O proxy record of paleoclimatic changes associated with the East Asian monsoon from ∼29.5 to 14.7 ka and from ∼12.9 to 11.0 ka. At the time of the last glacial maximum (LGM), the East Asian summer monsoon weakened and then strengthened in response to changes in Northern Hemisphere insolation. As the ice sheets retreated the East Asian summer monsoon weakened, especially during Heinrich event H1, when atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections transferred the climatic changes around the North Atlantic to the monsoonal regions of Eastern Asia. A depositional hiatus between ∼14.7 and 12.9 ka leaves the deglacial record incomplete, but an abrupt shift in δ¹⁸O values at ∼11.5 ka marks the end of the Younger Dryas and the transition into the Holocene. Comparisons of the J1 record to other Chinese speleothem records indicate synchronous climatic changes throughout monsoonal China. Further comparisons to a speleothem record from western Asia (Socotra Island) and to Greenland ice cores support hemispherical-scale paleoclimatic change. Spectral and wavelet analyses reveal centennial- and decadal-scale periodicities that correspond to solar frequencies and to oscillations in atmospheric and oceanic circulation.     

Deciphering late Quaternary land snail shell δO and δC from Franchthi Cave (Argolid,Greece)

This paper investigates the stable isotopic composition from late Pleistocene–Holocene (~ 13 to ~ 10.5 cal ka BP) shells of the land snail Helix figulina, from Franchthi Cave (Greece). It explores the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental implications of the isotope palaeoecology of archaeological shells at the time of human occupation of the cave. Modern shells from around the cave were also analysed and their isotopic signatures compared with those of the archaeological shells. The carbon isotope composition of modern shells depicts the consumption of C₃ vegetation. Shell oxygen isotopic values are consistent with other Mediterranean snail shells from coastal areas. Combining empirical linear regression and an evaporative model, the δ¹⁸Os suggest that modern snails in the study area are active during periods of higher relative humidity and lower rainfall δ¹⁸O, probably at night. Late glacial and early Holocene δ¹⁸Os show lower values compared to modern ones. Early Holocene δ¹⁸Os values likely track enhanced moisture and isotopic changes in the precipitation source. By contrast, lower late glacial δ¹⁸O could reflect lower temperatures and δ¹⁸Op, compared to the present day. Shell carbon isotope values indicate the presence of C₃ vegetation as main source of carbon to late glacial and early Holocene snails.     

Response of biomass accumulation and nodulation by Vicia villosa to soil conditions: Evidence from δ13C and δ15N isotopes

Vicia villosa is an annual legume plant,and is mainly used for green manure by farmers in southwest China.Field growth experiments were performed on six plots.The concentrations of mineral nutrients and soluble sugar,and the changes of carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition within and among organs of Vicia were deter- mined.Significant differences in legume growth were found in response to soil type and its moisture conditions.The Vicia villosa was relatively well adapted to growth in limestone soils than sandstone soils.The distribution of sugar concentrations andδ1 3C-differences between roots and leaves indicate that the translocation of sugars from leaves to roots may be restricted by soil drought.Therefore,there was an inhibition of Pi distribution from roots to leaves, resulting in over optimum threshold of N/P ratio.Those may originate from the feedback regulation in the legume, where soluble sugar could not be distributed from leaves to roots.The results ofδ1 5N values in tissues suggest that there should be different preferential use of nitrogen resource by legume during the formation of nodules:before nodule formation the legume preferentially utilizes inorganic nitrogen from soils,but afterwards the nitrogen should be mainly from N2-fixation.Our results indicate that the lack of nodulation development,except for S2,should be ascribed to the factor controlling bi-direction nutrient transfer,which should be efficiency of establishment symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhiza before nodulation formation.It is predicted that the species of Vicia villosa should be a legume associated with dual symbiosis with rhizobia and mycorrhiza.     

350 ka Organic δ13C record of the monsoon variability on the Oman continental margin, Arabian Sea

The stable isotope compositions of sedimentary organic carbon and content of organic carbon for sediment cores recovered at two sites (sites 724C and 725C) during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg. 117 on the Oman continental margin are used to document variability of the monsoon winds for the past 350 ka. Although both sites have a mean δ¹³C value of -20.1‰, three zones depleted in¹³C are observable at site 724C during isotope stages 3, 8 and 10, while only one zone is recognizable at site 725C. Increased coastal upwelling during isotope stage 3 owing to intense SW monsoon winds resulted in higher concentration of CO₂ in the water column causing the formation of organic matter that was depleted in¹³C. The other two zones deposited during oxygen isotope stages 8 and 10, which are also characterized by low values of organic carbon, nitrogen and C/N ratios, could be attributed to the dilution by terrestrial material derived from paleosol by transported by northwester lies. Because of utilization of¹³C enriched dissolved CO₂ during the last glacial maximum Holocene sedimentary organic materials are depleted in¹³C relative to the the fomer. The content of residues organic carbon (ROC) is higher at site 724C (with an average of 2.3 ± 1.2%) relative to site 725C, which averages to 0.9 ± 0.4% probably because of differences in the degree of preservation. Organic material deposited at site 725C has undergone more degradation relative to site 724C as reflected by a systematic downcore decrease in¹³C resulting from a loss of¹³C enriched organic compounds. Owing to lack of good chronology at site 725C, a zone that is characterized by low δ¹³C values it could not be correlated with the other three zones observed at Site 724C.     

Influence of the ratio of planktonic to benthic diatoms on lacustrine organic matter δ13C from Erlongwan maar lake,northeast China

Carbon isotope ratio (δ¹³C_org) values of organic matter in lake sediments are commonly used to reconstruct environmental change, but the factors which influence change are varied and complex. Here we report δ¹³C values for sediments from Erlongwan maar lake in northeast China. In this record, changes in δ¹³C cannot be explained by simple changes in aquatic productivity. Instead, values were likely influenced by differences in the ratio between planktonic and benthic algae, as indicated by the remains of diatoms. This is because the variation of δ¹³C_org in algae from different habitats is controlled by the thickness of the diffusive boundary layer, which is dependent on the turbulence of the water. Compared with benthic algae, which grow in relatively still water, pelagic algae are exposed to greater water movement. This is known to dramatically reduce the thickness of the boundary layer and was found to cause even more severe δ¹³C depletion. In Erlongwan maar lake, low values were linked to the dominance of planktonic diatoms during the period commonly known as the Medieval Warm Period. Values gradually increased with the onset of the Little Ice Age, which we interpret as being driven by an increase in the proportion of benthic taxa, due to effect of the colder climate. The increase in planktonic diatoms at the end of the Little Ice Age, linked to higher temperature and a reduction in ice cover, resulted in a further decline in δ¹³C_org.     

A continuous stable isotope record from the penultimate glacial maximum to the Last Interglacial (159–121 ka) from Tana Che Urla Cave (Apuan Alps,central Italy)

Relatively few radiometrically dated records are available for the central Mediterranean spanning the marine oxygen isotope stage 6–5 (MIS 6–5) transition and the first part of the Last Interglacial. Two flowstone cores from Tana che Urla Cave (TCU, central Italy), constrained by 19 U/Th ages, preserve an interval of continuous speleothem deposition between ca. 159 and 121 ka. A multiproxy record (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, growth rate and petrographic changes) obtained from this flowstone preserves significant regional-scale hydrological changes through the glacial/interglacial transition and multi-centennial variability (interpreted as alternations between wetter and drier periods) within both glacial and interglacial stages. The glacial stage shows a wetter period between ca. 154 and 152 ka, while the early to middle Last Interglacial period shows several drying events at ca. 129, 126 and 122 ka, which can be placed in the wider context of climatic instability emerging from North Atlantic marine and NW European terrestrial records. The TCU record also provides important insights into the evolution of local environmental conditions (i.e. soil development) in response to regional and global-scale climate events.     

A 35 kyr record of organic matter composition and δ13C of n-alkanes in bog sediments close to Lake Baikal: Implications for paleoenvironmental studies

We characterized the compositions of organic compounds in a Cheremushka bog sediment core (deposited over the last 35 kyr), located at the eastern coast of Lake Baikal, to obtain basic information about the terrestrial organic matter (OM) which contributed to Lake Baikal sediments. The bog sediment was analyzed for the molecular composition of n-alkanes, lignin phenols and n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acids, as well as the carbon isotopic composition of plant wax derived n-C₂₇ to C₃₃ alkanes.Concentrations of lignin phenols [vanillyl (V) plus syringyl (S) phenols] normalized to total organic carbon (TOC) in the Holocene are twice those for the last glacial maximum (LGM), while concentrations of TOC-normalized n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acids do not change markedly in this period. Thus, the ratio of lignin phenols to n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acids increases from the LGM to the Holocene. This result is essentially consistent with pollen analysis indicating an expansion of woody plants in the Holocene and a prevailing herb-abundant environment for the LGM. The δ¹³C values of n-C₂₇ to C₃₃ alkanes (e.g. ?29‰ to ?33‰ for C₃₁) indicate the presence of C₃-dominant plants throughout the core.The contribution of terrestrial OM to Lake Baikal sediments was estimated using the biomarkers, on the assumption that the OM in the bog sediments is a representative of the terrestrial OM around the lake. Hence, the estimation using lignin phenol or n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acid parameters indicates that 11–24% of the TOC in the Academician Ridge sediments is land-derived for both the Holocene and the LGM, which is similar to the estimates from C/N values of bulk OM. However, the estimates for terrestrial OM using the n-C₂₇ to C₃₃ alkane parameter are generally higher than those using lignin phenol or n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acid parameters. The difference is thought to be associated with the difference in source and behavior of these biomarkers.     

The Origin of Paleokarst in the Huanglong Formation of the Eastern Sichuan Basin: Evidence from δ13C, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr

Karst rocks from the Huanglong Formation exposed at the margin of the Eastern Sichuan Basin can be divided into four types:slightly corroded, moderately corroded porous, intensely corroded brecciated and intensely corroded and replaced secondary calcic karstic rocks. The carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope compositions of the various karst rocks are analyzed systematically and compared to rocks without karst corrosion. The results indicate that(1) the Huanglong Formation in the eastern Sichuan Basin was a restricted bay supplied and controlled by freshwater in which mudmicrite and mud-dolomicrite exhibit low δ13C and δ18O values and high 87Sr/86 Sr ratios;(2) all types of karstic rocks in the paleokarst reservoirs of the Huanglong Formation in the research area are affected by atmospheric freshwater with the δ13C and δ18O values and 87Sr/86 Sr ratios in the original formation approaching those of atmospheric freshwater, which reflects ancient hydrological conditions, fluid properties, isotopic source and the fractionation effect;(3) the intensely corroded and replaced secondary limestone is affected by a variety of diagenetic fluids, often reflected by δ13C and δ18O values, while the 87Sr/86 Sr ratios exhibit the strong degree of the corrosion;(4) after comparing the 87Sr/86 Sr ratios of each type of karst rock, the diagenetic fluids are determined to be mainly atmospheric freshwater, and depending on the strength of corrosion, and the low 87Sr/86 Sr ratio fluids in the layer will participate in the karst process. The carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes of different karstic reservoirs can provide meaningful geochemical information for forecasting and evaluating the development and distribution rules of the Huanglong Formation at the margin of the eastern Sichuan Basin in time and space.     

Origin and migration of brines from Paleozoic strata in Central Tarim,China: constraints from 87Sr/86Sr, δD, δ18O and water chemistry

Chemistry of major and minor elements, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δD, and δ¹⁸O of oilfield waters, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of whole rock were measured from Paleozoic strata in the Central Tarim basin, NW China. The aim is to elucidate the origin and migration of formation water and its relation to petroleum migration. High salinity oilfield waters in Carboniferous, Silurian and Ordovician reservoirs have maintained the same Na/Cl ratio as seawater, indicative of subaerially evaporated seawater. Two possible sources of evaporitic water are Carboniferous (C_II) and Cambrian, both of which contain evaporitic sediments. Geographic and stratigraphic trends in water chemistry suggest that most of the high salinity water is from the Cambrian. Strontium, H and O isotopes as well as ion chemistry indicate at least 3 end member waters in the basin. High-salinity Cambrian evaporitic water was expelled upward into Ordovician, Silurian and Carboniferous reservoirs along faults and fractures during compaction and burial. Meteoric water has likely invaded the section throughout its history as uplift created subaerial unconformities. Meteoric water certainly infiltrated Silurian and older strata during development of the C_III unconformity and again in recent times. Modern meteoric water enters Carboniferous strata from the west and flows eastward, mixing with the high salinity Cambrian water and to a lesser degree with paleometeoric water. The third end member is highly radiogenic, shale-derived water which has migrated eastward from the Awati Depression to the west. Enrichment of Ca and Sr and depletion of K, Mg, and SO₄ relative to the seawater evaporation trajectory suggest waters were affected by albitization of feldspars, dolomitization, illitization of smectite, and SO₄ reduction. The mixing of meteoric water occurred subsequently to seawater evaporation, main water-rock interactions, and brine migration. The direction of brine migration is consistent with that of petroleum migration, suggesting water and petroleum have followed the same migration pathways.     

Past Century Fossil Fuel Burning Recorded by Tree-Ring δ~(13)C and δ~(34)S from Chaling,South China

工业革命以来由人类活动带来的大量化石燃料燃烧导致严重的环境污染,并引起气候变化。我国自1970年代开始大量排放人类活动产生的CO2和SO2,而且现在我国已经成为世界最大的CO2和SO2排放国。树轮碳-硫同位素及硫含量能很好地记录长时间尺度的气候变化,水利用效率,及化石燃料燃烧。本摘要报道了来自南方森林115年全树树轮碳-硫同位素及硫含量,目的在于记录人类活动产生的CO2和SO2历排放历史,及试图探讨人类活动产生的CO2和SO2对树碳同位素及水利用效率的影响。结果显示树轮碳同位素自1940年代后期至2000年代后期持续下降,是由持续增加的化石燃料产生的CO2导致的;大气CO2校正后的树轮碳同位素反映了全年降雨量。此外,树轮细胞内CO2浓度及水利用效率自1940年代后期持续升高,其原因是大气CO2浓度增加。另一方面,树轮硫含量没有明显的变化,表明硫是树的基本元素,而硫同位素自1890年代后期以来持续下降,记录了化石燃料(北方煤)使用历史。与之前发表的数据,显示最近几年或几十年来树轮碳同位素的增加(1.2‰~2.5‰),但不能证明是由大气污染(SO2增加)引起的,因其被气候变化所掩盖。     

Large crustal input to high δ18O anorthosite massifs of the southern Grenville Province: new evidence from the Morin Complex, Quebec

Mid-Proterozoic anorthosite-suite magmatism is a major volumetric component of the southern Grenville Province, and provides an important probe of the compositions and types of lower crustal rocks. The ∼1.15 Ga Morin Complex (Quebec) consists of two anorthosite plutons with distinct compositions. Plagioclase from the western lobe of the anorthosite has δ¹⁸O values that average 9.6 ± 0.7‰, which is ∼3‰ higher than the values found in “normal” anorthosites and in mantle-derived mafic igneous rocks worldwide. Plagioclase from the eastern lobe of the massif (deformed by the Morin Shear Zone) has δ¹⁸O values that average 8.7 ± 0.6‰, also high compared to mantle-derived rocks. Numerous lines of evidence, including homogeneity of δ¹⁸O values within individual plutons, O–Sr–Nd mixing relations, and preservation of igneous δ¹⁸O in adjacent mangerite units argue against anorthosite interaction with high δ¹⁸O fluids as the cause of the high δ¹⁸O values seen in both anorthosite lobes. High δ¹⁸O values are best explained as primary magmatic compositions resulting from melting and assimilation of crustal materials by the anorthosite's parent magma. The Morin and Marcy massifs are located in the Allochthonous Monocyclic Belt of the Grenville Province, and have the highest known δ¹⁸O values for anorthosites in the Grenville. Although the Monocyclic Belt is juvenile in terms of radiogenic isotope systematics, the new oxygen isotope data indicate the presence high δ¹⁸O supracrustal materials at the base of the crust, probably buried during the ∼1.2 Ga Elzevirian orogeny in the Monocyclic Belt prior to anorthosite magmatism. This process is not recognized in other parts of the Grenville Province and points to differences in the pre-1.2-Ga continental margins. Received: 29 September 1999 / Accepted: 7 March 2000     

Early Cretaceous (late Berriasian to early Aptian) palaeoceanographic change along the northwestern Tethyan margin (Vocontian Trough,southeastern France): δ13C, δ18O and Sr-isotope belemnite and whole-rock records

Stable carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope records were obtained from uppermost Hauterivian to lowermost Aptian belemnite rostra, which were collected in well-dated sections from the Vocontian Trough (southeastern France). This data set complements previously published belemnite-isotope records from the uppermost Berriasian-Hauterivian interval from the same basin. The belemnite carbon and oxygen isotope record is compared to the carbonate bulk-rock isotope record from the same sections, and from additional Italian sections. With regards to their long-term trends, both belemnite and whole-rock δ¹⁸O records are well correlated, except for the uppermost Hauterivian-lower Barremian interval, within which they deviate. This discrepancy is interpreted to be linked to the latest Hauterivian Faraoni oceanic anoxic event and its early Barremian aftermath. The Faraoni level is characterized by enhanced sea-water stratification, probably induced by the onset of a warmer and more humid climate along the northern Tethyan margin. The early Barremian was characterized by stronger vertical sea-water mixing reflected by a decrease in density contrast between sea-surface and deeper waters. The belemnite oxygen isotope record shows a more stable evolution with smaller fluctuations than its bulk-rock counterpart, which indicates that deeper water masses were not as much subjected to density fluctuations as sea-surface water. The comparison of belemnite and bulk-rock carbon isotope records allows observing the impact of regional influence exerted by platform carbonate ooze shedding on the carbon cycle. Discrepancies in the two records are observed during time of photozoan carbonate platform growth. The strontium isotopic record shows a gradual increase from the uppermost Berriasian to the uppermost lower Barremian followed by a rapid decrease until the uppermost Barremian and a renewed small increase within the lowermost Aptian. The major inflection point in the uppermost lower Barremian appears to predate the onset in the formation of the Ontong-Java volcanic plateau.     

Erratum to: Crustal Source of Pb and S at the Yubileynoe Porphyry Gold Deposit (Southern Urals,Kazakhstan): High Precision Pb–Pb and δ34S Data

Geology of Ore Deposits - An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701521300012