Carbon and oxygen isotopic constraints on paleoclimate and paleoelevation of the southwestern Qaidam basin,northern Tibetan Plateau

We investigate the growth of the northern Tibetan Plateau and associated climate change by applying oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions in Cenozoic strata in the southwestern Qaidam basin. The X-ray diffraction and isotopic studies reveal that the carbonate minerals are mainly authigenic and they do not preserve any evidence for detrital carbonate and diagenesis. The isotope data show large fluctuations in the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values in the middle–late Eocene, indicating relatively warm and seasonal dry climate. The positive correlation of the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values in the Oligocene and the positive shift of the δ¹³C values from the Eocene to Oligocene suggest that the climate changed to arid in the Oligocene. However, the δ¹⁸O values show negative shift, which is closely related to the global cooling event. During the Miocene, the δ¹³C values vary between –2‰ and –4‰, whereas the δ¹⁸O values show continuous negative shift. The mean δ¹⁸O values decrease from –8.5‰ in the early Miocene to –10.0‰ in the late Miocene. The stable isotope-based paleoaltimetry results suggest that the elevation of the southwestern Qaidam basin was approximately 1500 m in the middle–late Eocene and Oligocene. Subsequently, during Miocene the crustal uplift process started and the elevation reached approximately 2000 m in the early Miocene and 2500 m in the late Miocene, which suggests large-scale growth of the northern Tibet Plateau during the Miocene.     

The Sunda Shelf—A Submerged Amazon Basin?

A crucial and debatable issue in paleoclimatology is the change of terrestrial vegetation and the role of its carbon storage in glacial cycles. In the modern world, the Amazon Basin hosts the largest tropical rainforest and plays a major role of carbon sink, but during the glacial times another large tropical rainforest must have formed in the then emerged Sunda Shelf, SE Asia, and significantly changed the global carbon cycling. Accordingly, ocean drilling expeditions to the Sunda Shelf are being proposed in order to investigate the sea level changes, evolution of river network, vegetation and carbon storage, as well as biogeography of the tropical region over the last millions of years.     

Environmental significance of C/C and O/O ratios of modern land-snail shells from the southern great plains of North America

¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of aragonite shells of modern land snails from the southern Great Plains of North America were measured for samples from twelve localities in a narrow east-west corridor that extended from the Flint Hills in North Central Oklahoma to the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Northern New Mexico, USA. Across the study area, shell δ¹⁸O values (PDB scale) ranged from −4.1‰ to 1.2‰, while δ¹³C values ranged from −13.2‰ to 0.0‰. δ¹⁸O values of the shell aragonite were predicted with a published, steady state, evaporative flux balance model. The predicted values differed (with one exception) by less than 1‰ from locality averages of measured δ¹⁸O values. This similarity suggests that relative humidity at the time of snail activity is an important control on the δ¹⁸O values of the aragonite and emphasizes the seasonal nature of the climatic information preserved in the shells. Correlated δ¹³C values of coexisting Vallonia and Gastrocopta suggest similar feeding habits and imply that these genera can provide information on variations in southern Great Plains plant ecology. Although there is considerable scatter, multispecies, transect average δ¹³C values of the modern aragonite shells are related to variations in the type of photosynthesis (i.e., C₃, C₄) in the local plant communities. The results of this study emphasize the desirability of obtaining isotope ratios representing averages of many shells in a locale to reduce possible biases associated with local variations among individuals, species, etc., and thus better represent the “neighborhood” scale temporal and/or spatial environmental variations of interest in studies of modern and ancient systems.     

Diet and habitat of toxodont megaherbivores (Mammalia, Notoungulata) from the late Quaternary of South and Central America

The toxodont megaherbivores Toxodon and Mixotoxodon were endemic to South and Central America during the late Quaternary. Isotopic signatures of 47 toxodont teeth were analyzed to reconstruct diet and ancient habitat. Tooth enamel carbon isotope data from six regions of South and Central America indicate significant differences in toxodont diet and local vegetation during the late Quaternary. Toxodonts ranged ecologically from C₃ forest browsers in the Amazon (mean δ¹³C = −13.4‰), to mixed C₃ grazers and/or browsers living either in C₃ grasslands, or mixed C₃ forested and grassland habitats in Honduras (mean δ¹³C = −9.3‰), Buenos Aires province, Argentina (δ¹³C = −8.7‰), and Bahia, Brazil (mean δ¹³C = −8.6‰), to predominantly C₄ grazers in northern Argentina (δ¹³C = −4.4‰), to specialized C₄ grazers in the Chaco of Bolivia (δ¹³C = −0.1‰). Although these toxodonts had very high-crowned teeth classically interpreted for grazing, the isotopic data indicate that these megaherbivores had the evolutionary capacity to feed on a variety of dominant local vegetation. In the ancient Amazon region, carbon isotope data for the toxodonts indicate a C₃-based tropical rainforest habitat with no evidence for grasslands as would be predicted from the Neotropical forest refugia hypothesis.     

Belemnites from the lower middle Cenomanian of Hoppenstedt, northern Germany: significance and integrated correlation

The belemnite species Praeactinocamax primus (Arkhangelsky, 1912) and Belemnocamax boweri Crick, 1910 are described from the Cenomanian of the abandoned limestone quarry section of Hoppenstedt (Sachsen-Anhalt, northern Germany). They co-occur in the upper part of a prominent tripartite bioclastic limestone bed associated with the ammonite Acanthoceras rhotomagense, indicating the primus Event of the lower middle Cenomanian A. rhotomagense ammonite Zone. An integrated stratigraphical calibration including carbon stable isotope correlation to southern England suggests that the belemnite event horizon at Hoppenstedt occupies exactly the same chronostratigraphical position as elsewhere, highlighting the strictly isochronous character of the primus Event across northwestern Europe. Furthermore, stratigraphical gaps in the Hoppenstedt succession are evaluated.     

Calcareous nannoplankton, planktonic foraminiferal, and carbonate carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary section in the Ultrahelvetic Zone (Eastern Alps, Upper Austria)

Ultrahelvetic units of the Eastern Alps were deposited on the distal European continental margin of the (Alpine) Tethys. The Rehkogelgraben section (“Buntmergelserie”, Ultrahelvetic unit, Upper Austria) comprises a 5 m thick succession of upper Cenomanian marl-limestone cycles overlain by a black shale interval composed of three black shale layers and carbonate-free claystones, followed by lower Turonian white to light grey marly limestones with thin marl layers. The main biostratigraphic events in the section are the last occurrence of Rotalipora and the first occurrences of Helvetoglobotruncana helvetica and Quadrum gartneri. The thickest black shale horizon has a TOC content of about 5%, with predominantly marine organic matter of kerogen type II. Vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval parameter T_max (<424 °C) indicate low maturity. HI values range from 261 to 362 mg HC/g TOC. δ¹³C values of bulk rock carbonates display the well documented positive shift around the black shale interval, allowing correlation of the Rehkogelgraben section with other sections such as the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) succession at Pueblo, USA, and reference sections at Eastbourne, UK, and Gubbio, Italy. Sediment accumulation rates at Rehkogelgraben (average 2.5 mm/ka) are significantly lower than those at Pueblo and Eastbourne.     

EPR investigation of the methyl radical,the hydrogen atom and carbon oxide radicals in Maxixe-type beryl

The EPR spectra of Maxixe-type beryl contain a large number of overlapping signals. The angular dependence of the 1:3:3:1 signal typical for the CH₃ radical shows that this radical is located at the center of the channel cavity with its symmetry axis parallel to the crystal c-axis and is rotating around this axis. Its EPR spectrum is axially symmetric with g _// = 2.00263, g _⊥ = 2.00249 and A_// = 2.288 mT, A_⊥ = 2.256 mT. These anisotropies have the opposite signs of those found for surface-adsorbed methyl radicals. Hydrogen atoms are located at position 2a at the center of the beryl cavity and the EPR parameters of the narrow doublet signal are A ₀ = 1,407 MHz and g = 2.00230. Another doublet signal, which is broader and has axial symmetry with g _// = 2.00265, g _⊥ = 2.00625 and A_// = 0.895 mT, A_⊥ = 0.885 mT, could come from a HCO₃ radical. One narrow and easily saturated signal with g _// = 2.00227 and g _⊥ = 2.00386 is interpreted to arise from a carbon monoxide radical in the beryl channel, oriented with its axis parallel to the crystal c-axis. Additional weak doublet lines, which have similar g values as the carbon monoxide radical, are created by nearby hydrogens. A powder spectrum with g _// = 2.0017 and g _⊥ = 2.0004 appears upon UV irradiation of the single crystal and is easily saturated. This spectrum is interpreted to arise from a carbon dioxide radical, which rotates around its symmetry axis.     

潮汐湿地土壤碳矿化及其对电子受体响应研究进展

潮汐湿地是一种重要的湿地类型,受周期性变化的潮汐水位和盐分等特殊因子的影响,其土壤碳矿化过程亦具独特性,综述了潮汐湿地土壤碳矿化及其对电子受体响应的最新研究进展。结果表明,潮汐湿地土壤碳矿化除有氧碳矿化外,三价铁和硫酸盐还原过程主导的厌氧碳矿化也是土壤碳矿化的重要途径;潮汐湿地类型中的红树林土壤碳矿化速率高于盐沼土壤碳矿化速率,并均以二氧化碳为土壤碳矿化的主要产物;生境的差异使不同电子受体在土壤碳矿化中的作用有所不同,并受到电子受体和电子供体数量的调节;潮汐、盐分、生物干扰等是影响潮汐湿地土壤碳矿化过程的主要因子。     

Upwelling signals in radiocarbon from early 20th-century Peruvian bay scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) shells

We quantified Δ¹⁴C, δ¹⁸O, and δ¹³C cycles along ontogeny within four bay scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) shells collected from Callao Bay, Salaverry, and Sechura Bay, Peru following the 1907–1908 non-El Niño years and the 1925–1926 El Niño. Δ¹⁴C and δ¹³C generally covary; Δ¹⁴C and δ¹⁸O vary inversely. Simultaneous decreases in Δ¹⁴C and increases in δ¹⁸O in non-El Niño shells are followed by constant Δ¹⁴C and gradually decreasing δ¹⁸O, which we interpret as evidence for discrete marine upwelling events followed by warming of the initially cold upwelled water. Upwelling changes from El Niño events are detectable with difficulty in mollusk shell Δ¹⁴C.     

房山花岗岩岩体氧氢碳的同位素研究

测定了房山花岗岩侵入体的岩石、共生矿物和气液包体的氧、氢、碳的同位素组成。共生石英-黑云母和石英-全岩的δ~(18)O数据表明,房山花岗岩侵入体保存了氧同位素平衡,氧同位素温度在450—580℃之间。大多数共生黑云母-角闪石δD值的相关性基本上符合Suzuoki-Epstein关系式,可以认为房山侵入体也保存了氢同位素平衡,推算得到的岩浆流体的δD值在-70—-30之间。气液包体中CO_2的δ(13)C为-4—-8,属于一种深源碳,可以利用地下水参加岩浆后期演化的假定来解释黑云母二长闪长岩氢、碳同位素异常