Climate change as an ecosystem architect: implications to rare plant ecology, conservation, and restoration

Treesearch

Constance I. Millar

2003-01-01

Recent advances in earth system sciences have revealed significant new information relevant to rare plant ecology and conservation. Analysis of climate change at high resolution with new and precise proxies of paleotemperatures reveals a picture over the past two million years of oscillatory climate change operating simultaneously at multiple timescales. Low-frequency...

Assessing the utility of elemental ratios as a paleotemperature proxy in shells of patelloid limpets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graniero, Lauren; Surge, Donna; Gillikin, David

2015-04-01

Archaeological shell and fish middens are rich sources of paleoenvironmental proxy data. Carbonate hard part remains contained in such deposits have been used as archives of coastal marine climate and human-climate interactions. Oxygen isotope records from fast-growing limpet shells potentially capture summer and winter seasons, and thus, approach the full seasonal range of sea surface temperature (SST). Fast-growing shells are often short-lived, providing "snap-shots" of multi-year seasonal cycles. Patelloid limpet shells are common constituents in archaeological middens found along European, African, and South American coastlines. Oxygen isotope ratios of archaeological limpet shells from the genus, Patella, have been used to reconstruct seasonal SST and ocean circulation patterns during the Late Quaternary. Such studies depend on the ability to constrain the oxygen isotope ratio of seawater; therefore, alternative proxies are necessary for coastal localities where this is not possible. Elemental ratios (e.g., Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca) have been used as paleotemperature proxies in corals and foraminifera with varying degrees of success and appear problematic in bivalves. Here, we test whether such elemental ratios are useful as an alternative SST proxy in patelloid limpet shells.

Reconstructing the stable isotope geochemistry and paleotemperatures of the equatorial Atlantic during the last 150,000 years: Results from individual foraminifera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Billups, Katharina; Spero, Howard J.

1996-04-01

This study represents an attempt to extract paleoclimatic data from the deep-sea record by analyzing foraminiferal shells individually. Using the oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotopic composition of individual Orbulina universa and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, we present an approach to reconstruct the δ18O of seawater (δ18Ow), the δ13C of ΣCO2, and seasonal maximum sea surface temperatures (SST) in the western and eastern equatorial Atlantic. We examine the glacial and interglacial extremes of the last 150,000 years (isotope stages 1, 2, 5e, and 6). Comparison of recent water column hydrography with reconstructions from core top assemblages shows that O. universa and N. dutertrei δ18O and δ13C values accurately record hydrographic conditions in the mixed layer and upper thermocline at both sites. By analyzing shells individually, we can evaluate the effect of bioturbation on the range of δ18O and δ13C values in each interval and take it into consideration in our data interpretations. Downcore results show that N. dutertrei δ18O values in the western equatorial Atlantic reflect glacial to interglacial changes in δ18Ow due to continental ice formation (Δδ18O=1.30 ‰). We use changes in N. dutertrei δ18O values between core intervals to estimate the ice-volume effect in paleotemperature calculations for the mixed layer. To validate the use of O. universa for mixed layer reconstructions, we have added individual Globigerinoides sacculifer data for stages 1 and 2 at both sites. Paleotemperature reconstructions from O. universa δ18O values indicate that maximum seasonal mixed layer temperatures in the equatorial Atlantic decreased by at most 2.6°C between isotope stages 1 and 2 and by no more than 3.4°C between stages 1 and 6. Individual shell data from G. sacculifer yield similar results indicating that maximum O. universa δ18O values reflect the mixed layer environment. In agreement with Climate: Long-Range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction (CLIMAP) [1981] SST reconstructions for stage 2, these data indicate little change between glacial and interglacial paleotemperatures in the equatorial Atlantic. An electronic supplement of this material may be obtainedon a diskette or Anonymous FTP from KOSMOS.AGU.ORG.(LOGIN to AGU's FTP account using ANONYMOUS as theusername and GUEST as the password. Go to the rightdirectory by typing CD APEND. Type LS to see what files areavailable. Type GET and the name of the file to get it.Finally, type EXIT to leave the system.) (Paper 95PA03773,Reconstructing the stable isotope geochemistry andpaleotemperatures of the equatorial Atlantic during the last150,000 years: Results from individual foraminifera,Katharina Billups and Howard J. Spero). Diskette may beordered from American Geophysical union, 2000 FloridaAvenue, N. W., Washington, DC 20009; $15.00. Paymentmust accompany order.

Evaluation of Benthic Foraminiferal Mg/Ca and δ18O: Paleoceanographic Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuda, K.; Frew, R. D.; Fordyce, R. E.

2005-12-01

Using several different analytical approaches on the same samples is crucial for reducing uncertainties in paleoceanographic studies. We examined two different sequences near Oamaru, New Zealand to evaluate a combination of Mg/Ca and δ18O techniques on benthic foraminifera. As a trial, we chose well-preserved material from the Altonian stage (-18 Ma) while as an application, cemented/altered material in Whaingaroan/Runangan stage (-34 Ma) was selected. For the Altonian, Mg/Ca in Notorotalia spinosa and Cibicides spp. were analysed by ICP-OES throughout the fossiliferous sequence and then paleotemperatures were estimated by our modern Mg/Ca calibration curves. The δ18O in N. spinosa and some Cibicides were also measured from the same stations for pairing with Mg/Ca results. Further, to evaluate paleotemperature estimates from the whole tests, spots analyses of Mg/Ca were taken through the successive chambers for the two species using Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA). Paleotemperatures through the successive chambers, which should be related to their life spans, were estimated by the modern calibration curves established from EPMA analysis. Results show that Notorotalia may retain at least an annual record while the signal in Cibicides may retain a part of season. There is distinctive seasonality observed in this period and the δ18Oseawater estimates paired with Mg/Ca in N. spinosa are comparable with published estimates. For the Whaingaroan/Runangan, Mg/Ca in Cibicides parki (ICP) shows relatively low values (cool) through this sequence in agreement with EPMA analysis. However, δ18O-derived temperatures from C. parki imply warmer conditions prevailed. In addition, Mg/Ca and δ18O from Cribrorotalia (closely related to Notorotalia) provide similar temperature estimates to the C. parki isotope results. It appears that Mg/Ca in certain species are susceptible to post-mortem alteration resulting in lower apparent temperatures. Spot analyses in Cribrorotalia show no distinctive seasonality and the δ18Oseawater estimates indicate ice-free conditions. We conclude that pairing Mg/Ca with δ18O allows the estimation of δ18Oseawater, but only if well-preserved and annual recorder specimens are examined. Combination with EPMA analysis may provide insight into seasonal variability.

Burial and exhumation of the Eisenhower Range, Transantarctic Mountains, based on thermochronological, sedimentary rock maturity and petrographic constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prenzel, J.; Lisker, F.; Elsner, M.; Schöner, R.; Balestrieri, M. L.; Läufer, A. L.; Berner, U.; Spiegel, C.

2014-09-01

The Eisenhower Range is a N-S trending mountain range in the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) adjacent to the NW Ross Sea Embayment. New AFT and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He (AHe) data from vertical basement profiles supplemented by paleotemperature and pressure estimates derived from Beacon sandstones provide new quantitative results on regional burial evolution and first regional constraints on basin inversion and exhumation processes. AFT ages between 32 ± 2 and 259 ± 18 Ma and AHe ages of 37 ± 3-173 ± 16 Ma correlate positively with sample elevations. Thermal history modeling of these data and complementary thermal indications detect heating of the paleosurface on the Eisenhower Range to temperatures ≥ 80 °C subsequent to Ferrar magmatism, and constrain Late Eocene rapid cooling. Regression of modeled paleotemperatures against sample elevations refers to a high Jurassic (~ 45 °C/km) and a moderate Cretaceous-Eocene (28 ± 8 °C/km) geothermal gradient. The texture of Beacon sandstones supports strong mechanical compaction that requires a higher overburden than preserved in the stratigraphic record. Modeled paleotemperatures and pressures suggest basement burial that increases from Late Jurassic (0.7-1.1 km) to Eocene (1.8-2.1 km). The overburden comprises 0.7-1.1 km cumulative Beacon/Ferrar rocks and 0.7-1.4 km of post-Ferrar sediments. Rapid cooling of the whole sample suite between ~ 35 and 30 Ma implies fast erosion of the post-Ferrar sediments and (re-) exposure of underlying magmatic rocks. Subsequent differential sample cooling to present-day surface temperature infers ongoing exhumation by glacial incision enhanced by isostatic response to basin inversion. Decreasing amounts of exhumation from the coast (> 3 km) toward the interior (1.5-2.2 km) point to backstepping incision along the fault controlled Priestley Glacier. Substantial exhumation of the Eisenhower Range since the Late Eocene is hence triggered by both tectonic and climatic factors, superimposed by considerable lithological influence during the initial exhumation stage.

The evolution of Phanerozoic seawater - Isotope paleothermometry finds consensus on Early Paleozoic warmth and constant seawater δ18O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grossman, E. L.; Henkes, G. A.; Passey, B. H.; Shenton, B.; Yancey, T. E.; Perez-Huerta, A.

2015-12-01

Evolution of metazoan life is closely linked to the Phanerozoic evolution of ocean temperatures and chemistry. Oxygen isotopic evidence for early Phanerozoic paleotemperatures has been equivocal, with decreasing δ18O values with age being interpreted as warmer early oceans, decreasing seawater δ18O with age, or increasing diagenetic alteration in older samples. Here we compare an updated compilation of oxygen isotope data for carbonate and phosphate fossils and microfossils (Grossman, 2012, Geol. Time Scale, Elsevier, 195-220) with a compilation of new and existing clumped isotope data. Importantly, these data are curated based on sample preservation with special consideration given to screening techniques, and tectonic and burial history. Burial history is critical in the preservation of carbonate clumped isotope temperatures in particular, which can undergo reordering in the solid state. We use a model derived for reordering kinetics (Henkes et al., 2014, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 139:362-382) to screen clumped isotope data for the effects of solid-state burial alteration. With minor but significant exceptions (Late Cretaceous, Early Triassic), average δ18O values (4 m.y. window, 2 m.y. steps) for post-Devonian brachiopods, belemnites, and foraminifera, representing tropical-subtropical surface ocean conditions, yield average isotopic temperatures below 30°C (assuming a seawater δ18O value [ -1‰ VSMOW] of an "ice-free" world). In contrast, Ordovician to Devonian data show sustained temperatures of 35-40°C. Likewise, isotopic paleotemperatures from conodont apatite, known to be resistant to isotopic exchange, follow the same pattern. Clumped isotope data derived from Paleozoic brachiopod shells that experienced minimal burial (< 100 °C) and <1% reordering according to the taxon-specific clumped isotope reordering model yield typical temperatures of 25-30°C for the Carboniferous, and 35-40°C for the Ordovician-Silurian. Inserting clumped temperatures and δ18O values into the oxygen isotopic paleotemperature equation yields a mean seawater δ18O of -0.7 ± 1.4‰ for the Phanerozoic. Collectively, these findings argue for extremely warm early Paleozoic oceans, and constant seawater δ18O throughout the last ~450 million years.

Branched GDGT distributions in lakes from Mexico and Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, A.; Werne, J. P.; Correa-Metrio, A.; Pérez, L.; Caballero, M.

2017-12-01

The potential to use bacterial derived branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) to reconstruct mean annual air temperatures from soils sparked significant interest in the terrestrial paleoclimate community, where a high-fidelity paleotemperature proxy is desperately needed. While the source of brGDGTs remains unknown (but are potentially attributed to the highly diverse phylum Acidobacteria), much evidence points to the potential for these bacteria to live not only in the terrestrial environment but also in lake water and sediments as well. Though the application of brGDGTs to lacustrine reconstructions is promising, the initial applications of soil-based MBT/CBT proxy to lacustrine sediments typically resulted in lower temperatures than were reasonable, likely due to additions from lacustrine bacterial brGDGTs. Here, we present data from a suite of >100 lakes in Mexico and Central America, producing a regional core-top calibration different from those developed in other regions. Results indicate a significant role for regional differences in controlling the brGDGTs distribution, likely due to different brGDGT-producing microbial communities thriving under varying environmental conditions. Rigorous development of brGDGT based proxies will improve our understanding of the source and applicability of these biomarkers, and increase confidence in the accuracy of paleotemperature reconstructions to numerous lacustrine records in the region.

Glendonites as a paleoenvironmental tool: Implications for early Cretaceous high latitudinal climates in Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Lurio, Jennifer L.; Frakes, L. A.

1999-04-01

Glendonites, calcite pseudomorphs after the metastable mineral ikaite (CaCO 3 · 6H 2O), occur in the Late Aptian interval of the Bulldog Shale in the Eromanga Basin, Australia and in other Early Cretaceous basins at high paleolatitudes. Ikaite precipitation in the marine environment requires near-freezing temperatures (not higher than 4°C), high alkalinity, increased levels of orthophosphate, and high P CO2. The rapid and complete transformation of ikaite to calcite at temperatures between 5 and 8°C provides an upper limit on the oxygen isotopic composition of the pore waters: -2.6 <δ w <-3.4‰SMOW. If it is assumed that these pore waters are representative of the shallow Eromanga Basin, the calculated δ w can be used to reassess belemnite fossil oxygen isotopic paleotemperatures - temperature recorded by fauna living in the basin at the time of ikaite precipitation. Data previously reported as 11 to 16°C (assuming δ w = 0.0‰SMOW) yield paleotemperatures ranging from -1 to 5°C, squarely in the range of ikaite stability. The low δ w indicates hyposaline conditions, most likely caused by mixing high latitude meteoric waters with seawater. The 18O depleted, low temperature waters suggest that the region was at least seasonally colder than previously accepted.

Paleothermal structure of the Nankai inner accretionary wedge estimated from vitrinite reflectance of cuttings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuchi, Rina; Yamaguchi, Asuka; Yamamoto, Yuzuru; Ashi, Juichiro

2017-08-01

The paleothermal structure and tectonic evolution of an accretionary prism is basic information for understanding subduction zone seismogenesis. To evaluate the entire paleotemperature profile of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site C0002 located in the off-Kumano region of the Nankai Trough and penetrate the inner accretionary wedge down to 3058.5 m below the seafloor (mbsf), we performed a vitrinite reflectance analysis for cuttings and core samples during IODP expeditions 338 and 348: Nankai Trough seismogenic zone experiment. Although vitrinite reflectance values (Ro) tend to increase with depth, two reversals of these values suggested the existence of thrust fault zones with sufficient displacements to offset the paleothermal structure. The estimated maximum paleotemperatures are 42-70°C at 1200-1300 mbsf, 44-100°C at 1600-2400 mbsf, and 56-115°C at 2600-3000 mbsf, respectively. These temperatures roughly coincide with estimated modern temperatures; however, at a smaller scale, the reconstructed partial paleogeothermal gradient (˜60-150°C/km) recorded at the hanging- and footwall of the presumed thrust fault zone is higher than the modern geothermal gradient (˜30-40°C/km). This high paleogeothermal gradient was possibly obtained prior to subduction, reflecting the large heat flow of the young Philippine Sea Plate.

Calibration of Gephyrocapsa Coccolith Abundance in Holocene Sediments for Paleo-temperature Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bollmann, J.; Brabec, B.

2001-12-01

Abundance and assemblage compositions of microplankton, together with their chemical and stable isotopic composition, have been among the most successful methods in paleoceanography. One of the most frequently applied techniques for reconstruction of paleo-temperature is a transfer function using the relative abundance of planktic foraminifera in sediment samples. Here we present evidence, suggesting that absolute sea surface temperature for a given location can be also calculated from the relative abundance of Gephyrocapsa morphotypes in sediment samples with an accuracy comparable to foraminifera transfer functions. By extrapolating this finding, paleo-enviromental interpretations can be obtained for the Late Pleistocene and discrepancies between the different currently used methods (e.g., foraminifer, alkenone and Ca/Mg derived temperature estimates) might be resolved. Eighty-one Holocene sediment samples were selected from the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans covering a temperature gradient from 13.4° C to 29.4° C, a salinity gradient from 32.21 to 37.34 and a productivity gradient of 0.045 to 0.492μ g chlorophyll/L. Standard multiple linear regression analyses were applied to this data set, linking the relative abundance of Gephyrocapsa morphotypes to mean sea surface temperature. The best model revealed an r2 of 0.8 with a standard residual error of 1.8° C for calculation of the mean sea surface temperature.

Reconstructed ancestral enzymes suggest long-term cooling of Earth's photic zone since the Archean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, Amanda K.; Schopf, J. William; Yokobori, Shin-ichi; Akanuma, Satoshi; Yamagishi, Akihiko

2017-05-01

Paleotemperatures inferred from the isotopic compositions (δ18O and δ30Si) of marine cherts suggest that Earth’s oceans cooled from 70 ± 15 °C in the Archean to the present ˜15 °C. This interpretation, however, has been subject to question due to uncertainties regarding oceanic isotopic compositions, diagenetic or metamorphic resetting of the isotopic record, and depositional environments. Analyses of the thermostability of reconstructed ancestral enzymes provide an independent method by which to assess the temperature history inferred from the isotopic evidence. Although previous studies have demonstrated extreme thermostability in reconstructed archaeal and bacterial proteins compatible with a hot early Earth, taxa investigated may have inhabited local thermal environments that differed significantly from average surface conditions. We here present thermostability measurements of reconstructed ancestral enzymatically active nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDKs) derived from light-requiring prokaryotic and eukaryotic phototrophs having widely separated fossil-based divergence ages. The ancestral environmental temperatures thereby determined for these photic-zone organisms--shown in modern taxa to correlate strongly with NDK thermostability--are inferred to reflect ancient surface-environment paleotemperatures. Our results suggest that Earth's surface temperature decreased over geological time from ˜65-80 °C in the Archean, a finding consistent both with previous isotope-based and protein reconstruction-based interpretations. Interdisciplinary studies such as those reported here integrating genomic, geologic, and paleontologic data hold promise for providing new insight into the coevolution of life and environment over Earth history.

Late cretaceous foraminifera, paleoenvironments, and paleoceanography of the rosario formation, San Antonio del Mar, Baja California, Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maestas, Y.; MacLeod, K.G.; Douglas, R.; Self-Trail, J.; Ward, P.D.

2003-01-01

The 315 m of Rosario Formation exposed at the San Antonio del Mar (SADM) section (Baja California, Mexico) contains moderately-to-well preserved benthic and planktic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils, and molluscs. Nannofossils suggest most of the SADM section was deposited within a narrow interval of the late Campanian (CC21-CC22), whereas foraminifera and molluscs suggest a younger maximum age (younger than the Globotruncana ventricosa Zone) and allow deposition over a longer interval of time. Planktic foraminifera at SADM represent common Tethyan taxa. They are largely restricted to the lower and middle portions of the section and comprise 0-???40% of foraminiferal assemblages. Stable isotopic analyses of Rugoglobigerina rugosa yield ??18OV-PDB values from -2.27%, to -2.82%, corresponding to salinity-corrected paleotemperature estimates of 26-30??C for the Late Cretaceous eastern Pacific. These estimates are as warm as modern tropical temperatures and are similar to tropical paleotemperature estimates from ??18O analyses of exceptionally preserved Maastrichtian samples; however, they are considerably warmer than most tropical Campanian-Maastrichtian estimates. Benthic foraminifera indicate outer shelf paleodepths with a slight increase in depth or decrease in benthic oxygen levels in the upper parts of the interval studied. The change in the benthic assemblage corresponds to an ???1??? positive shift in benthic ??O18, suggesting a relationship between benthic assemblages and an inferred increase in the local intensity of upwelling.

A high-resolution mid-Pleistocene temperature record from Arctic Lake El'gygytgyn: a 50 kyr super interglacial from MIS 33 to MIS 31?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Wet, Gregory A.; Castañeda, Isla S.; DeConto, Robert M.; Brigham-Grette, Julie

2016-02-01

Previous periods of extreme warmth in Earth's history are of great interest in light of current and predicted anthropogenic warming. Numerous so called "super interglacial" intervals, with summer temperatures significantly warmer than today, have been identified in the 3.6 million year (Ma) sediment record from Lake El'gygytgyn, northeast Russia. To date, however, a high-resolution paleotemperature reconstruction from any of these super interglacials is lacking. Here we present a paleotemperature reconstruction based on branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) from Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 35 to MIS 29, including super interglacial MIS 31. To investigate this period in detail, samples were analyzed with an unprecedented average sample resolution of 500 yrs from MIS 33 to MIS 30. Our results suggest the entire period currently defined as MIS 33-31 (∼1114-1062 kyr BP) was characterized by generally warm and highly variable conditions at the lake, at times out of phase with Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, and that cold "glacial" conditions during MIS 32 lasted only a few thousand years. Close similarities are seen with coeval records from high southern latitudes, supporting the suggestion that the interval from MIS 33 to MIS 31 was an exceptionally long interglacial (Teitler et al., 2015). Based on brGDGT temperatures from Lake El'gygytgyn (this study and unpublished results), warming in the western Arctic during MIS 31 was matched only by MIS 11 during the Pleistocene.

Tertiary evolution of the Shimanto belt (Japan): A large-scale collision in Early Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raimbourg, Hugues; Famin, Vincent; Palazzin, Giulia; Yamaguchi, Asuka; Augier, Romain

2017-07-01

To decipher the Miocene evolution of the Shimanto belt of southwestern Japan, structural and paleothermal studies were carried out in the western area of Shikoku Island. All units constituting the belt, both in its Cretaceous and Tertiary domains, are in average strongly dipping to the NW or SE, while shortening directions deduced from fault kinematics are consistently orientated NNW-SSE. Peak paleotemperatures estimated with Raman spectra of organic matter increase strongly across the southern, Tertiary portion of the belt, in tandem with the development of a steeply dipping metamorphic cleavage. Near the southern tip of Ashizuri Peninsula, the unconformity between accreted strata and fore-arc basin, present along the whole belt, corresponds to a large paleotemperature gap, supporting the occurrence of a major collision in Early Miocene. This tectonic event occurred before the magmatic event that affected the whole belt at 15 Ma. The associated shortening was accommodated in two opposite modes, either localized on regional-scale faults such as the Nobeoka Tectonic Line in Kyushu or distributed through the whole belt as in Shikoku. The reappraisal of this collision leads to reinterpret large-scale seismic refraction profiles of the margins, where the unit underlying the modern accretionary prism is now attributed to an older package of deformed and accreted sedimentary units belonging to the Shimanto belt. When integrated into reconstructions of Philippine Sea Plate motion, the collision corresponds to the oblique collision of a paleo Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc with Japan in Early Miocene.

Reconstructed ancestral enzymes suggest long-term cooling of Earth's photic zone since the Archean.

PubMed

Garcia, Amanda K; Schopf, J William; Yokobori, Shin-Ichi; Akanuma, Satoshi; Yamagishi, Akihiko

2017-05-02

Paleotemperatures inferred from the isotopic compositions (δ 18 O and δ 30 Si) of marine cherts suggest that Earth's oceans cooled from 70 ± 15 °C in the Archean to the present ∼15 °C. This interpretation, however, has been subject to question due to uncertainties regarding oceanic isotopic compositions, diagenetic or metamorphic resetting of the isotopic record, and depositional environments. Analyses of the thermostability of reconstructed ancestral enzymes provide an independent method by which to assess the temperature history inferred from the isotopic evidence. Although previous studies have demonstrated extreme thermostability in reconstructed archaeal and bacterial proteins compatible with a hot early Earth, taxa investigated may have inhabited local thermal environments that differed significantly from average surface conditions. We here present thermostability measurements of reconstructed ancestral enzymatically active nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDKs) derived from light-requiring prokaryotic and eukaryotic phototrophs having widely separated fossil-based divergence ages. The ancestral environmental temperatures thereby determined for these photic-zone organisms--shown in modern taxa to correlate strongly with NDK thermostability--are inferred to reflect ancient surface-environment paleotemperatures. Our results suggest that Earth's surface temperature decreased over geological time from ∼65-80 °C in the Archean, a finding consistent both with previous isotope-based and protein reconstruction-based interpretations. Interdisciplinary studies such as those reported here integrating genomic, geologic, and paleontologic data hold promise for providing new insight into the coevolution of life and environment over Earth history.

Accurate and Precise Bottom Water Paleotemperatures from Aragonitic Benthic Foraminiferal Li/Mg: Calibration, Theory, and Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchitto, T. M., Jr.; Valley, S.; Lynch-Stieglitz, J.

2015-12-01

While great progress has been made in reconstructing past sea surface temperatures, reliable bottom water paleotemperature measurements are not routinely available. We suggest that Li/Mg ratios in biogenic aragonites, particularly in the cosmopolitan benthic foraminifer Hoeglundina elegans, have the potential to bridge this gap. Core top calibration shows that H. elegans Li/Mg decreases by 5.5% per °C (r2 = 0.91), with a relationship that is nearly identical to that displayed by a wide range of corals (r2 = 0.95). The fact that such disparate organisms behave so similarly suggests to us that thermodynamics are shining through the 'vital effects' that so often plague paleoceanographic proxies. We hypothesize that Ca2+ pumping causes Li/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in the organisms' calcification pools to decline, while Li/Mg remains constant. Rayleigh fractionation has the opposite effect on calcification pool Li/Ca and Mg/Ca (they rise), while Li/Mg still remains essentially constant. Hence any environmental influences on Ca2+ pumping and/or Rayleigh fractionation, such as seawater carbonate chemistry, have no measurable effects on aragonite Li/Mg. Our first downcore test of the Li/Mg proxy is performed in core KNR166-2-26JPC from 546 m water depth in the Florida Straits. Benthic foraminiferal δ18O was previously used to document decreased seawater density during both Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) and the Younger Dryas (YD), consistent with flattening of isopycnals across the Florida Current caused by slowdown of the AMOC. Here we show striking agreement between H. elegans Li/Mg and ice-volume-corrected δ18O temperatures since ~17 ka (in both absolute values and temporal changes), confirming that bottom waters abruptly warmed during HS1 and the YD. The YD, which is better-resolved, was ~2°C warmer than the Holocene. Li/Mg indicates that Last Glacial Maximum bottom waters were ~2-3°C, or ~5°C colder than during the Holocene. If these glacial temperatures are accurate, they require a similar seawater δ18O to today, which suggests relative freshening in the face of higher mean ocean δ18O. Overall the Li/Mg paleotemperature reproducibility is very good, with a median five-depth running standard deviation of <0.6°C (even before omitting apparent outliers), a number which certainly includes real temporal variability.

Paleogeothermal record of the Emeishan mantle plume: evidences from borehole Ro data in the Sichuan basin, SW China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, S.

2013-12-01

The Emeishan basalt province located in the southwest of China is widely accepted to be a result of the eruption of a mantle plume at the time of middle-late Permian. If it was a mantle plume, the ambient sedimentary rocks must be heated up during the development of the mantle plume and this thermal effect must be recorded by some geothermometers in the country rocks. The vitrinite reflectance (Ro) data as a maximum paleotemperature recorder from boreholes in Sichuan basin was employed to expose the thermal regime related to the proposed Emeishan mantle plume. The Ro profiles from boreholes which drilled close to the Emeishan basalts shows a ';dog-leg' (break) style at the unconformity between the middle and the upper Permian, and the Ro profiles in the lower subsection (pre-middle Permian) shows a significantly higher slopes (gradients) than those in the upper subsection. In contrast, those Ro profiles from boreholes far away from the center of the basalt province have no break at the uncomformity. Based on the chemical kinetic model of Ro, the paleo-temperature gradients for the upper and the lower subsections in different boreholes, as well as the erosion at the unconformity between the middle and the upper Permian, were reconstructed to reveal the variations of the temperature gradients and erosion thickness with geological time and space. Both the thermal regime and the erosion thickness together with their spatial variation (structure) provide strong geothermal evidence for the existence of the Emeishan mantle plume in the middle-late Permian.

Pronounced zonal heterogeneity in Eocene southern high-latitude sea surface temperatures.

PubMed

Douglas, Peter M J; Affek, Hagit P; Ivany, Linda C; Houben, Alexander J P; Sijp, Willem P; Sluijs, Appy; Schouten, Stefan; Pagani, Mark

2014-05-06

Paleoclimate studies suggest that increased global warmth during the Eocene epoch was greatly amplified at high latitudes, a state that climate models cannot fully reproduce. However, proxy estimates of Eocene near-Antarctic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have produced widely divergent results at similar latitudes, with SSTs above 20 °C in the southwest Pacific contrasting with SSTs between 5 and 15 °C in the South Atlantic. Validation of this zonal temperature difference has been impeded by uncertainties inherent to the individual paleotemperature proxies applied at these sites. Here, we present multiproxy data from Seymour Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, that provides well-constrained evidence for annual SSTs of 10-17 °C (1σ SD) during the middle and late Eocene. Comparison of the same paleotemperature proxy at Seymour Island and at the East Tasman Plateau indicate the presence of a large and consistent middle-to-late Eocene SST gradient of ∼7 °C between these two sites located at similar paleolatitudes. Intermediate-complexity climate model simulations suggest that enhanced oceanic heat transport in the South Pacific, driven by deep-water formation in the Ross Sea, was largely responsible for the observed SST gradient. These results indicate that very warm SSTs, in excess of 18 °C, did not extend uniformly across the Eocene southern high latitudes, and suggest that thermohaline circulation may partially control the distribution of high-latitude ocean temperatures in greenhouse climates. The pronounced zonal SST heterogeneity evident in the Eocene cautions against inferring past meridional temperature gradients using spatially limited data within given latitudinal bands.

Pronounced zonal heterogeneity in Eocene southern high-latitude sea surface temperatures

PubMed Central

Douglas, Peter M. J.; Affek, Hagit P.; Ivany, Linda C.; Houben, Alexander J. P.; Sijp, Willem P.; Sluijs, Appy; Schouten, Stefan; Pagani, Mark

2014-01-01

Paleoclimate studies suggest that increased global warmth during the Eocene epoch was greatly amplified at high latitudes, a state that climate models cannot fully reproduce. However, proxy estimates of Eocene near-Antarctic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have produced widely divergent results at similar latitudes, with SSTs above 20 °C in the southwest Pacific contrasting with SSTs between 5 and 15 °C in the South Atlantic. Validation of this zonal temperature difference has been impeded by uncertainties inherent to the individual paleotemperature proxies applied at these sites. Here, we present multiproxy data from Seymour Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, that provides well-constrained evidence for annual SSTs of 10–17 °C (1σ SD) during the middle and late Eocene. Comparison of the same paleotemperature proxy at Seymour Island and at the East Tasman Plateau indicate the presence of a large and consistent middle-to-late Eocene SST gradient of ∼7 °C between these two sites located at similar paleolatitudes. Intermediate-complexity climate model simulations suggest that enhanced oceanic heat transport in the South Pacific, driven by deep-water formation in the Ross Sea, was largely responsible for the observed SST gradient. These results indicate that very warm SSTs, in excess of 18 °C, did not extend uniformly across the Eocene southern high latitudes, and suggest that thermohaline circulation may partially control the distribution of high-latitude ocean temperatures in greenhouse climates. The pronounced zonal SST heterogeneity evident in the Eocene cautions against inferring past meridional temperature gradients using spatially limited data within given latitudinal bands. PMID:24753570

Diet and environment of a mid-Pliocene fauna from southwestern Himalaya: Paleo-elevation implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yang; Xu, Yingfeng; Khawaja, Sofia; Passey, Benjamin H.; Zhang, Chunfu; Wang, Xiaoming; Li, Qiang; Tseng, Zhijie J.; Takeuchi, Gary T.; Deng, Tao; Xie, Guangpu

2013-08-01

A mid-Pliocene fauna (4.2-3.1 Ma) was recently uncovered in the Zanda (Zhada) Basin in the southwestern Himalaya, at an elevation of about 4200 m above sea level. These fossil materials provide a unique window for examining the linkage among tectonic, climatic and biotic changes. Here we report the results from isotopic analyses of this fauna and of modern herbivores and waters as well as paleo-temperature estimates from the Zanda Basin. The δ13C values of enamel samples from modern wild Tibetan asses, and domesticated horses, cows and goats in the area are -9.4±1.8‰, which indicate a diet comprising predominantly of C3 plants and are consistent with the current dominance of C3 vegetation in the region. The enamel-δ13C values of the fossil horses, rhinos, deer, and bovids are -9.6±0.8‰, indicating that these ancient mammals, like modern herbivores in the area, also fed primarily on C3 vegetation and lived in an environment dominated by C3 plants. The lack of significant C4 plants in the basin suggests that the area had reached high elevations (>2.5 km) by at least the mid-Pliocene. Taking into account the changes in the δ13C of atmospheric CO2 in the past, the enamel-δ13C values suggest that the average modern-equivalent δ13C value of C3 vegetation in the Zanda Basin in the mid-Pliocene was ∼1-2‰ lower than that of the C3 biomass in the basin today. This would imply a reduction in annual precipitation by about 200-400 mm in the area since then (assuming that the modern C3 δ13C-precipitation relationship applied to the past). Consistent with this inference from the δ13C data, the enamel-δ18O data show a significant shift to higher values after the mid-Pliocene, which also suggests a shift in climate to much drier conditions after ∼4-3 Ma. Paleo-temperature estimates derived from a fossil bone-based oxygen isotope temperature proxy as well as the carbonate clumped isotope thermometer for the mid-Pliocene Zanda Basin are higher than the present-day mean annual temperature in the area. After accounting for late Cenozoic global cooling, these paleo-temperature estimates suggest that the paleo-elevation of the Zanda Basin in the mid-Pliocene was similar to or slightly (less than ∼1 km) lower than its present-day elevation, which is consistent with the inference from the δ13C data.

Millennial-scale variability to 735 ka: High-resolution climate records from Santa Barbara Basin, CA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Sarah M.; Hill, Tessa M.; Kennett, James P.; Behl, Richard J.; Nicholson, Craig

2013-06-01

Determining the ultimate cause and effect of millennial-scale climate variability remains an outstanding problem in paleoceanography, partly due to the lack of high-resolution records predating the last glaciation. Recent cores from Santa Barbara Basin provide 2500-5700 year "windows" of climate with 10-50 year resolution. Ages for three cores, determined by seismic stratigraphic correlation, oxygen isotope stratigraphy, and biostratigraphy, date to 293 ka (MIS 8), 450 ka (MIS 12), and 735 ka (MIS 18). These records sample the Late Pleistocene, during which the 100 kyr cycle strengthened and the magnitude of glacial-interglacial cyclicity increased. Thus, these records provide a test of the dependence of millennial-scale behavior on variations in glacial-interglacial cyclicity. The stable isotopic (δ18O) composition of planktonic foraminifera shows millennial-scale variability in all three intervals, with similar characteristics (duration, cyclicity) to those previously documented during MIS 3 at this site. Stadial G. bulloides δ18O values are 2.75-1.75‰ (average 2.25‰) and interstadial values are 1.75-0.5‰ (average 1‰), with rapid (decadal-scale) interstadial and stadial initiations of 1-2‰, as in MIS 3. Interstadials lasted 250-1600 years and occurred every 650-1900 years. Stadial paleotemperatures were 3.5-9.5°C and interstadial paleotemperatures were 7.5-13°C. Upwelling, evidenced by planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and δ13C, increased during interstadials, similar to MIS 3; high productivity during some stadials was reminiscent of the Last Glacial Maximum. This study builds upon previous records in showing that millennial-scale shifts were an inherent feature of Northern Hemisphere glacial climates since 735 ka, and they remained remarkably constant in the details of their amplitude, cyclicity, and temperature variability.

Cap rock efficiency of geothermal systems in fold-and-thrust belts: Evidence from paleo-thermal and structural analyses in Rosario de La Frontera geothermal area (NW Argentina)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maffucci, R.; Corrado, S.; Aldega, L.; Bigi, S.; Chiodi, A.; Di Paolo, L.; Giordano, G.; Invernizzi, C.

2016-12-01

Cap rock characterization of geothermal systems is often neglected despite fracturing may reduce its efficiency and favours fluid migration. We investigated the siliciclastic cap rock of Rosario de La Frontera geothermal system (NW Argentina) in order to assess its quality as a function of fracture patterns and related thermal alteration. Paleothermal investigations (XRD on fine-grained fraction of sediments, organic matter optical analysis and fluid inclusions on veins) and 1D thermal modelling allowed us to distinguish the thermal fingerprint associated to sedimentary burial from that related to fluid migration. The geothermal system is hosted in a Neogene N-S anticline dissected by high angle NNW- and ENE-striking faults. Its cap rock can be grouped into two quality categories: rocks acting as good insulators, deformed by NNW-SSE and E-W shear fractures, NNE-SSW gypsum- and N-S-striking calcite-filled veins that developed during the initial stage of anticline growth. Maximum paleo-temperatures (< 60 °C) were experienced during deposition to folding phases. rocks acting as bad insulators, deformed by NNW-SSE fault planes and NNW- and WNW-striking sets of fractures associated to late transpressive kinematics. Maximum paleo-temperatures higher than about 115 °C are linked to fluid migration from the reservoir to surface (with a reservoir top at maximum depths of 2.5 km) along fault damage zones. This multi-method approach turned out to be particularly useful to trace the main pathways of hot fluids and can be applied in blind geothermal systems where either subsurface data are scarce or surface thermal anomalies are lacking.

Multi-proxy approach detects heterogeneous habitats for primates during the Miocene climatic optimum in Central Europe.

PubMed

Merceron, Gildas; Costeur, Loïc; Maridet, Olivier; Ramdarshan, Anusha; Göhlich, Ursula B

2012-07-01

The present study attempts to characterize the environmental conditions that prevailed along the western shores of the Central Paratethys and its hinterland during the early middle Miocene at the same time t primates reached their peak in species diversity in Central Europe. Based on faunal structure (using cenograms), paleotemperature reconstruction (using cricetid diversity), and dietary reconstruction of ruminants (using molar micro-wear analyses), four faunal assemblages are used to characterize the regional environmental context. The cenograms for Göriach and Devínska Novà Ves Zapfe's fissure site support the presence of mosaic environments with open areas under rather humid conditions. This is also supported by the dental micro-wear analyses of ruminants. The species of Palaeomerycidae were most probably the only predominant browsers. Surprisingly, the three cervids, Dicrocerus, Heteroprox, and Euprox, were highly involved in grazing. Pseudoeotragus seegrabensis was likely a generalist and the two specimens assigned to the second bovid, Eotragus clavatus, were browsers. The two species of tragulids plot between fruit browsers and generalists. Moreover, paleotemperatures based on cricetid diversity estimate mean annual temperature at about 18 °C with potential high seasonal variations. These data support the predominance of mosaic landscapes along the western shores of the Central Paratethys and its hinterland during the Miocene Climatic Optimum as primates reach a peak in species diversity. This result lends credence to the hypothesis that environmental heterogeneity favours radiation among mammals, and that the specific environmental context of the Central Paratethys western border might explain the high diversity of the middle Miocene primates. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alkenone temperature and salinity: An evaluation of long chain C37 alkenone in Lake Qinghai, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, W.; Liu, Z.; Fu, M.; An, Z.

2007-12-01

In recently years, the alkenone unsaturation index (Uk'37=C37:.2/(C37:2+ C37:3)) has been used to reconstructed paleo-temperature for lacustrine sediments. However, few studies have addressed whether the relative abundance of the C37:4 alkenone to the total C37 production (C37:4 percent) can reflect surface salinity changes in lake systems. Here we present the distribution of C37 long chain alkenone of modern lake sediments in Qinghai Lake, Qing-Tibet Plateau, to evaluate significance of abundance change of long chain C37 alkenone as an indicator of lake paleo-enviromental evolution. A group of surface sediments from different locations in the lake have been analyzed in this study. The results of long chain C37 alkenone from 28 surface sediments analyses shown relative abundance of C37:4 alkenone to total C37 production (C37:4 percent) change from 14.5 to 48.6 percent and the abundance of C37:4 alkenone is increasing with decreasing salinity of lake water. For the salinity lake in land, we suggested the relative abundance of C37:4 alkenone in lake sediments may be a indicator of paleo-silinity; We have also found that Uk'37 values are weakly correlated with salinity and C37:4 percent changes, implying that potential minor contributions of temperature and salinity effects to C37:4 percent and Uk'37 respectively cannot be excluded in this study. However, since these contributions are weak, we suggest that the C37:4 percent proxy can be used to reconstruct paleo-salinity changes at a regional scale, especially in lake systems, while Uk'37 remains as a powerful tool for reconstructions of paleo-temperature changes in the lake systems.

Confounding effects of oxygen and temperature on the TEX86 signature of marine Thaumarchaeota

PubMed Central

Qin, Wei; Carlson, Laura T.; Armbrust, E. Virginia; Devol, Allan H.; Moffett, James W.; Stahl, David A.; Ingalls, Anitra E.

2015-01-01

Marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are among the most abundant of marine microorganisms, spanning nearly the entire water column of diverse oceanic provinces. Historical patterns of abundance are preserved in sediments in the form of their distinctive glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) membrane lipids. The correlation between the composition of GDGTs in surface sediment and the overlying annual average sea surface temperature forms the basis for a paleotemperature proxy (TEX86) that is used to reconstruct surface ocean temperature as far back as the Middle Jurassic. However, mounting evidence suggests that factors other than temperature could also play an important role in determining GDGT distributions. We here use a study set of four marine AOA isolates to demonstrate that these closely related strains generate different TEX86–temperature relationships and that oxygen (O2) concentration is at least as important as temperature in controlling TEX86 values in culture. All of the four strains characterized showed a unique membrane compositional response to temperature, with TEX86-inferred temperatures varying as much as 12 °C from the incubation temperatures. In addition, both linear and nonlinear TEX86–temperature relationships were characteristic of individual strains. Increasing relative abundance of GDGT-2 and GDGT-3 with increasing O2 limitation, at the expense of GDGT-1, led to significant elevations in TEX86-derived temperature. Although the adaptive significance of GDGT compositional changes in response to both temperature and O2 is unclear, this observation necessitates a reassessment of archaeal lipid-based paleotemperature proxies, particularly in records that span low-oxygen events or underlie oxygen minimum zones. PMID:26283385

Clumped isotope composition of cold-water corals: A role for vital effects?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spooner, Peter T.; Guo, Weifu; Robinson, Laura F.; Thiagarajan, Nivedita; Hendry, Katharine R.; Rosenheim, Brad E.; Leng, Melanie J.

2016-04-01

The carbonate clumped isotope thermometer is a promising tool for determining past ocean temperatures. It is based on the temperature dependence of rare isotopes 'clumping' into the same carbonate ion group in the carbonate mineral lattice. The extent of this clumping effect is independent of the isotope composition of the water from which carbonate precipitates, providing unique advantages over many other paleotemperature proxies. Existing calibrations of this thermometer in cold-water and warm-water corals suggest clumped isotope 'vital effects' are negligible in cold-water corals but may be significant in warm-water corals. Here, we test the calibration of the carbonate clumped isotope thermometer in cold-water corals with a recently collected and well characterised sample set spanning a range of coral genera (Balanophyllia, Caryophyllia, Dasmosmilia, Desmophyllum, Enallopsammia and Javania). The clumped isotope compositions (Δ47) of these corals exhibit systematic dependences on their growth temperatures, confirming the basis of the carbonate clumped isotope thermometer. However, some cold-water coral genera show Δ47 values that are higher than the expected equilibrium values by up to 0.05‰ (equivalent to underestimating temperature by ∼9 °C) similar to previous findings for some warm-water corals. This finding suggests that the vital effects affecting corals Δ47 are common to both warm- and cold-water corals. By comparison with models of the coral calcification process we suggest that the clumped isotope offsets in these genera are related to the kinetic isotope effects associated with CO2 hydration/hydroxylation reactions in the corals' calcifying fluid. Our findings complicate the use of the carbonate clumped isotope thermometer in corals, but suggest that species- or genus-specific calibrations could be useful for the future application of this paleotemperature proxy.

Preservation of carbonate clumped isotopes in sedimentary paleoclimate archives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henkes, G. A.; Passey, B. H.; Grossman, E. L.; Shenton, B.; Perez-Huerta, A.

2014-12-01

Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry is increasingly used to reconstruct paleotemperatures of ancient terrestrial environments. One promising application is elucidating paleoelevation from carbonate archives such as paleosols, lacustrine marls, and fossil freshwater shells. Unlike conventional stable isotope approaches (e.g., mineral δ18O or δD), clumped isotope thermometry is independent of the isotopic composition of the precipitating waters and can therefore be used to reconstruct elevation by both the temperature-altitude relationship and the rainfall δ18O-altitude relationship. However, interpretation of clumped isotope data is not without its own complications. Like conventional stable isotopes, clumped isotope paleotemperatures can be effectively reset to warmer values by dissolution/reprecipitation-type diagenesis during sedimentary burial. It is also known that carbonate clumped isotope bonds (i.e., 13C-18O) are susceptible to 'reordering' in the solid mineral lattice at warmer burial temperatures, with laboratory studies of natural carbonates indicating activation of this phenomenon at temperatures as low as 100 °C over geologic timescales. A challenge in applying carbonate clumped isotope thermometry to natural samples is now evaluating terrestrial archives with respect to both types of alteration: 'open-system' alteration and 'closed-system' bond reordering. In this talk we will review our experimental efforts to constrain the kinetics of clumped isotope reordering, with relevance to low-temperature carbonates like fossil shells and early diagenetic minerals, and present new laboratory data that further inform our theoretical framework for the mechanism(s) of 13C-18O bond reordering. Together with traditional analytical and petrographic screening for recrystallization, empirical and laboratory studies of carbonate clumped isotope reordering represent the next steps in evaluating isotopic records of paleoclimate, paleobiology, and paleoelevation that are emerging from clumped isotope analyses.

Influence of water availability in the distributions of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether in soils of the Iberian Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menges, J.; Huguet, C.; Alcañiz, J. M.; Fietz, S.; Sachse, D.; Rosell-Melé, A.

2014-05-01

The combined application of the MBT (degree of methylation) and CBT (degree of cyclization) indices, based on the distribution of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) in soils, has been proposed as a paleoproxy to estimate mean annual temperature (MAT). CBT quantifies the degree of cyclization of brGDGTs and relates to soil pH. MBT and the simplified version MBT' quantify the degree of methylation of brGDGTs and relate to MAT and soil pH. However, other factors such as soil water availability have also been suggested to influence MBT' and possibly restrict the combined application of the MBT' and CBT indices as a paleotemperature proxy. To assess the effect of hydrological conditions on MBT' and CBT, a set of 23 Iberian Peninsula soil samples, covering a MAT range from 10 to 18 °C and a mean annual precipitation (MAP) range of 405 mm to 1455 mm, was analyzed. We found that the CBT was indeed significantly correlated with soil pH in our sample set. In contrast, MBT' was not correlated with MAT but had a significant correlation with the aridity index (AI), a parameter related to water availability in soils. The AI can explain 50% of the variation of the MBT', and 70% of the residuals of MAT estimated with the MBT/CBT proxy as compared to instrumentally measured MAT. We propose that, in arid settings, where water may be an ecologically limiting factor, MBT' is influenced by hydrological conditions rather than temperature. Thus, our results suggest that the combination of MBT' and CBT indices should be applied with caution in paleotemperature reconstructions in soils from dry subhumid to hyperarid environments.

Temperature calibration and phylogenetically distinct distributions for freshwater alkenones: Evidence from northern Alaskan lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longo, William M.; Theroux, Susanna; Giblin, Anne E.; Zheng, Yinsui; Dillon, James T.; Huang, Yongsong

2016-05-01

Alkenones are a class of unsaturated long-chain ketone biomarkers that have been used to reconstruct sea surface temperature and, more recently, continental temperature, by way of alkenone unsaturation indices (e.g. U37K and U37K‧). Alkenones are frequently found in brackish and saline lakes, however species effects confound temperature reconstructions when multiple alkenone-producing species with different temperature responses are present. Interestingly, available genetic data indicate that numerous freshwater lakes host a distinct phylotype of alkenone-producing haptophyte algae (the Group I or Greenland phylotype), providing evidence that species effects may be diminished in freshwater lakes. These findings encourage further investigation of alkenone paleotemperature proxies in freshwater systems. Here, we investigated lakes from northern Alaska (n = 35) and show that alkenones commonly occurred in freshwater lakes, where they featured distinct distributions, characterized by dominant C37:4 alkenones and a series of tri-unsaturated alkenone isomers. The distributions were characteristic of Group I-type alkenone distributions previously identified in Greenland and North America. Our analysis of suspended particulate matter from Toolik Lake (68° 38‧N, 149° 36‧W) yielded the first in situ freshwater U37K calibration (U37K = 0.021 * T - 0.68; r2 = 0.85; n = 52; RMSE = ±1.37 °C). We explored the environmental significance of the tri-unsaturated isomers using our northern Alaskan lakes dataset in conjunction with new data from haptophyte cultures and Canadian surface sediments. Our results show that these temperature-sensitive isomers are biomarkers for the Group I phylotype and indicators of multiple-species effects. Together, these findings highlight freshwater lakes as valuable targets for continental alkenone-based paleotemperature reconstructions and demonstrate the significance of the recently discovered tri-unsaturated isomers.

Calcareous dinoflagellate cysts as recorder of Late Cretaceous paleo-temperature using Sr/Ca thermometry and δ44/40Caseawater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gussone, N. C.; Friedrich, O.

2017-12-01

We evaluate the potential of calcareous dinoflagellates as archives for Sr/Ca-based paleo-temperature reconstructions and δ44/40Caseawater fluctuations on sediments from Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 113 (Hole 690C, Weddell Sea, Southern Ocean). Between 73 and 68 Ma, Sr/Ca ratios of two Cretaceous dinoflagellate species, Pirumella krasheninnikovii and Orthopithonella globosa show a pronounced decrease, consistent with a significant drop in sea-surface temperature as reflected by the δ18O of planktic foraminifers. The apparent temperature sensitivity of the dinoflagellate cysts' Sr/Ca is 0.06 and 0.08 mmol/mol °C-1, using δ18O-derived paleo sea-surface temperatures, which is significant and large enough to resolve paleoenvironmental temperature changes at current analytical precision. As the chemical composition of the cyst calcite appears to have a good preservability, the Sr/Ca of calcareous dinoflagellates has a high potential to serve as paleo temperature proxy. The Ca isotope composition of the two dinoflagellate species shows identical trends of increasing δ44/40Ca between 73 and 67 Ma. The planktic foraminifer Archaeoglobigerina australis and the benthic foraminifer Nuttallides truempyi reveal the same increase but are offset relative to the dinoflagellates by about +0.5‰, due to species-specific Ca isotope fractionation. Bulk carbonate sediment shows significant scatter, likely caused by changes in faunal composition and does not satisfyingly reproduce the trend revealed by the dinoflagellate and foraminifer records. These observations demonstrate the importance of taxon-specific records and careful determination of fractionation factors of selected archives and highlight complications arising from utilizing less suitable archives, such as bulk sediments, for δ44/40Caseawater reconstructions. Our records indicate strong changes in the oceanic Ca carbonate chemistry associated with the temperature decrease towards the end of the Cretaceous.

BrGDGT-based quantitative temperature reconstruction over the past 2000 years from an alpine lake in subtropical southwestern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, C.; Feng, X.

2017-12-01

BrGDGTs have been proposed as a proxy for quantitative paleotemperature reconstructions in terrestrial environment, and numerous transfer functions have been framed based on modern soils and lake sediments. However, these spatial-based functions have been seldom successful for paleotemperature reconstructions in lake sediments. In this study, we report a quantitative temperature record over the past 2000 years, using a temporal-based transfer function inferred from branched GDGTs from a sediment core collected at a small alpine lake (Tiancai lake, 26°38'E, 99°43'N, 3898 m asl) in a remote location in subtropical southwestern China. The chronology is established by both 210Pb and AMS-14C dating methods. We find a significant correlation between brGDGT distributions and instrumental mean annual air temperature (MAAT) (R2=0.902, p<0.0001) over the past 60 years. We then establish a local instrumental calibration and apply it to the entire core for MAAT reconstruction over the past 2000 years. Our preliminary results show the reconstructed MAAT varies between -0.77 and 4.13° over the past 2000 years. Our data indicate four warm intervals at 20-142AD, 321-578AD, 796-1215AD and after 1940AD, and four cold intervals at 158-321AD, 550-657AD, 1500-1727AD, 1810-1912AD. The warm period at 796-1215AD and the cold period at 1500-1727AD are likely corresponding with the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and the Little Ice Age (LIA), respectively, which is consistent with published data in northern China and the northern Hemisphere. Our preliminary result indicates that this temporal-based calibration could be more practical in some environmental-stable open lakes, and also suggests coherent temperature changes in the subtropical and high-latitude northern hemisphere over the past 2000 years.

Distributions of Heterocyst Glycolipids in Settling Particulate Matter Record Ecological and Environmental Parameters in a Tropical Lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meegan Kumar, D.; Hopmans, E.; S Sinninghe Damsté, J.; Schouten, S.; Bauersachs, T.; Werne, J. P.

2017-12-01

Temperature is a critical component of paleoenvironmental reconstructions, yet it is notoriously difficult to measure in terrestrial archives. Presented here is an investigation of unique glycolipids produced by heterocystous cyanobacteria, so-called heterocyst glycolipids (HGs), in the water column of Lake Malawi (East Africa). The goal of the study is to evaluate the potential of HGs to function as a paleotemperature proxy in tropical lacustrine environments. HGs in Lake Malawi were extracted from settling particulate matter (SPM) collected at bi-monthly intervals from 2011 - 2013. Sediment traps were moored in the metalimnion of both the north and south basins of the lake in order to evaluate the spatial and the temporal trends in lipid production and export. This study is the first to analyze HGs in SPM and contains the longest time-series of HG production in a natural environment to date. HGs are consistently present throughout the three-year study period, but maximum fluxes occur annually in December, coincident with the timing of cyanobacterial blooms in the lake. HGs in SPM appear to be sourced from living cyanobacteria populations, indicating rapid export of the lipids through the water column. Temperatures reconstructed with published HG-based indices, which are derived from the relative abundances of HG diols and triols to HG keto-(di)ols, do not accurately reflect the seasonal variability in measured surface water temperatures. Rather, the production of C28 HG keto-ols appears to be related to the timing of heterocyst differentiation. Heterocystous cyanobacteria in Lake Malawi may instead respond to growth temperatures by elongating the alkyl side chain of HG diols, as indicated by increases in the abundance of the C28 HG diol relative to the C26 HG diol with warmer surface water temperatures. Distributions of HGs thus may indeed provide a novel tool for paleotemperature reconstructions in tropical lakes.

How Does Temperature Impact Leaf Size and Shape in Four Woody Dicot Species? Testing the Assumptions of Leaf Physiognomy-Climate Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKee, M.; Royer, D. L.

2017-12-01

The physiognomy (size and shape) of fossilized leaves has been used to reconstruct the mean annual temperature of ancient environments. Colder temperatures often select for larger and more abundant leaf teeth—serrated edges on leaf margins—as well as a greater degree of leaf dissection. However, to be able to accurately predict paleotemperature from the morphology of fossilized leaves, leaves must be able to react quickly and in a predictable manner to changes in temperature. We examined the extent to which temperature affects leaf morphology in four tree species: Carpinus caroliniana, Acer negundo, Ilex opaca, and Ostrya virginiana. Saplings of these species were grown in two growth cabinets under contrasting temperatures (17 and 25 °C). Compared to the cool treatment, in the warm treatment Carpinus caroliniana leaves had significantly fewer leaf teeth and a lower ratio of total number of leaf teeth to internal perimeter; and Acer negundo leaves had a significantly lower feret diameter ratio (a measure of leaf dissection). In addition, a two-way ANOVA tested the influence of temperature and species on leaf physiognomy. This analysis revealed that all plants, regardless of species, tended to develop more highly dissected leaves with more leaf teeth in the cool treatment. Because the cabinets maintained equivalent moisture, humidity, and CO2 concentration between the two treatments, these results demonstrate that these species could rapidly adapt to changes in temperature. However, not all of the species reacted identically to temperature changes. For example, Acer negundo, Carpinus caroliniana, and Ostrya virginiana all had a higher number of total teeth in the cool treatment compared to the warm treatment, but the opposite was true for Ilex opaca. Our work questions a fundamental assumption common to all models predicting paleotemperature from the physiognomy of fossilized leaves: a given climate will inevitably select for the same leaf physiognomy, regardless of species composition. To more accurately compensate for differences among species, models should incorporate phylogenetic information.

Fluid inclusions in calcite filled opening fractures of the Serra Alta Formation reveal paleotemperatures and composition of diagenetic fluids percolating Permian shales of the Paraná Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teixeira, C. A. S.; Sawakuchi, A. O.; Bello, R. M. S.; Nomura, S. F.; Bertassoli, D. J.; Chamani, M. A. C.

2018-07-01

The thermal and diagenetic evolution of shale units has received renewed focus because of their emergence as unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs. The Serra Alta Formation (SAF) is a Permian shale unit of the Paraná Basin, which is the largest South American cratonic basin. The SAF stands out as a pathway for aqueous fluids and hydrocarbon migration from the Irati organic-rich shales to the Pirambóia fluvial-eolian sandstone reservoirs. Vertical NNW and NNE opening fractures would be the main pathways for the migration of buried pore waters and aqueous fluids, besides the input of meteoric water. These fractures would be associated to the reactivation of basement discontinuities such as the Jacutinga (NE) and Guapiara (NW) faults. Thus, vertical NNE and NNW associated fractures would represent the main pathways for fluid migration in the studied area. The vertical calcite filled opening fractures from SAF record moderately low salinity (0-4.5 wt % of NaCl eq.) aqueous fluids, suggesting the input of meteoric water in the buried fracture system. Eutectic melting temperatures at -52±5 °C indicate an H2O + NaCl + CaCl2 system with CaCl2 or MgCl2 in solution. Homogenization temperatures recorded in fluid inclusion assemblages (FIAs) of calcite filled opening fractures indicate that the SAF in the studied area reached temperatures above 200 °C, suitable for generation of gaseous hydrocarbons. The recorded paleotemperatures point to a thermal peak associated with Serra Geral volcanic event during the Early Cretaceous, with the thermal effect of volcanic rock cap possibly overcoming the effect of intrusive igneous bodies. The detection of methane in SAF shale pores indicates conditions for hydrocarbon generation. However, additionally studies are necessary to confirm the thermogenic and/or biogenic origin of the methane within the SAF.

Reconstruction of seasonal temperature variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean from the shell of the scallop, Comptopallium radula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thébault, Julien; Chauvaud, Laurent; Clavier, Jacques; Guarini, Jennifer; Dunbar, Robert B.; Fichez, Renaud; Mucciarone, David A.; Morize, Eric

2007-02-01

We investigated the oxygen isotope composition (δ 18O) of shell striae from juvenile Comptopallium radula (Mollusca; Pectinidae) specimens collected live in New Caledonia. Bottom-water temperature and salinity were monitored in-situ throughout the study period. External shell striae form with a 2-day periodicity in this scallop, making it possible to estimate the date of precipitation for each calcite sample collected along a growth transect. The oxygen isotope composition of shell calcite (δ 18O shell calcite) measured at almost weekly resolution on calcite accreted between August 2002 and July 2003 accurately tracks bottom-water temperatures. A new empirical paleotemperature equation for this scallop species relates temperature and δ 18O shell calcite: t(°C)=20.00(±0.61)-3.66(±0.39)×(δ18O-δ18O) The mean absolute accuracy of temperature estimated using this equation is 1.0 °C at temperatures between 20 and 30 °C. Uncertainties regarding the precise timing of CaCO 3 deposition and the actual variations in δ 18O water at our study sites probably contribute to this error. Comparison with a previously published empirical paleotemperature equation indicates that C. radula calcite is enriched in 18O by ˜0.7‰ relative to equilibrium. Given the direction of this offset and the lack of correlation between shell growth rate and δ 18O shell calcite, this disequilibrium is unlikely to be related to kinetic isotope effects. We suggest that this enrichment reflects (1) a relatively low pH in the scallop's marginal extrapallial fluid (EPF), (2) an isotopic signature of the EPF different from that of seawater, or (3) Rayleigh fractionation during the biocalcification process. Relative changes in δ 18O shell calcite reflect seawater temperature variability at this location and we suggest that the shell of C. radula may be useful as an archive of past seawater temperatures.

Stabilization of kerogen thermal maturation: Evidence from geothermometry and burial history reconstruction, Niobrara Limestone, Berthoud oil field, western Denver Basin, Colorado

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barker, C.E.; Crysdale, B.L.

1990-05-01

The burial history of this fractured Niobrara Limestone reservoir and source rock offers a setting for studying the stabilization of thermal maturity because soon after peak temperature of approximately 100{degree}C was reached, exhumation lowered temperature to about 60-70{degree}C. Vitrinite reflectance (Rm = 0.6-0.7%) and published clay mineralogy data from the Niobrara Limestone indicate that peak paleotemperature was approximately 100{degree}C. Fluid inclusion data also indicate oil migration occurred at 100{degree}C. Burial history reconstruction indicates 100{degree}C was reached in the Niobrara Limestone only during minimum burial, which occurred at 70 Ma and 8000 ft depth. However, erosion beginning at 70 Ma andmore » continuing until 50 Ma removed over 3,000 ft of rock. This depth of erosion agrees with an Rm of 0.4% measured in surface samples of the Pierre Shale. The exhumation of the reservoir decreased temperature by about 30{degree}C to near the corrected bottom-hole temperature of 50-70{degree}C. Lopatin time-temperature index (TTI) analysis suggests the Niobrara Limestone as a source rock matured to the oil generation stage (TTI = 10) about 25 Ma, significantly later than maximum burial, and after exhumation caused cooling. The Lopatin TTI method in this case seems to overestimate the influence of heating time. If time is an important factor, thermal maturity should continue to increase after peak burial and temperature so that vitrinite reflectance will not be comparable to peak paleotemperatures estimated from geothermometers set at near-peak temperature and those estimated from burial history reconstruction. The agreement between geothermometry and the burial history reconstruction in Berthoud State 4 suggests that the influence of heating time must be small. The elapsed time available at near peak temperatures was sufficient to allow stabilization of thermal maturation in this case.« less

A High-Resolution Lipid Biomarker Perspective on North Iceland Shelf Marine Climate over the Last Millennium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harning, D.; Sepúlveda, J.; Andrews, J. T.; Cabedo-Sanz, P.; Belt, S. T.; Marchitto, T. M.; Stoner, J. S.; Geirsdóttir, Á.; Miller, G. H.

2017-12-01

Icelandic climate is vulnerable to variations in the dominance of competing Arctic and Atlantic ocean currents. The boundary between these water masses delineates the Polar Front, which today occupies the North Iceland Shelf (NIS). To date, Holocene oceanographic reconstructions along the NIS have employed a variety of proxies including Mg/Ca and δ18O of benthic and planktonic foraminifera, quartz and calcite wt%, the alkenone unsaturation index (Uk'37) and biotic species assemblages. Sea surface temperature (SST) proxies are primarily derived from phytoplankton resulting in a seasonal bias toward spring/summer SST. Furthermore, SST proxies can be influenced by additional confounding variables (e.g. salinity, nutrients, depth habitat of biota) resulting in markedly different Holocene temperature reconstructions between proxy datasets. To evaluate the similarities and discrepancies between various marine proxies, we investigate a high-resolution sediment core collected from the central North Iceland Shelf (B997-316GGC, 658 m depth). Sedimentation covers the last millennium, which captures the transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. Age control is constrained by 14C dates and paleomagnetic secular variation. To assess marine surface productivity and sea ice conditions, we analyze quartz and calcite wt% via XRD and a series of highly branched isoprenoid biomarkers. Quantitative paleotemperature estimates are derived from a novel combination of Mg/Ca of foraminifera and two lipid biomarker indices, Uk'37 from Prymnesiophyte alkenones and TEX86 from Thaumarchaeota glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs). The latter TEX86 record is the first paleo application in Icelandic waters, which a recent local calibration study suggests may reflect annual or winter sub-surface (0-200 m) temperatures. Our paleotemperature records are bolstered by the analysis of additional sediment core tops, which expand the established Icelandic calibrations. Finally, we perform statistical analyses in an effort to extract a robust record of paleoceanographic change and to test the applicability of various proxies in high-latitude paleoclimate studies.

Distributions of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in surface soils of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: implications of GDGT-based proxies in cold and dry regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, S.; Xu, Y.; Wang, Y.; He, Y.; Hou, J.; Chen, L.; He, J.-S.

2015-01-01

The methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT) and cyclization ratio of branched tetraethers (CBT) based on the distribution of bacteria-derived branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (bGDGTs) are useful proxies for the reconstruction of continental paleotemperature and soil pH. Several calibrations of the MBT-CBT index have been proposed based on global and regional soils and lake sediments. However, little is known about the distribution and applicability of GDGTs proxies in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), a critical region of the global climate system. Here, we investigated 33 surface soils covering a large area of the QTP. Redundancy analysis showed that soil pH was the most important factor affecting GDGT distributions, followed by mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual air temperature (MAT). The branched-isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) index, an indicator for estimation of soil organic matter in aquatic environments, varied from 0.48 to 1 and negatively correlated with soil pH (r2 = 0.38), suggesting that the BIT index should be used with caution in the QTP. A transfer function of the CBT index-soil pH was established to estimate paleo-soil pH in the QTP: pH = 8.33-1.43 × CBT (r2 = 0.80, RMSE = 0.27 pH unit). The local calibration of MBT-CBT index presented a weak, still significant correlation with MAT (r2 = 0.36) mainly owing to the additional influence of MAP (r2 = 0.50). Combining our data with previously reported GDGTs for Chinese soils resulted in a new calibration of MBT/CBT-MAT: MAT = 2.68+26.14 × MBT-3.37 × CBT (r2 = 0.73; RMSE = 4.2 °C, n = 164). The correlation coefficient and residual error of this new transfer function is comparable with global calibrations, suggesting that MBT-CBT paleotemperature proxy is still valid in the QTP.

Clumped Isotope Thermometry Reveals Variations in Soil Carbonate Seasonal Biases Over >4 km of Relief in the Semi-Arid Andes of Central Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgener, L. K.; Huntington, K. W.; Hoke, G. D.; Schauer, A. J.; Ringham, M. C.; Latorre Hidalgo, C.; Díaz, F.

2015-12-01

The application of carbonate clumped isotope thermometry to soil carbonates has the potential to shed new light on questions regarding terrestrial paleoclimate. In order to better utilize this paleoclimate tool, outstanding questions regarding seasonal biases in soil carbonate formation and the relationship between soil carbonate formation temperatures (T(Δ47)) and surface temperatures must be resolved. We address these questions by comparing C, O, and clumped isotope data from Holocene/modern soil carbonates to modern meteorological data. The data were collected along a 170 km transect with >4 km of relief in central Chile (~30°S). Previous studies have suggested that soil carbonates should record a warm season bias and form in isotopic equilibrium with soil water and soil CO2. We identify two discrete climate zones separated by the local winter snow line (~3200 m). Below this boundary, precipitation falls as rain and soil carbonate T(Δ47) values at depths >40 cm resemble summer soil temperatures; at higher elevations, precipitation falls as snow and T(Δ47) values resemble mean annual soil temperatures. Soil carbonates from the highest sample site (4700 m), which is devoid of vegetation and located near perennial snow fields, yield anomalous δ18O, δ13C, and T(Δ47) values, indicative of kinetic isotope effects that we attribute to cryogenic carbonate formation. Our results suggest that soil carbonates from depths <40 cm are affected by large, high frequency variations in temperature and precipitation, and should not be used as paleotemperature proxies. These findings (1) highlight the role of soil moisture in modulating soil carbonate formation and the resulting T(Δ47) values, (2) underscore the importance of understanding past soil moisture conditions when attempting to reconstruct paleotemperatures using carbonate clumped isotope thermometry, and (3) suggest that soil carbonates from high elevation or high latitude sites may form under non-equilibrium conditions.

Towards a new paleotemperature proxy from reef coral occurrences.

PubMed

Lauchstedt, Andreas; Pandolfi, John M; Kiessling, Wolfgang

2017-09-05

Global mean temperature is thought to have exceeded that of today during the last interglacial episode (LIG, ~ 125,000 yrs b.p.) but robust paleoclimate data are still rare in low latitudes. Occurrence data of tropical reef corals may provide new proxies of low latitude sea-surface temperatures. Using modern reef coral distributions we developed a geographically explicit model of sea surface temperatures. Applying this model to coral occurrence data of the LIG provides a latitudinal U-shaped pattern of temperature anomalies with cooler than modern temperatures around the equator and warmer subtropical climes. Our results agree with previously published estimates of LIG temperatures and suggest a poleward broadening of the habitable zone for reef corals during the LIG.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bigeleisen, J.

In tribute to Harold Urey, the author cites Urey's accomplishments as a scientist and public servant and gives insight of the man. Some of his accomplishments in science are: discovered deuterium for which he received the Nobel prize in 1934; worked with Rittenberg and Greiff on the theory and calculation of the differences in the thermodynamic properties of isotopic compounds; with Thode, Hutchison and others, separated the isotopes of the light elements by chemical methods on a laboratory scale; during World War II headed the Substitute Alloy Materials Laboratories of Columbia University where his group developed industrial scale processes formore » the separation of /sup 2/H, /sup 10/B, and /sup 235/U; with his associates developed the /sup 18/O paleotemperature scale; made fundamental contributions to a widely accepted theory of the origin of the earth. (ATT)« less

Late Neogene Orbitally-Forced Sea Surface Temperature Variability in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific as Measured by Uk'37 and TEX86

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, K. T.; Pearson, A.; Castañeda, I. S.; Peterson, L.

2017-12-01

Key features of late Neogene climate remain uncertain due to conflicting records derived from different sea surface temperature (SST) proxies. To resolve these disputes, it is necessary to explore both the consistencies and differences between paleotemperature estimates from critical oceanographic regimes. Here, we report orbital-scale climate variability at ODP Site 846 in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) in the interval from 5-6 Ma using alkenone and TEX86 temperature estimates. Results from both proxies are very similar in their secular trends and magnitude of long-term temperature change; and spectral analysis demonstrates that the records are coherent and in-phase or nearly in-phase in both the obliquity and precession bands. However, we find that the temperatures reconstructed by TEX86 are consistently offset towards colder values by 2ºC with orbital-scale variations approximately twice the amplitude of the Uk'37 derived estimates. Both temperature records are antiphased - i.e. "colder" - at higher sediment alkenone concentrations, a qualitative indicator of increased glacial productivity. Temperature differences between the proxies are accentuated during glacial intervals in contrasts to modern observations of EEP surface and subsurface temperatures, which show that thermocline temperatures are fairly stable, and thus by analogy, glacial cooling and/or enhanced upwelling should have reduced rather than accentuated temperature gradients in the upper water column. Therefore, arguments that Uk'37 corresponds to temperature variability in the surface, while TEX86 responds to the subsurface, may be too simplistic. Instead, it appears generally true that high-productivity environments, including the EEP, tend to have negative TEX86 anomalies. This may reflect a dual dependence of TEX86 records on both water column temperature and local productivity. Overall, our data suggest that in the EEP and likely in other upwelling zones, paleotemperature data derived from these proxies should not necessarily be used interchangeably and only Uk'37 is suitable for determining absolute SSTs. However, our data also suggest that TEX86 may be suitable for estimating long-term trends in SST and for spectral and phase analysis in upwelling regimes.

Late Glacial temperature and precipitation changes in the lowland Neotropics by tandem measurement of δ 18O in biogenic carbonate and gypsum hydration water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodell, David A.; Turchyn, Alexandra V.; Wiseman, Camilla J.; Escobar, Jaime; Curtis, Jason H.; Brenner, Mark; Gilli, Adrian; Mueller, Andreas D.; Anselmetti, Flavio; Ariztegui, Daniel; Brown, Erik T.

2012-01-01

We applied a new method to reconstruct paleotemperature in the tropics during the last deglaciation by measuring oxygen isotopes of co-occurring gypsum hydration water and biogenic carbonate in sediment cores from two lakes on the Yucatan Peninsula. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope values of interstitial and gypsum hydration water indicate that the crystallization water preserves the isotopic signal of the lake water, and has not undergone post-depositional isotopic exchange with sediment pore water. The estimated lake water δ18O is combined with carbonate δ18O to calculate paleotemperature. Three paired measurements of 1200-yr-old gypsum and gastropod aragonite from Lake Chichancanab, Mexico, yielded a mean temperature of 26 °C (range 23-29.5 °C), which is consistent with the mean and range of mean annual temperatures (MAT) in the region today. Paired measurements of ostracods, gastropods, and gypsum hydration water samples were measured in cores from Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, spanning the Late Glacial and early Holocene period (18.5-10.4 ka). The lowest recorded temperatures occurred at the start of Heinrich Stadial (HS) 1 at 18.5 ka. Inferred temperatures from benthic ostracods ranged from 16 to 20 °C during HS 1, which is 6-10 °C cooler than MAT in the region today, whereas temperatures derived from shallow-water gastropods were generally warmer (20-25 °C), reflecting epilimnetic temperatures. The derived temperatures support previous findings of greater tropical cooling on land in Central America during the Late Glacial than indicated by nearby marine records. Temperature increased in two steps during the last deglaciation. The first occurred during the Bolling-Allerod (B-A; from 14.7 to 13 ka) when temperature rose to 20-24 °C towards the end of this period. The second step occurred at 10.4 ka near the beginning of the Holocene when ostracod-inferred temperature rose to 26 °C, reflecting modern hypolimnetic temperature set during winter, whereas gastropod-derived temperature attained 30 °C, reflecting modern summer epilimnetic temperature.

Mesozoic–Cenozoic Climate and Neotectonic Events as Factors in Reconstructing the Thermal History of the Source-Rock Bazhenov Formation, Arctic Region, West Siberia, by the Example of the Yamal Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaev, V. I.; Iskorkina, A. A.; Lobova, G. A.; Starostenko, V. I.; Tikhotskii, S. A.; Fomin, A. N.

2018-03-01

Schemes and criteria are developed for using the measured and modeled geotemperatures for studying the thermal regime of the source rock formations, as well as the tectonic and sedimentary history of sedimentary basins, by the example of the oil fields of the Yamal Peninsula. The method of paleotemperature modeling based on the numerical solution of the heat conduction equation for a horizontally layered solid with a movable upper boundary is used. The mathematical model directly includes the climatic secular trend of the Earth's surface temperature as the boundary condition and the paleotemperatures determined from the vitrinite reflectance as the measurement data. The method does not require a priori information about the nature and intensities of the heat flow from the Earth's interior; the flow is determined by solving the inverse problem of geothermy with a parametric description of the of the sedimentation history and the history of the thermophysical properties of the sedimentary stratum. The rate of sedimentation is allowed to be zero and negative which provides the possibility to take into account the gaps in sedimentation and denudation. The formation, existence, and degradation of the permafrost stratum and ice cover are taken into account as dynamical lithological-stratigraphic complexes with anomalously high thermal conductivity. It is established that disregarding the paleoclimatic factors precludes an adequate reconstruction of thermal history of the source-rock deposits. Revealing and taking into account the Late Eocene regression provided the computationally optimal and richest thermal history of the source-rock Bazhenov Formation, which led to more correct volumetric-genetic estimates of the reserves. For estimating the hydrocarbon reserves in the land territories of the Arctic region of West Siberia by the volumetric-genetic technique, it is recommended to use the Arctic secular trend of temperatures and take into account the dynamics of the Neoplesitocene permafrost layers 300-600 m thick. Otherwise, the calculated hydrocarbon reserves could be underestimated by up to 40%.

Single isotope fractionation of (16)O(-) implications for early history of solar system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arrhenius, G.

1980-01-01

Chemical fractionation processes are investigated with emphasis on selective single isotope fractionation in polyisotopic systems, particularly in oxygen. The related temperature parameters of meteoritic condensates and of their source medium are investigated by a thermometric method that is independent of assumptions regarding temperatures and pressures in the solar nebula. The crucial nonlinear chemical fractionation of O-16 was demonstrated experimentally. The effect was achieved in condensed CO2 formed from CO with C-12 O-16 selectively excited by H Ly alpha. The effect was verified by mass spectrometric measurements. The meteorite paleotemperature estimates were advanced from defining only thermal exposure to evaluating time and temperature independently. Grain temperatures at condensation of refractory inclusion materials are indicated to be less than 900 K in agreement with radiation temperature considerations and observations in circumstellar dust shells.

Calcareous nannofossil evidence for the existence of the Gulf Stream during the late Maastrichtian

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watkins, D.K.; ,

2005-01-01

Upper Maastrichtian calcareous nannofossil assemblages, from eight cores on the South Carolina Coastal Plain (onshore set) and three deep sea drilling sites from the continental slope and abyssal hills (offshore set), were analyzed by correlation and principal component analysis to examine the ancient surface water thermal structure. In addition, a temperature index derived from independently published paleobiogeographic information was applied to the sample data. All three methods indicate a strong separation of the samples into onshore and offshore sets, with the offshore data set exhibiting significantly warmer paleotemperatures. The great disparity between these two sample sets indicates that there was a strong thermal contrast between the onshore and offshore surface water masses that persisted throughout the late Maastrichtian despite evident shortterm changes in fertility, productivity, and community structure. This suggests the Gulf Stream was present as a major oceanographic feature during the late Maastrichtian. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.

Oxygen and iron isotope studies of magnetite produced by magnetotactic bacteria

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mandernack, K.W.; Bazylinski, D.A.; Shanks, Wayne C.; Bullen, T.D.

1999-01-01

A series of carefully controlled laboratory studies was carried out to investigate oxygen and iron isotope fractionation during the intracellular production of magnetite (Fe3O4) by two different species of magnetotactic bacteria at temperatures between 4??and 35??C under microaerobic and anaerobic conditions. No detectable fractionation of iron isotopes in the bacterial magnetites was observed. However, oxygen isotope measurements indicated a temperature-dependent fractionation for Fe3O4 and water that is consistent with that observed for Fe3O4 produced extracellularly by thermophilic Fe3+-reducing bacteria. These results contrast with established fractionation curves estimated from either high-temperature experiments or theoretical calculations. With the fractionation curve established in this report, oxygen-18 isotope values of bacterial Fe3O4 may be useful in paleoenvironmental studies for determining the oxygen-18 isotope values of formation waters and for inferring paleotemperatures.

13C 18O clumping in speleothems: Observations from natural caves and precipitation experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daëron, M.; Guo, W.; Eiler, J.; Genty, D.; Blamart, D.; Boch, R.; Drysdale, R.; Maire, R.; Wainer, K.; Zanchetta, G.

2011-06-01

The oxygen isotope composition of speleothems is an important proxy of continental paleoenvironments, because of its sensitivity to variations in cave temperature and drip water δ 18O. Interpreting speleothem δ 18O records in terms of absolute paleotemperatures and δ 18O values of paleo-precipitation requires quantitative separation of the effects of these two parameters, and correcting for possible kinetic isotope fractionation associated with precipitation of calcite out of thermodynamic equilibrium. Carbonate clumped-isotope thermometry, based on measurements of Δ47 (a geochemical variable reflecting the statistical overabundance of 13C 18O bonds in CO 2 evolved from phosphoric acid digestion of carbonate minerals), potentially provides a method for absolute speleothem paleotemperature reconstructions independent of drip water composition. Application of this new technique to karst records is currently limited by the scarcity of published clumped-isotope studies of modern speleothems. The only modern stalagmite reported so far in the literature yielded a lower Δ47 value than expected for equilibrium precipitation, possibly due to kinetic isotope fractionation. Here we report Δ47 values measured in natural speleothems from various cave settings, in carbonate produced by cave precipitation experiments, and in synthetic stalagmite analogs precipitated in controlled laboratory conditions designed to mimic natural cave processes. All samples yield lower Δ47 and heavier δ 18O values than predicted by experimental calibrations of thermodynamic equilibrium in inorganic calcite. The amplitudes of these isotopic disequilibria vary between samples, but there is clear correlation between the amount of Δ47 disequilibrium and that of δ 18O. Even pool carbonates believed to offer excellent conditions for equilibrium precipitation of calcite display out-of-equilibrium δ 18O and Δ47 values, probably inherited from prior degassing within the cave system. In addition to these modern observations, clumped-isotope analyses of a flowstone from Villars cave (France) offer evidence that the amount of disequilibrium affecting Δ47 in a single speleothem can experience large variations at time scales of 10 kyr. Application of clumped-isotope thermometry to speleothem records calls for an improved physical understanding of DIC fractionation processes in karst waters, and for the resolution of important issues regarding equilibrium calibration of Δ47 in inorganic carbonates.

Triple Oxygen and Clumped Isotopes in Synthetic and Natural Carbonates: Implications for Paleoclimate and Paleohydrology Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laskar, A. H.; Rangarajan, R.; Liang, M. C.

2016-12-01

Conventional oxygen isotope (δ18O) has widely been used for paleoclimate studies. However, multiple influencing factors such as temperature, precipitation and kinetic effects during carbonate precipitation complicate the interpretation of δ18O data sometimes. Triple oxygen isotope (Δ17O) in carbonates could be sensitive to kinetic effect occur during its precipitation in water. Carbonates may also record the Δ17O signature of the parent waters, providing a basis in the natural carbonates for identifying kinetic processes such as rapid degassing at lower relative humidity inside a cave during speleothem deposition. Clumped isotopes (Δ47) in carbonates give the formation temperatures of the carbonates if precipitated under isotopic equilibrium. The first goal of the study is to explore the applicability of Δ17O for paleohydrolocial studies. The second is to reconstruct paleotemperature with suitable natural carbonates using Δ47values. This is a rare paleoclimate study utilizing two sophisticated new tools. CO2 produced from carbonates by acid digestion was used for both Δ47 and Δ17O analysis. Purified CO2 samples were directly introduced into the Mass spectrometer (MAT 253) for clumped isotope analysis [1] and CO2-O2 exchange method in presence of platinum for Δ17O analysis [2,3]. We measured Δ47 and Δ17O values in synthetic carbonates precipitated at different temperatures (10-90 oC) and Δ17O values in the water from which the carbonate precipitated. We observed consistent Δ47 values in the carbonates while Δ17O were found to vary. Probably a proper slope (between δ18O and δ17O) selection for carbonates would give consistent results. We also measured Δ47 and Δ17O in modern and well dated speleothems from Chinese and Indian caves to study the paleohydrology and paleotemperature. Δ47 and Δ17O were also measured in modern natural carbonate depositions such as corals, foraminifer and marbles to explore their potentials for paleoclimate studies. Implications of the results will be presented and discussed. [1] Laskar, A. H., et al. Terra Nova, 28, 265-270, 2016. [2] Mahata, S., et al. Analytical Chemistry, 85, 6894-6901, 2013. [3] Mahata, S. et al. Rapid. Comm. Mass Spect., 30, 119-131, 2016.

Possible Climatic Signal Recorded by Alkenone Distributions in Sediments from Freshwater and Saline Lakes on the Skarvsnes and Skallen Areas, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawada, K.; Takeda, M.; Takano, Y.

2014-12-01

The distribution of long-chain (C37 - C39) alkenones in marine sediment has been well documented to record paleo-sea surface temperatures. The alkenones were also found in sediments of terrestrial saline lakes, and recently the calibrations of alkenone unsaturation indices - temperature have been established in continental areas. Furthermore, these biomarkers have been identified in lacustrine sediments on high-latitudinal terrestrial areas such as Greenland and Antarctica. In the present study, the alkenones were identified in the lacustrine sediment cores in freshwater (Lake Naga-ike) and saline lakes (Lake Suribati and Lake Funazoko) on the Skarvsnes, and a saline lake (Lake Skallen Oh-ike) on the Skallen, Antarctica. Here, we report that the alkenone distribution in the Antarctic lakes was examined as paleotemperature proxy. C37-C38 Tetra- and tri-unsaturated alkenones and C37 tetra- and tri-unsaturated alkenoates are identified in all sediment samples. The C37 di-unsaturated (C37:2) alkenones can be identified in sediments of surface layers (0-15 cm) of Lake Naga-ike and layers of 160-190 cm depth, in which age is ca. 3000 years BP by 14C dating, in Lake Skallen Ohike, and alkenone unsaturation index (UK37) is analyzed from these sediments. By using a calibration obtained from a culture strain Chrysotila lamellosa as reported by Nakamura et al. (2014), paleotemperatures are calculated to be 9.2-15ºC in surface sediments of Lake Naga-ike and 6.8-8.6ºC in Lake Skallen Oh-ike, respectively. The estimated temperatures are concordant with summer temperature of lake waters observed in Lake Naga-ike. Also, the highest concentrations of the alkenones and alkenoates are observed in deeper (older) sediment layers from Lake Naga-ikes, which has not been connected the ocean and intruded sea water. This implies that the alkenones are originated from indigenous biological organism(s) in Antarctic lake water. The class distributions (unsaturation ratios) of alkenones varied with core depths in Lake Naga-ike and Lake Suribati, whereas these are nearly constant with core depths in Lake Funazoko. These variations presumably depended on changes of climatic and environmental conditions in lake water. Thus, it is suggested that the alkenone proxies can be applicable for Antarctic climate changes.

Subsurface warming in the subpolar North Atlantic during rapid climate events in the Early and Mid-Pleistocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández-Almeida, Iván; Sierro, Francisco; Cacho, Isabel; Abel Flores, José

2014-05-01

A new high-resolution reconstruction of the temperature and salinity of the subsurface waters using paired Mg/Ca-δ18O measurements on the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistrorsa (sin.) was conducted on a deep-sea sediment core in the subpolar North Atlantic (Site U1314). This study aims to reconstruct millennial-scale subsurface hydrography variations during the Early and Mid-Pleistocene (MIS 31-19). These rapid climate events are characterized by abrupt shifts between warm/cold conditions, and ice-sheet oscillations, as evidenced by major ice rafting events recorded in the North Atlantic sediments (Hernández-Almeida et al., 2012), similar to those found during the Last Glacial period (Marcott et al, 2011). The Mg/Ca derived paleotemperature and salinity oscillations prior and during IRD discharges at Site U1314 are related to changes in intermediate circulation. The increases in Mg/Ca paleotemperatures and salinities during the IRD event are preceded by short episodes of cooling and freshening of subsurface waters. The response of the AMOC to this perturbation is an increased of warm and salty water coming from the south, transported to high latitudes in the North Atlantic beneath the thermocline. This process is accompanied by a southward shift in the convection cell from the Nordic Seas to the subpolar North Atlantic and better ventilation of the North Atlantic at mid-depths. Poleward transport of warm and salty subsurface subtropical waters causes intense basal melting and thinning of marine ice-shelves, that culminates in large-scale instability of the ice sheets, retreat of the grounding line and iceberg discharge. The mechanism proposed involves the coupling of the AMOC with ice-sheet dynamics, and would explain the presence of these fluctuations before the establishment of high-amplitude 100-kyr glacial cycles. Hernández-Almeida, I., Sierro, F.J., Cacho, I., Flores, J.A., 2012. Impact of suborbital climate changes in the North Atlantic on ice sheet dynamics at the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. Paleoceanography 27, PA3214. Marcott, S.A., Clark, P.U., Padman, L., Klinkhammer, G.P., Springer, S.R., Liu, Z., Otto-Bliesner, B.L., Carlson, A.E., Ungerer, A., Padman, J., He, F., Cheng, J., Schmittner, A., 2011. Ice-shelf collapse from subsurface warming as a trigger for Heinrich events. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108, 13415-13419

Late Quaternary Upwelling Variations in the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic Ocean as Inferred from Dinoflagellate Cysts, Planktonic Foraminifera, and Organic Carbon Content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Höll, Christine; Kemle-von Mücke, Sylvia

2000-07-01

Analysis of multiple proxies shows that eastern equatorial Atlantic upwelling was subdued during isotope stage 5.5, more intense during stages 4, 5.2, 5.4, and 6, and most intense early in stage 2. These findings are based on proxy measures from a core site about 600 km southwest of Liberia. The proxies include total organic carbon content, the ratio of peridinoid and oceanic organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst species, accumulation rates of calcareous dinoflagellates, estimates of sea surface paleotemperatures, the difference in stable oxygen isotope composition between two species of planktonic foraminifera that live at different water depths, and the abundance of the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina dutertrei. Most of these parameters consistently vary directly or inversely with one another. Slight discrepancies between the individual parameters show the usefulness of a multiple proxy approach to reconstruct paleoenvironments. Our data confirm that northern summer insolation strongly influences upwelling in the eastern equatorial Atlantic Ocean.

Influence of West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse on Antarctic surface climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steig, Eric J.; Huybers, Kathleen; Singh, Hansi A.; Steiger, Nathan J.; Ding, Qinghua; Frierson, Dargan M. W.; Popp, Trevor; White, James W. C.

2015-06-01

Climate model simulations are used to examine the impact of a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) on the surface climate of Antarctica. The lowered topography following WAIS collapse produces anomalous cyclonic circulation with increased flow of warm, maritime air toward the South Pole and cold-air advection from the East Antarctic plateau toward the Ross Sea and Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica. Relative to the background climate, areas in East Antarctica that are adjacent to the WAIS warm, while substantial cooling (several °C) occurs over parts of West Antarctica. Anomalously low isotope-paleotemperature values at Mount Moulton, West Antarctica, compared with ice core records in East Antarctica, are consistent with collapse of the WAIS during the last interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage 5e. More definitive evidence might be recoverable from an ice core record at Hercules Dome, East Antarctica, which would experience significant warming and positive oxygen isotope anomalies if the WAIS collapsed.

SEM/STEM observations of magnetite in carbonates of eastern North America: Evidence for chemical remagnettzation during the Alleghenian Orogeny

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suk, Dongwoo; Van der Voo, Rob; Peacor, Donald R.

Early to middle Paleozoic carbonates of eastern North America have been pervasively remagnetized. In order to determine the process of remagnetization, scanning and scanning transmission electron microscopy have been used to characterize magnetite in thin sections and in concentrated separates. Samples included Ordovician Knox carbonates from east Tennessee, Ordovician Trenton limestone and Devonian Onondaga and Helderberg limestones from New York, and Ordovician Trenton carbonates from Michigan. Inclusions of authigenic minerals within magnetite grains, lack of cations other than iron, and a variety of textural relations all imply that the magnetite is authigenic. These data are consistent with estimates that paleotemperatures never exceeded values that would reset magnetic directions. The remagnetization is thus a chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) rather than viscous remanent magnetization (VRM). As the timing of remagnetization corresponds to the Alleghenian orogeny, the observed relations imply stress-induced crystallization of magnetite that was mediated by fluids, consistent with but not requiring fluid flow on a regional basis.

ePRISM: A case study in multiple proxy and mixed temporal resolution integration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, Marci M.; Dowsett, Harry J.

2010-01-01

As part of the Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Project, we present the ePRISM experiment designed I) to provide climate modelers with a reconstruction of an early Pliocene warm period that was warmer than the PRISM interval (similar to 3.3 to 3.0 Ma), yet still similar in many ways to modern conditions and 2) to provide an example of how best to integrate multiple-proxy sea surface temperature (SST) data from time series with varying degrees of temporal resolution and age control as we begin to build the next generation of PRISM, the PRISM4 reconstruction, spanning a constricted time interval. While it is possible to tie individual SST estimates to a single light (warm) oxygen isotope event, we find that the warm peak average of SST estimates over a narrowed time interval is preferential for paleoclimate reconstruction as it allows for the inclusion of more records of multiple paleotemperature proxies.

Developing a bubble number-density paleoclimatic indicator for glacier ice

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spencer, M.K.; Alley, R.B.; Fitzpatrick, J.J.

2006-01-01

Past accumulation rate can be estimated from the measured number-density of bubbles in an ice core and the reconstructed paleotemperature, using a new technique. Density increase and grain growth in polar firn are both controlled by temperature and accumulation rate, and the integrated effects are recorded in the number-density of bubbles as the firn changes to ice. An empirical model of these processes, optimized to fit published data on recently formed bubbles, reconstructs accumulation rates using recent temperatures with an uncertainty of 41% (P < 0.05). For modern sites considered here, no statistically significant trend exists between mean annual temperature and the ratio of bubble number-density to grain number-density at the time of pore close-off; optimum modeled accumulation-rate estimates require an eventual ???2.02 ?? 0.08 (P < 0.05) bubbles per close-off grain. Bubble number-density in the GRIP (Greenland) ice core is qualitatively consistent with independent estimates for a combined temperature decrease and accumulation-rate increase there during the last 5 kyr.

Late-Quaternary recharge determined from chloride in shallow groundwater in the central Great Plains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Macfarlane, P.A.; Clark, J.F.; Davisson, M.L.; Hudson, G.B.; Whittemore, Donald O.

2000-01-01

An extensive suite of isotopic and geochemical tracers in groundwater has been used to provide hydrologic assessments of the hierarchy of flow systems in aquifers underlying the central Great Plains (southeastern Colorado and western Kansas) of the United States and to determine the late Pleistocene and Holocene paleotemperature and paleorecharge record. Hydrogeologic and geochemical tracer data permit classification of the samples into late Holocene, late Pleistocene-early Holocene, and much older Pleistocene groups. Paleorecharge rates calculated from the Cl concentration in the samples show that recharge rates were at least twice the late Holocene rate during late Pleistocene-early Holocene time, which is consistent with their relative depletion in 16O and D. Noble gas (Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) temperature calculations confirm that these older samples represent a recharge environment approximately 5??C cooler than late Holocene values. These results are consistent with the global climate models that show a trend toward a warmer, more arid climate during the Holocene. (C) 2000 University of Washington.

Monthly Strontium/Calcium oscillations in symbiotic coral aragonite: Biological effects limiting the precision of the paleotemperature proxy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meibom, A.; Stage, M.; Wooden, J.; Constantz, B.R.; Dunbar, R.B.; Owen, A.; Grumet, N.; Bacon, C.R.; Chamberlain, C.P.

2003-01-01

In thermodynamic equilibrium with sea water the Sr/Ca ratio of aragonite varies predictably with temperature and the Sr/Ca ratio in coral have thus become a frequently used proxy for past Sea Surface Temperature (SST). However, biological effects can offset the Sr/Ca ratio from its equilibrium value. We report high spatial resolution ion microprobe analyses of well defined skeletal elements in the reef-building coral Porites lutea that reveal distinct monthly oscillations in the Sr/Ca ratio, with an amplitude in excess of ten percent. The extreme Sr/Ca variations, which we propose result from metabolic changes synchronous with the lunar cycle, introduce variability in Sr/Ca measurements based on conventional sampling techniques well beyond the analytical precision. These variations can limit the accuracy of Sr/Ca paleothermometry by conventional sampling techniques to about 2??C. Our results may help explain the notorious difficulties involved in obtaining an accurate and consistent calibration of the Sr/Ca vs. SST relationship.

Temperature dependency of long-chain alkenone distributions in recent to fossil limnic sediments and in lake waters 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zink, Klaus-G.; Leythaeuser, Detlev; Melkonian, Michael; Schwark, Lorenz

2001-01-01

Distribution patterns of C 37 and C 38 polyunsaturated long-chain alkenones (LCAs) serve as proxies for the determination of paleotemperatures for marine surface waters. We studied Recent/Subrecent and Late Glacial/Holocene sediments from Germany, Austria, Russia, and the U.S. to test for a correspondence between LCA distribution and surface water temperature in limnic systems. Previously, reports of LCA occurrence were restricted to sediments of 6 wide distributed freshwater and alkaline lakes. In this study 13 of 27 investigated lakes contained LCAs in surface sediments with concentrations varying between 12 to 205 μg/g TOC. Late Glacial to Holocene sediment sequences from Lake Steisslingen and Lake Wummsee, (Germany), Lake Pichozero (Russia), and Brush Lake (U.S.A.) contained abundant LCAs with averaged concentrations of 33 to 7536 μg/g TOC. For the first time we observed the occurrence of LCAs within in the water column of oligotrophic Lake Stechlin (NE-Germany). Alkenones were restricted to the zone of maximum chlorophyll concentration within the water column indicating that LCAs have a biosynthetic origin and can be attributed to phototrophic (micro)algae. Attempts to identify the producing organism, however, were not successful. Culture experiments allow various phytoplankton to be excluded as producers. Alkenone-producing algae are evidently of small size, hindering microscopical identification. LCAs commonly occur in high concentrations in Late Glacial sediments, mainly during the cold period of the Younger Dryas, whereas the Holocene usually is devoid of polyunsaturated alkenones. The episodic occurrence of LCAs restricts their utility as proxies for continuous geological records. Furthermore, lack of microscopical verification and the episodic distribution allow for different producers of unsaturated alkenones in Recent and Late Glacial sediments. An empirical relationship between LCA distribution and temperature was observed. In fossil sediments from Lake Steisslingen, there is a good correspondence between Uk37 and the temperature-controlled δ 18O isotope ratio of lake chalk. Comparison of LCA patterns obtained from the uppermost centimetres of lake sediments with averaged summer surface water temperatures of the lakes studied, demonstrates a trend of covariance ( r2: Uk'37 = 0.90, Uk37 = 0.67; n = 9). Hence, the same mechanism that causes temperature-dependence of LCA patterns in marine systems might be effective in limnic settings. Identification of alkenone producers and their culture under controlled temperature are still mandatory before LCAs can be routinely applied as paleotemperature proxy in limnic systems.

Age and paleoenvironment of the imperial formation near San Gorgonio Pass, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

McDougall, K.; Poore, R.Z.; Matti, J.

1999-01-01

Microfossiliferous marine sediments of the Imperial Formation exposed in the Whitewater and Cabazon areas, near San Gorgonio Pass, southern California, are late Miocene in age and were deposited at intertidal to outer neritic depths, and possibly upper bathyal depths. A late Miocene age of 7.4 to >6.04 Ma is based on the ranges of age-diagnostic benthic foraminifers (Cassidulina delicata and Uvigerina peregrina), planktic foraminifers (Globigerinoides obliquus, G. extremus, and Globigerina nepenthes; zones N17-N19), and calcareous nannoplankton (Discoaster brouweri, D. aff. D. surculus, Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilicata, Sphenolithus abies, and S. neoabies; zones CN9a-CN11) coupled with published K/Ar dates from the underlying Coachella Formation (10.1 ?? 1.2 Ma; Peterson, 1975) and overlying Painted Hill Formation (6.04 ?? 0.18 and 5.94 ?? 0.18 Ma; J. L. Morton in Matti and others, 1985 and Matti and Morton, 1993). Paleoecologic considerations (sea-level fluctuations and paleotemperature) restrict the age of the Imperial Formation to 6.5 through 6.3 Ma. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate that the Imperial Formation in the Whitewater and Cabazon sections accumulated at inner neritic to outer neritic (0-152 m) and possibly upper bathyal (152-244 m) depths. Shallowing to inner neritic depths occurred as the upper part of the section was deposited. This sea-level fluctuation corresponds to a global highstand at 6.3 Ma (Haq and others, 1987). Planktic foraminifers suggest an increase in surface-water temperatures upsection. A similar increase in paleotemperatures is interpreted for the North Pacific from 6.5 to 6.3 Ma (warm interval W10 of Barron and Keller, 1983). Environmental contrasts between the Whitewater and Cabazon sections of the Imperial Formation provide evidence for right-lateral displacements on the Banning fault, a late Miocene strand of the San Andreas fault system. The Cabazon section lies south of the Banning fault, and has been displaced west relative to the Whitewater sections. The Cabazon section was deposited at greater depths, suggesting that it accumulated farther offshore than the Whitewater section. If the Salton Trough was a southward-opening, elongated northwest-southeast basin similar to the modern Gulf of California, the Cabazon sequence probably has been displaced right-laterally from a position farther southeast of the Whitewater sequence. This relation requires late Miocene displacements greater than the present 12 km cross-fault separation between the two Imperial sections in the San Gorgonio Pass area.

First report on Cretaceous paleoweathering rates in western Panthalassa: Evidence of global enhancement of continental weathering during OAE 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohta, T.

2013-12-01

Mid-Cretaceous is characterized by intensified oceanic anoxia (Oceanic Anoxic Events: OAEs) that raised global deposition of organic black shales. Several models have been proposed to explain the cause of the OAEs in conjunction with Cretaceous global warmth, active volcanism, sea-level changes and others. For example, Weissert et al. (1998) proposed a mechanism called 'weathering hypothesis'. In this model, the cause of the OAEs is explained in a following chain reaction, (1) global warmth and increase in atmospheric CO2 enhanced weathering of continental crust, (2) enhanced land weathering led excessive influx of nutrients from continents to oceans, (3) eutrophication enhanced primary productivity, (4) the excessive primary producers consumed dissolved oceanic oxygen that finally led to the OAEs. Several studies, in fact, revealed a causal relation between enhanced weathering and OAEs in northern Tethys region. However, it is necessary to collect worldwide information to unravel the global response of weathering hypothesis as a cause of OAEs. For such reason, the present contribution conducted measurements of the degree of hinterland paleoweathering during OAEs in northern Japan, for the purpose to provide a first report on the relation between continental weathering and OAEs in open ocean, the western Panthalassa Ocean. Aptian to Campanian forearc basin mudstones (Yezo Group) were analyzed by XRF and the degree of hinterland weathering was evaluated by geochemical weathering index (W index; Ohta and Arai, 2007). The W values obtained for the Yezo Group are 30~50, which is equivalent to the W values of recent soils developed in temperate mid-latitude climate. The W values show a fluctuation pattern that is concordant with the Cretaceous paleotemperature changes. This match indicates that the change in paleotemperature governed the weathering rates of East Asian continental crust. In addition, hinterland weathering rates show instantaneous increase during the OAE intervals. Specifically, a clear positive excursion of W value is recorded in the OAE 2 horizon. High-resolution analysis revealed that increase in weathering rate slightly predates the OAE 2, c.a. 100 to 500 ka before the onset of anoxia. Therefore, our results are consistent with the weathering hypothesis in two aspects. As assumed in weathering hypothesis, enhanced hinterland weathering is linked with the OAEs and hinterland weathering precedes the onset of OAEs. Furthermore, our data suggests that, as well as in Tethys Ocean, enhanced hinterland paleoweathering during OAEs also occurred in the open Panathalassa Ocean. This indicates that enhanced hinterland weathering was a global and pervasive event causing OAEs.

Paleoclimate and paleoelevation in the western US Cordillera, 80 Ma to Present

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snell, K. E.; Thompson, J. M.; Foreman, B. Z.; Wernicke, B. P.; Chamberlain, C. P.; Eiler, J. M.; Koch, P. L.

2011-12-01

Disentangling local to regional paleoclimatic signals from paleoelevation changes in the terrestrial sedimentary record is challenging, and can be done with confidence only by compiling spatially and temporally distributed datasets (preferably drawing on diverse proxies). Spatial coverage is particularly important for paleoelevation reconstruction because climate at low elevation sites must be known to identify higher paleoelevation sites and to quantify their altitude. The abundance of previous paleoclimatic and paleoelevation studies from the western United States can provide some of the necessary temporal and spatial framework for discriminating signals of climate change from elevation changes. Here, we present a compilation of previously published and new paleotemperature data from the western United States from the Late Cretaceous - Present derived from leaf physiognomy MAT estimates and carbonate clumped-isotope temperature estimates. After coarsely binning the data into high paleoelevation (>2 km) and lower paleoelevation (<2 km) sites (according to original interpretations made by the authors of previous studies), we compare the general temporal patterns of temperature change from western North America with those implied by the marine stable isotope record. Within this framework, we begin to evaluate sites of uncertain paleoelevation that cannot be compared with contemporaneous, adjacent low elevation sites. In this compilation, both low and high elevation land temperatures are warmer than today during the Late Cretaceous, reach an apex during the early-middle Eocene and then cool to the Present (sharply from the late Miocene to Pleistocene). The observed pattern matches reasonably well with the coarse temporal pattern of climate change based on the marine oxygen isotope record. Paleobotanical data reflect mean annual temperature (MAT), whereas the clumped isotope data from paleosol and lacustrine carbonates appear to be biased toward summer temperatures. Throughout the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic, both MAT and summer paleotemperature estimates are higher than modern MAT and summer temperature, but the relatively consistent difference between these records implies a seasonal range in temperature that was similar to modern. Summer temperatures from low paleoelevation sites during the Late Cretaceous to the Early Eocene are relatively warm (30 - 40 degrees C), though these values may include a few degrees of radiant solar heating of the surface. Interestingly, Early Eocene-aged carbonate samples from southwest Montana are cooler on average than other carbonate samples of roughly the same age, but are similar in temperature to samples thought to be at high elevation during the Late Cretaceous. Thus, these samples may reflect high elevation summer temperatures, rather than low elevation temperatures, demonstrating the utility of this combined spatial and temporal approach to evaluating terrestrial paleoenvironmental records.

Organismal versus Environmental Control of the Carbon Isotope Composition of Dicot Angiosperm Pollen: Implications for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, D. P.; Schubert, B.; Foelber, K.; Jahren, H.

2011-12-01

The prevalence and diagenetic resilience of palynomorphs in Proterozoic and Phanerozoic sediments has led researchers to investigate its potential as an environmental proxy based on its stable isotope composition. Towards this, Loader and Hemming (2001), noted that the carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of modern Pinus sylvestris pollen exine correlates with the developmental period temperature (°C) of the pollen (R2=0.68), implying that the δ13C of gymnosperm pollen could be quantitatively utilized as a paleotemperature proxy. However, the majority of pollen-producing organisms during the last ~120 million years have been angiosperms, which are subject to complex internal signaling for reproduction, in addition to environmental triggers. Because these internal signals control the relative proportion of lipids, long-chain fatty acids, and polysaccharides within pollen grains, we hypothesized that the δ13C variability in pollen (δ13Cpollen) from several plants subject to the same external environmental parameters is of the same magnitude as the amount attributed to the environment for gymnosperms. Within growth chambers, the test organism (Brassica rapa) was cultivated under constant light, water, pCO2, and nutrient supply, but exhibited average δ13Cpollen variability = 4.35% within any chamber (n = 6 to 8 plants per chamber). Field experiments were also conducted in which the pollen from the test organism (Hibiscus spp.) was sampled from several botanical gardens within the state of Hawaii. Pollen collected from any one botanical garden exhibited an average δ13Cpollen variability = 4.5% (up to 5 plants per garden). Upon comparing chambers operating at different temperatures (17°C to 32°C), we discovered no correlation (R2=0.01) between the developmental period temperature (°C) and the δ13C of B. rapa pollen; similarly, no correlation was found between the δ13C of Hibiscus pollen and its developmental period temperature (°C) (R2=0.12). This work underscores the lack of consistent environmental control over the δ13C value of pollen, and suggests that the carbon isotope composition of dicot pollen cannot be used to determine paleotemperatures. Future work centers on our hypothesis that the δ13C variability in angiosperm pollen results from differential reproductive potency and associated differences in the percentages of lipids, long-chain fatty acids, and polysaccharides within pollen. Towards this we will quantify the relationship between the chemical composition of flower-aggregate pollen and its δ13C value, given the δ13C value of isolated end-member constituents.

Equilibrium Line Altitudes and paleotemperature reconstructions from Nevado Hualcán (9°S) and Nevado Coropuna (15°S), Tropical Andes (Peru).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Úbeda, J.; Giráldez, C.; Palacios, D.

2012-04-01

We have reconstructed the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) in seven valleys on the SW slope of Nevado Hualcán (9°S, 77°W; 6122 m asl) and on the SE slope of Nevado Coropuna (15°S, 72°W; 6377masl) using the Area x Altitude Balance Ratio method (Osmaston 2005). We have also deduced the paleotemperatures using the following equation: ΔT=ATLR•ΔELA; being ΔT (°C) the paleotemperature depression; ATLR (°C/m) the Atmospheric Temperature Lapse Rate; and ΔELA (m) the ELA depression. The ATLR for Coropuna was deduced through the use of data loggers. For Hualcán we used the value ATLR =0.0065°C/m, valid for the tropics (Kaser and Osmaston, 2002). We obtained the following results: 1) Hualcán: a) ELAs: 5124m (2003); 5018m (1962); 4994m during the Little Ice Age (LIA); and 4652m during the last studied maximum advance considered to be the Younger Dryas (YD, ~13-11ka) by correlation with nearby mountains (Glasser et al., 2009). b) ΔELAs: 106m (1962); 130m (LIA); and 199m (YD). c) ΔT: -0.69°C (1962); -0.85°C (LIA); -3.07°C (YD). 2) Coropuna: a) ELAs: 5862m (2007); 5853m (1986); 5787m (1955); 5776 (LIA); and 4951m in the 13-1136Cl ka phase (Ubeda, 2011). b) ΔELA: 9m (1986); 66m (1955); 86m (LIA); and 911m in 13-1136Cl ka. C) ΔT: -0.20°C (1986); -0.71°C (1955); and -7.65°C (13-1136Cl ka). The values ΔT during LIA in Hualcán and Coropuna (0.85 and 0.72°C) are consistent with the global warming considered to be 0,74°C between 1906 and 2005 (IPCC, 2007). During the mid XXth century and the LIA, ΔT is higher in Hualcán (0.69°C and 0.85°C) than in Coropuna (0.55°C and 0.72°C), with a regional gradient of -0.02°C per degree of latitude (°C/°). However, during the YD (13-1136Cl ka), ΔT was higher in Coropuna (7.65°C) than in Hualcán (3.07°C), with a gradient of 0.76°C/°. Although other evidences exist of a pantropical cooling of >5°C during the last glaciation, in Coropuna this cooling was strengthened by the retro-alimentation of its glacial system which in 13-1136Cl ka had a surface of >400 km2 (Ubeda, 2011). Glasser, N.F., Clemmens, S., Schnabel, C., Fenton, C.R. and McHargue, L., 2009. Tropical glacier fluctuations in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru between 12.5 and 7.6 ka from cosmogenic 10Be dating. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28: 3448-3458. IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K and Reisinger, A. (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 104 pp. Kaser, G. and Osmaston, H., 2002. Tropical Glaciers. International Hydrology Series. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (U.K.), 207 pp. Osmaston, H., 2005. Estimates of glacier equilibrium line altitudes by the Area x Altitude, the Area x Altitude Balance Ratio and the Area x Altitude Balance Index methods and their validation. Quaternary International, 22-31: 138-139. Úbeda, J., 2011. El impacto del cambio climático en los glaciares del complejo volcánico Nevado Coropuna (cordillera occidental de los Andes, Sur del Perú). PhD Thesis. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, (Spain), 558 pp. Available online: http://eprints.ucm.es/12076/ Research funded by CGL2009-7343 project, Government of Spain.

Interspecific Hybridization in Pilot Whales and Asymmetric Genetic Introgression in Northern Globicephala melas under the Scenario of Global Warming.

PubMed

Miralles, Laura; Oremus, Marc; Silva, Mónica A; Planes, Serge; Garcia-Vazquez, Eva

2016-01-01

Pilot whales are two cetacean species (Globicephala melas and G. macrorhynchus) whose distributions are correlated with water temperature and partially overlap in some areas like the North Atlantic Ocean. In the context of global warming, distribution range shifts are expected to occur in species affected by temperature. Consequently, a northward displacement of the tropical pilot whale G. macrorynchus is expected, eventually leading to increased secondary contact areas and opportunities for interspecific hybridization. Here, we describe genetic evidences of recurrent hybridization between pilot whales in northeast Atlantic Ocean. Based on mitochondrial DNA sequences and microsatellite loci, asymmetric introgression of G. macrorhynchus genes into G. melas was observed. For the latter species, a significant correlation was found between historical population growth rate estimates and paleotemperature oscillations. Introgressive hybridization, current temperature increases and lower genetic variation in G. melas suggest that this species could be at risk in its northern range. Under increasing environmental and human-mediated stressors in the North Atlantic Ocean, it seems recommendable to develop a conservation program for G. melas.

Interspecific Hybridization in Pilot Whales and Asymmetric Genetic Introgression in Northern Globicephala melas under the Scenario of Global Warming

PubMed Central

Miralles, Laura; Oremus, Marc; Silva, Mónica A.; Planes, Serge; Garcia-Vazquez, Eva

2016-01-01

Pilot whales are two cetacean species (Globicephala melas and G. macrorhynchus) whose distributions are correlated with water temperature and partially overlap in some areas like the North Atlantic Ocean. In the context of global warming, distribution range shifts are expected to occur in species affected by temperature. Consequently, a northward displacement of the tropical pilot whale G. macrorynchus is expected, eventually leading to increased secondary contact areas and opportunities for interspecific hybridization. Here, we describe genetic evidences of recurrent hybridization between pilot whales in northeast Atlantic Ocean. Based on mitochondrial DNA sequences and microsatellite loci, asymmetric introgression of G. macrorhynchus genes into G. melas was observed. For the latter species, a significant correlation was found between historical population growth rate estimates and paleotemperature oscillations. Introgressive hybridization, current temperature increases and lower genetic variation in G. melas suggest that this species could be at risk in its northern range. Under increasing environmental and human-mediated stressors in the North Atlantic Ocean, it seems recommendable to develop a conservation program for G. melas. PMID:27508496

Did intense volcanism trigger the first Late Ordovician icehouse?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buggisch, Werner; Joachimski, Michael M.; Lehnert, Oliver; Bergstrom, S. M.; Repetski, John E.

2009-01-01

Oxygen isotopes measured on Late Ordovician conodonts from Minnesota and Kentucky (United States) were studied to reconstruct the paleotemperature history during late Sandbian to Katian (Mohawkian–Cincinnatian) time. This time interval was characterized by intense volcanism, as shown by the prominent Deicke, Millbrig, and other K-bentonite beds. A prominent carbon isotope excursion (Guttenberg δ13C excursion, GICE) postdates the Millbrig volcanic eruptions, and has been interpreted to reflect a drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide and climatic cooling. The oxygen isotope record in conodont apatite contradicts this earlier interpretation. An increase in δ18O of 1.5‰ (Vienna standard mean ocean water) just above the Deicke K-bentonite suggests an abrupt and short-lived cooling that possibly initiated a first short-term glacial episode well before the major Hirnantian glaciation. The decrease in δ18O immediately after the mega-eruptions indicates warming before the GICE, and no cooling is shown in the GICE interval. The coincidence of the Deicke mega-eruption with a cooling event suggests that this major volcanic event had a profound effect on Late Ordovician (late Mohawkian) climate.

Did intense volcanism trigger the first Late Ordovician icehouse?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buggisch, Werner; Joachimski, Michael M.; Lehnert, Oliver; Bergström, Stig M.; Repetski, John E.; Webers, Gerald F.

2010-01-01

Oxygen isotopes measured on Late Ordovician conodonts from Minnesota and Kentucky (United States) were studied to reconstruct the paleotemperature history during late Sandbian to Katian (Mohawkian–Cincinnatian) time. This time interval was characterized by intense volcanism, as shown by the prominent Deicke, Millbrig, and other K-bentonite beds. A prominent carbon isotope excursion (Guttenberg δ13C excursion, GICE) postdates the Millbrig volcanic eruptions, and has been interpreted to reflect a drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide and climatic cooling. The oxygen isotope record in conodont apatite contradicts this earlier interpretation. An increase in δ18O of 1.5‰ (Vienna standard mean ocean water) just above the Deicke K-bentonite suggests an abrupt and short-lived cooling that possibly initiated a first short-term glacial episode well before the major Hirnantian glaciation. The decrease in δ18O immediately after the mega-eruptions indicates warming before the GICE, and no cooling is shown in the GICE interval. The coincidence of the Deicke mega-eruption with a cooling event suggests that this major volcanic event had a profound effect on Late Ordovician (late Mohawkian) climate.

Implications for organic maturation studies of evidence of a geologically rapid increase and stabilization of vitrinite reflectance at peak temperature: Cerro Prieto geothermal system, Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barker, C.E.

1991-01-01

A short-term rapid heating and cooling of the rock in well M-94 below 1300 m was caused by a pulse of hot water passing through the edge of the Cerro Prieto, Mexico, geothermal system. Below 1300 m, the peak paleotemperatures were about 225-250??C, but equilibrium well log temperatures indicate a decrease to 150-210??C at present. This hot water pulse sharply increased vitrinite reflectance to levels comparable to those measured in the central part of the system, even though studies of apatite fission-track annealing indicate that the duration of heating was only 100-101 yr in M-94, in contrast to 103-104 yr in the central part of the system. The quick change of the vitrinite reflectance geothermometer indicates that thermal maturation reactions can stabilize, after a geologically short period of heating, to a level consistent with peak temperature under moderate to high-temperature diagenesis in open, fluid-rich, geothermal systems. -from Author

Denudation and uplift of the Mawson Escarpment (eastern Lambert Graben, Antarctica) as indicated by apatite fission track data and geomorphological observation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lisker, F.; Gibson, H.; Wilson, C.J.; Läufer, A.

2007-01-01

Analysis of three vertical profiles from the southern Mawson Escarpment (Lambert Graben) reveals apatite fission track (AFT) ages ranging from 102±20 to 287±23 Ma and mean lengths of 12.2 to 13.0 μm. Quantitative thermal histories derived from these data consistently indicate onset of slow cooling below 110°C began sometime prior to 300 Ma, and a second stage of rapid cooling from paleotemperatures up to ≤100°C to surface temperatures occurred in the Late Cretaceous – Paleocene. The first cooling phase refers to Carboniferous – Jurassic basement denudation up to 5 km associated with the initial rifting of the Lambert Graben. The presence of the ancient East Antarctic Erosion Surface and rapid Late Cretaceous – Paleocene cooling indicate a second denudational episode during which up to 4.5 km of sedimentary cover rocks were removed, and that is likely linked to the Cretaceous Gondwana breakup between Antarctica and India and subsequent passive continental margin formation.

Paleoclimate determines diversification patterns in the fossorial snake family Uropeltidae Cuvier, 1829.

PubMed

Cyriac, Vivek Philip; Kodandaramaiah, Ullasa

2017-11-01

Understanding how and why diversification rates vary across evolutionary time is central to understanding how biodiversity is generated and maintained. Recent mathematical models that allow estimation of diversification rates across time from reconstructed phylogenies have enabled us to make inferences on how biodiversity copes with environmental change. Here, we explore patterns of temporal diversification in Uropeltidae, a diverse fossorial snake family. We generate a time-calibrated phylogenetic hypothesis for Uropeltidae and show a significant correlation between diversification rate and paleotemperature during the Cenozoic. We show that the temporal diversification pattern of this group is punctuated by one rate shift event with a decrease in diversification and turnover rate between ca. 11Ma to present, but there is no strong support for mass extinction events. The analysis indicates higher turnover during periods of drastic climatic fluctuations and reduced diversification rates associated with contraction and fragmentation of forest habitats during the late Miocene. Our study highlights the influence of environmental fluctuations on diversification rates in fossorial taxa such as uropeltids, and raises conservation concerns related to present rate of climate change. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Frictional behaviour of exhumed subduction zone sediments from the Shimanto Belt, Japan, at in-situ P-T conditions and implications for megathrust seismogenesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

den Hartog, Sabine; Niemeijer, Andre; Saffer, Demian; Marone, Chris

2014-05-01

Seismogenesis on subduction zone megathrusts is generally thought to be limited to a region between the ~100-150°C isotherms, at ~5-15 km depth, and the ~350°C isotherm, typically at ~40 km depth. This zone is bounded at its up-dip and down-dip limits by aseismic zones. However, in recent years it has been discovered that very low frequency earthquakes (VLFE) and non-destructive Slow Slip Events (SSEs) or slow earthquakes nucleate in these presumed aseismic regions. Slip on megathrusts is likely to localize in the weak subducted sediments along the plate interface, which implies that the fault material is derived at least in part from these sediments. Therefore, understanding the depth distribution of seismicity and SSEs on megathrusts requires knowledge of the frictional behaviour of metapelites. We investigated such behaviour by performing shear experiments on natural megathrust fault gouges, derived from exhumed subduction zone sediments and faults exposed in the Shimanto Belt on Shikoku Island, Japan. These gouges correspond to peak paleo-temperatures of 105°C to 280°C, representing different stages in the diagenetic and metamorphic evolution of the subducted sediments, covering the shallow aseismic zone as well as the seismogenic zone. The composition of all gouges was dominated by illite/muscovite, with smaller amounts of quartz, feldspar and chlorite. We sheared these gouges at low displacement rates (0.1-100 micron/s) to address the nucleation of megathrust earthquakes and SSEs, using either a double-direct (biaxial) shear machine or a rotary shear machine. The double-direct shear experiments were performed at room temperature, 5% relative humidity and 50 MPa normal stress. The rotary shear experiments, in turn, were conducted at the sample-specific, approximate peak in-situ P-T conditions, i.e. the P-T conditions corresponding to the maximum burial depth of these samples. At room temperature, samples from different peak paleo-temperatures showed similar frictional behaviour, with near-neutral velocity dependence, i.e. stable or aseismic behaviour. When deformed at their approximate in-situ peak P-T conditions, on the other hand, the samples showed a progressive transition from strong velocity-strengthening (stable) behaviour at 105°C (notably at 10-100 micron/s), to velocity-weakening (unstable) behaviour at 280°C. The results at elevated P-T conditions match previous results on simulated illite-quartz analogue fault gouges and imply a broad transition in the slip stability of subduction megathrusts from stable (velocity-strengthening), to unstable (velocity-weakening) with increasing depth, in agreement with seismological observations.

Estimation of lake water - groundwater interactions in meromictic mining lakes by modelling isotope signatures of lake water.

PubMed

Seebach, Anne; Dietz, Severine; Lessmann, Dieter; Knoeller, Kay

2008-03-01

A method is presented to assess lake water-groundwater interactions by modelling isotope signatures of lake water using meteorological parameters and field data. The modelling of delta(18)O and deltaD variations offers information about the groundwater influx into a meromictic Lusatian mining lake. Therefore, a water balance model is combined with an isotope water balance model to estimate analogies between simulated and measured isotope signatures within the lake water body. The model is operated with different evaporation rates to predict delta(18)O and deltaD values in a lake that is only controlled by weather conditions with neither groundwater inflow nor outflow. Comparisons between modelled and measured isotope values show whether the lake is fed by the groundwater or not. Furthermore, our investigations show that an adaptation of the Craig and Gordon model [H. Craig, L.I. Gordon. Deuterium and oxygen-18 variations in the ocean and the marine atmosphere. In Stable Isotopes in Oceanographic Studies and Paleotemperature, Spoleto, E. Tongiorgi (Ed.), pp. 9-130, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Laboratorio di Geologia Nucleare, Pisa (1965).] to specific conditions in temperate regions seems necessary.

Deglaciation chronology in the Mérida Andes from cosmogenic 10Be dating, (Gavidia valley, Venezuela)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angel, Isandra; Audemard M., Franck A.; Carcaillet, Julien; Carrillo, Eduardo; Beck, Christian; Audin, Laurence

2016-11-01

In the Mérida Andes, a detailed deglaciation history reconstruction is difficult to achieve due to scattered deglaciation chronologies available. This paper contributes with 24 exposure ages of glacial landforms sampled in the Gavidia valley. Exposure ages were obtained based on terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide 10Be dating. Results indicate deglaciation mainly occurred between ∼21 ka and 16.5 ka and the complete deglaciation occurred at ∼16.0 ka. The glacier retreated in two different phases. The oldest one occurred since the LGM until middle OtD or the local climate event El Caballo Stadial. The youngest phase occurred at ages younger than ∼16.5 ka until complete deglaciation. A combination of topographic features and changes in the paleoclimate conditions at the end of the El Caballo Stadial seems leaded the fastest former glacier extinction. The topographic feature which seems contributed to the fastest glacier extinction was the low valley bottom slopes. In addition, exposure ages of the Gavidia valley were integrated with deglaciation chronologies from the central Mérida Andes to compare deglaciation histories. Asynchronous deglaciation histories were observed. Local paleotemperatures and paleoprecipitations contrasts, different valleys aspects, insolation and catchments steepness could explain different deglaciation histories.

Synchronous precipitation reduction in the American Tropics associated with Heinrich 2.

PubMed

Medina-Elizalde, Martín; Burns, Stephen J; Polanco-Martinez, Josué; Lases-Hernández, Fernanda; Bradley, Raymond; Wang, Hao-Cheng; Shen, Chuan-Chou

2017-09-11

During the last ice age temperature in the North Atlantic oscillated in cycles known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events. The magnitude of Caribbean hydroclimate change associated with D-O variability and particularly with stadial intervals, remains poorly constrained by paleoclimate records. We present a 3.3 thousand-year long stalagmite δ 18 O record from the Yucatan Peninsula (YP) that spans the interval between 26.5 and 23.2 thousand years before present. We estimate quantitative precipitation variability and the high resolution and dating accuracy of this record allow us to investigate how rainfall in the region responds to D-O events. Quantitative precipitation estimates are based on observed regional amount effect variability, last glacial paleotemperature records, and estimates of the last glacial oxygen isotopic composition of precipitation based on global circulation models (GCMs). The new precipitation record suggests significant low latitude hydrological responses to internal modes of climate variability and supports a role of Caribbean hydroclimate in helping Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation recovery during D-O events. Significant in-phase precipitation reduction across the equator in the tropical Americas associated with Heinrich event 2 is suggested by available speleothem oxygen isotope records.

Foraminiferal faunal estimates of paleotemperature: Circumventing the no-analog problem yields cool ice age tropics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mix, A.C.; Morey, A.E.; Pisias, N.G.; Hostetler, S.W.

1999-01-01

The sensitivity of the tropics to climate change, particularly the amplitude of glacial-to-interglacial changes in sea surface temperature (SST), is one of the great controversies in paleoclimatology. Here we reassess faunal estimates of ice age SSTs, focusing on the problem of no-analog planktonic foraminiferal assemblages in the equatorial oceans that confounds both classical transfer function and modern analog methods. A new calibration strategy developed here, which uses past variability of species to define robust faunal assemblages, solves the no-analog problem and reveals ice age cooling of 5??to 6??C in the equatorial current systems of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Classical transfer functions underestimated temperature changes in some areas of the tropical oceans because core-top assemblages misrepresented the ice age faunal assemblages. Our finding is consistent with some geochemical estimates and model predictions of greater ice age cooling in the tropics than was inferred by Climate: Long-Range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction (CLIMAP) [1981] and thus may help to resolve a long-standing controversy. Our new foraminiferal transfer function suggests that such cooling was limited to the equatorial current systems, however, and supports CLIMAP's inference of stability of the subtropical gyre centers.

Multiple cooling episodes in the Central Tarim (Northwest China) revealed by apatite fission track analysis and vitrinite reflectance data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Jian; Qiu, Nansheng; Song, Xinying; Li, Huili

2016-06-01

Apatite fission track and vitrinite reflectance are integrated for the first time to study the cooling history in the Central Tarim, northwest China. The paleo-temperature profiles from vitrinite reflectance data of the Z1 and Z11 wells showed a linear relationship with depth, suggesting an approximately 24.8 °C/km paleo-geothermal gradient and 2700-3900 m of erosion during the Early Mesozoic. The measured apatite fission track ages from well Z2 in the Central Tarim range from 39 to 159 Ma and effectively record the Meso-Cenozoic cooling events that occurred in Central Tarim. Moreover, two cooling events at 190-140 Ma in the Early Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and 80-45 Ma in the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene revealed by measured AFT data and thermal modeling results are related to the collisions of the Qiangtang-Lhasa terranes and the Greater India Plate with the southern margin of the Eurasian Plate, respectively. This study provides new insights into the tectonic evolution of the Tarim Basin (and more broadly Central Asia) and for hydrocarbon generation and exploration in the Central Tarim.

On the interrelationship between temporal trends in. delta. sup 13 C,. delta. sup 18 O, and. delta. sup 34 S in the world ocean

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffman, A.; Gruszczynski, M.; Malkowski, K.

1991-05-01

The phenomena of (i) inverse correlation between the oceanic carbon and sulfur isotopic curves, and (ii) covariation between the oceanic carbon and oxygen isotopic curves at all their major excursions appear as paradoxes in the current paradigm of global biogeochemical cycles. These phenomena, however, are fully explicable by a model proposing that the ocean alternates between two general modes: stagnant, stratified, and net autotrophic (overfed) ocean, on the one hand, and vigorously mixed and net heterotrophic (hungry) ocean, on the other. This model is in fact strongly supported by the carbon isotopic evidence. The directions of change in the isotopicmore » ratios of carbon, oxygen, and sulfur should be different in the lower, anoxic box of a stratified ocean than in the upper, oxic box; whereas ocean destratification and mixing of the two boxes should lead to coeval shifts in the oceanic isotopic curves of these elements. The model has far-reaching implications for (i) the causal explanation of both secular trends and major shifts in the oceanic isotopic curves, and (ii) for the application of oxygen isotopic data for paleotemperature and paleoenvironment determinations.« less

Subsurface thermal regime to delineate the paleo-groundwater flow system in an arid area, Al Kufra, Libya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salem, Zenhom El-Said

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to understand the groundwater flow system in Al Kufra basin, Libya, as a case study of arid areas using subsurface temperature. The temperature-depth profiles and water levels were measured in eight boreholes in the area. Well 6 is considered a recharge type profile with low geothermal gradient (0.0068 °C/m) and an estimated paleo-temperature around 19.5 °C. The other profiles are of discharge type with higher geothermal gradient (0.0133 to 0.0166 °C/m). The constructed horizontal 2D distribution maps of the hydraulic heads and the subsurface temperature measurements reveal that the main recharge area is located to the south with low temperature while the main discharge area is located to the north with higher temperature. Vertical 2D distribution maps show that location of well 4 has low hydraulic heads and higher temperature indicating that the fault defined in the area may have affected the groundwater flow system. The estimated groundwater flux ranges from 0.001 to 0.1 mm/day for the recharge area and from -0.3 to -0.7 mm/day in average in the discharge area.

Eocene high-latitude temperature gradients over time and space based on d18O values of fossil shark teeth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeichner, S. S.; Kim, S.; Colman, A. S.

2015-12-01

Early-Mid Eocene (56.0-33.9Mya) is characterized by a temperate Antarctic climate and shallower latitudinal temperature gradients than those in present day. The warmer waters off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula provided suitable habitats for taxa (i.e., sharks) that live today at lower latitudes. Stable isotope analysis of Eocene shark teeth provides a proxy to understand high latitude temperature gradients. However, shark ecology, in particular migration and occupation of tidal versus pelagic habitats, must be considered in the interpretation of stable isotope data. In this study, we analyze d18OPO4 values from the enameloid of Striatolamia (synonymized with Carcharias) shark teeth from the La Meseta formation (Seymour Island, Antarctica) to estimate paleotemperature in Early-Mid Eocene Antarctica, and assess the impact of ecology versus environmental signals on d18OPO4 values. We compare the ranges and offsets between our measured shark tooth d18OPO4 and published bivalve d18OCO3 values to test whether shark teeth record signals of migration across latitudinal temperature gradients, or instead reflect seasonal and long-term temporal variation across La Meseta stratigraphic units.

Studies in neotropical paleobotany. XIV. A palynoflora from the middle Eocene Saramaguacan formation of Cuba

USGS Publications Warehouse

Graham, A.; Cozadd, D.; Areces-Mallea, A.; Frederiksen, N.O.

2000-01-01

An assemblage of 46 fossil pollen and spore types is described from a core drilled through the middle Eocene Saramaguacan Formation, Camaguey Province, eastern Cuba. Many of the specimens represent unidentified or extinct taxa but several can be identified to family (Palmae, Bombacaceae, Gramineae, Moraceae, Myrtaceae) and some to genus (Pteris, Crudia, Lymingtonia?). The paleo-climate was warm-temperate to subtropical which is consistent with other floras in the region of comparable age and with the global paleotemperature curve. Older plate tectonic models show a variety of locations for proto-Cuba during Late Cretaceous and later times, including along the norther coast of South America. More recent models depict western and central Cuba as two separate parts until the Eocene, and eastern Cuba (joined to northern Hispaniola) docking to central Cuba also in the Eocene. All fragments are part of the North American Plate and none were directly connected with northern South America in late Mesozoic or Cenozoic time. The Saramaguacan flora supports this model because the assemblage is distinctly North American in affinities, with only one type (Retimonocolpites type 1) found elsewhere only in South America.

Do GCM's Predict the Climate.... Or the Low Frequency Weather?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovejoy, S.; Varon, D.; Schertzer, D. J.

2011-12-01

Over twenty-five years ago, a three-regime scaling model was proposed describing the statistical variability of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from weather scales out to ≈ 100 kyrs. Using modern in situ data reanalyses, monthly surface series (at 5ox5o), 8 "multiproxy" (yearly) series of the Northern hemisphere from 1500- 1980, and GRIP and Vostok paleotemperatures at 5.2 and ≈ 100 year resolutions (over the past 91-420 kyrs), we refine the model and show how it can be understood with the help of new developments in nonlinear dynamics, especially multifractals and cascades. In a scaling range, mean fluctuations in state variables such as temperature ΔT ≈ ΔtH the where Δt is the duration. At small (weather) scales the fluctuation exponents are generally H>0; they grow with scale. At longer scales Δt >τw (≈ 10 days) they change sign, the fluctuations decrease with scale; this is the low variability, "low frequency weather" regime the spectrum is a relatively flat "plateau", it's variability is that of the usual idea of "long term weather statistics". Finally for longer times, Δt>τc ≈ 10 - 100 years, again H>0, the variability again increases with scale. This is the true climate regime. These scaling regimes allow us to objectively define the weather as fluctuations over periods <τw, "climate states", as fluctuations at scale τc and "climate change" as the fluctuations at longer periods >τc). We show that the intermediate regime is the result of the weather regime undergoing a "dimensional transition": at temporal scales longer than the typical lifetime of planetary structures (τw), the spatial degrees of freedom are rapidly quenched, only the temporal degrees of freedom are important. This low frequency weather regime has statistical properties well reproduced not only by weather cascade models, but also by control runs (i.e. without climate forcing) of GCM's (including IPSL and ECHAM GCM's). In order for GCM's to go beyond simply predicting this low frequency weather so as to predict the climate, they need appropriate climate forcings and/ or new internal mechanisms of variability. We examine this using wavelet analyses of forced and unforced GCM outputs, including the ECHO-G simulation used in the Millenium project. For example, we find that climate scenarios with large CO2 increases do give rise to a climate regime but that Hc>1 i.e. much larger than that of natural variability which for temperatures has Hc≈0.4. In comparison, the (largely volcanic) forcing of the ECHO-G Millenium simulation is fairly realistic (Hc≈0.4), although it is not clear that this mechanism can explain the even lower frequency variability found in the paleotemperature series, nor is it clear that this is compatible with low frequency solar or orbital forcings.

The Gephyrocapsa Sea Surface Paleothermometer Put To The Test: Comparison With Alkenone and Foraminifera Proxies Off NW Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderiks, J.; Bollmann, J.

In Holocene deep-sea sediments, the relative abundance of different morphotypes within the coccolithophore genus Gephyrocapsa is closely correlated with sea sur- face temperature (Bollmann, 1997). Based on this relationship, a regional temperature transfer function was established using a set of 35 Holocene sediments from the NE Atlantic, covering a temperature range from 14C to 24C. Using this approach, ab- solute annual mean sea surface temperatures for a given location can be calculated from the relative abundance of two Gephyrocapsa morphotypes, Gephyrocapsa Cold and Gephyrocapsa Equatorial, with a standard deviation of +/-1.06C. A global regres- sion model (N=110) was applied as well, which calculates absolute mean sea surface temperatures from the relative abundance of three Gephyrocapsa morphotypes, with a standard deviation of +/-1.78C. Using both calibration models, we have estimated sea surface temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum in a dispersed set of eigh- teen well-dated gravity cores off NW Africa (16-35N; 20-8W). The regional model revealed that annual mean temperatures during the LGM were 4 to 6C colder than today in the Canary Islands region, with lowest temperatures (14-15.5C) off-shore Morocco and south of the volcanic islands, likely due to intensified upwelling related to stronger trade winds. These values are consistent with estimates from the CLIMAP Project (1981) and other paleotemperature reconstructions for the same region. In con- trast, offshore Cape Blanc, our temperature estimates for the LGM are significantly warmer (Ttoday -LGM <4C) than proposed by CLIMAP (Ttoday -LGM 6-10C). Nevertheless, our results support temperature reconstructions based on alkenones that also indicate rather small temperature changes (Ttoday -LGM <3C) in this area (e.g. Zhao et al., 2000). Glacial sea surface temperature estimates derived from the global calibration are on average 1C warmer than those derived from the regional model. However, the overall geographic patterns and temperature gradients for both reconstructions are very similar. To compare our Gephyrocapsa proxy with other pa- leotemperature proxies, we investigated a down-core record off Cape Blanc (GeoB 1048; 2055 N, 1943 W) in the vicinity of BOFS core 31K (1900 N, 2010 W). For the latter core, a detailed multiproxy paleotemperature record already exists based on alkenones, Mg/Ca ratios in foraminiferal calcite and planktic foraminifera assem- 1 blages (Chapman et al., 1996; Elderfield Ganssen, 2000). Here, we show an especially good and consistent correspondence between our new proxy and alkenones, reflecting the fact that both proxies originated from the phytoplankton community. References Bollmann, Marine Micropaleontology 29 (3/4), 319-350 (1997). Chapman et al. Paleoceanography 11, 343-357 (1996). Elderfield Ganssen. Nature 405, 442-445 (2000). Zhao et al. Organic Geochemistry 31, 919-930 (2000). 2

Variations in Atlantic surface ocean paleoceanography, 50°-80° N: A time-slice record of the last 30,000 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarnthein, Michael; Jansen, Eystein; Weinelt, Mara; Arnold, Maurice; Duplessy, Jean Claude; Erlenkeuser, Helmut; FlatøY, Astrid; Johannessen, Gro; Johannessen, Truls; Jung, Simon; Koc, Nalan; Labeyrie, Laurent; Maslin, Mark; Pflaumann, Uwe; Schulz, Hartmut

1995-12-01

Eight time slices of surface-water paleoceanography were reconstructed from stable isotope and paleotemperature data to evaluate late Quaternary changes in density, current directions, and sea-ice cover in the Nordic Seas and NE Atlantic. We used isotopic records from 110 deep-sea cores, 20 of which are accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)-14C dated and 30 of which have high (>8 cm /kyr) sedimentation rates, enabling a resolution of about 120 years. Paleotemperature estimates are based on species counts of planktonic foraminifera in 18 cores. The δ18O and δ13C distributions depict three main modes of surface circulation: (1) The Holocene-style interglacial mode which largely persisted over the last 12.8 14C ka, and probably during large parts of stage 3. (2) The peak glacial mode showing a cyclonic gyre in the, at least, seasonally ice-free Nordic Seas and a meltwater lens west of Ireland. Based on geostrophic forcing, it possibly turned clockwise, blocked the S-N flow across the eastern Iceland-Shetland ridge, and enhanced the Irminger current around west Iceland. It remains unclear whether surface-water density was sufficient for deepwater formation west of Norway. (3) A meltwater regime culminating during early glacial Termination I, when a great meltwater lens off northern Norway probably induced a clockwise circulation reaching south up to Faeroe, the northward inflow of Irminger Current water dominated the Icelandic Sea, and deepwater convection was stopped. In contrast to circulation modes two and three, the Holocene-style circulation mode appears most stable, even unaffected by major meltwater pools originating from the Scandinavian ice sheet, such as during δ18O event 3.1 and the Bölling. Meltwater phases markedly influenced the European continental climate by suppressing the "heat pump" of the Atlantic salinity conveyor belt. During the peak glacial, melting icebergs blocked the eastward advection of warm surface water toward Great Britain, thus accelerating buildup of the great European ice sheets; in the early deglacial, meltwater probably induced a southward flow of cold water along Norway, which led to the Oldest Dryas cold spell. An electronic supplement of this material may be obtained on a diskette or Anonymous FTP from KOSMOS.AGU.ORG. (LOGIN to AGU's FTP account using ANONYMOUS as the username and GUEST as the password. Go to the right directory by typing CD APEND. Type LS to see what files are available. Type GET and the name of the file to get it. Finally, type EXIT to leave the system.) (Paper 95PA01453, Variations in Atlantic surface ocean paleoceanography, 50°-80°N: A time-slice record of the last 30,000 years, M. Sarnthein et al.) Diskette may be ordered from American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20009; $15.00. Payment must accompany order.

NENIMF: Northeast National Ion Microprobe Facility - A Multi-User Facility for SIMS Microanalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Layne, G. D.; Shimizu, N.

2002-12-01

The MIT-Brown-Harvard Regional Ion Microprobe Facility was one of the earliest multi-user facilities enabled by Dan Weill's Instrumentation and Facilities Program - and began with the delivery of a Cameca IMS 3f ion microprobe to MIT in 1978. The Northeast National Ion Microprobe Facility (NENIMF) is the direct descendant of this original facility. Now housed at WHOI, the facility incorporates both the original IMS 3f, and a new generation, high transmission-high resolution instrument - the Cameca IMS 1270. Purchased with support from NSF, and from a consortium of academic institutions in the Northeast (The American Museum of Natural History, Brown University, The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MIT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, WHOI) - this latest instrument was delivered and installed during 1996. NENIMF continues to be supported by NSF EAR I&F as a multi-user facility for geochemical research. Work at NENIMF has extended the original design strength of the IMS 1270 for microanalytical U-Pb zircon geochronology to a wide variety of novel and improved techniques for geochemical research. Isotope microanalysis for studies in volcanology and petrology is currently the largest single component of facility activity. This includes the direct measurement of Pb isotopes in melt inclusions, an application developed at NENIMF, which is making an increasingly significant contribution to our understanding of basalt petrogenesis. This same technique has also been extended to the determination of Pb isotopes in detrital feldspar grains, for the study of sedimentary provenance and tectonics of the Himalayas and other terrains. The determination of δ11B in volcanic melt inclusions has also proven to be a powerful tool in the modeling of subduction-related magmatism. The recent development of δ34S and δ37Cl determination in glasses is being applied to studies of the behavior of these volatile elements in both natural and experimental systems. Other recent undertakings have included development of high precision 232Th/230Th for U-series disequilibrium studies of young volcanic rocks, and the implementation and refinement of U-Th-Pb dating of individual monazite crystals. The facility is also developing an expanding number of applications in the general field of biogeochemistry. Examples include; δ18O in biogenic carbonates for climate and paleotemperature studies, determination of δ13C in graphite microfossils for early life studies, and determination of δ13C and trace metal concentrations in bacterial cultures in support of studies of natural microbial ecosystems. The IMS 3f instrument - now in its 25th year of operation - continues to be a productive resource for trace element and rare earth element determinations in natural and experimental materials. It has also become an important component of ongoing research in the derivation of paleotemperatures from marine biomineralization using trace element ratios of biogenic aragonite.

Alkenone Paleotemperature Determinations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbert, T. D.

2003-12-01

The organic biomarker proxy for past sea surface temperatures ("U37k") came to paleoceanography from an unexpected direction. Nearly all paleoceanographic tools rely on some aspect of the fossilized hard parts of marine organisms. Thus, assemblages of calcareous microplankton such as foraminifera and coccoliths, or of siliceous plankton such as radiolaria and diatoms, provided the basis for the CLIMAP reconstruction of the Ice Age ocean (CLIMAP, 1976, 1981). Additionally, a host of chemical methods relies on the same hard parts to furnish isotopic and trace element signatures, and generally requires that skeletal material be well preserved. The alkenone method differs in several important ways. Individual molecules, extracted and separated from a matrix of hundreds to thousands of other organic compounds, are the targets. In most cases, the remnant alkenones and alkenoates that are the subject of this review constitute no more, and often considerably less, than a few percent of their initial flux that left the surface layer of the ocean and fell toward the sediments. Good preservation is thus not a major issue for use of the proxy. In addition, while many geochemical techniques assume that skeletal material is a passive recorder of isotopic and trace element composition of seawater, and that incorporation of paleo-environmental signals follows thermodynamic laws that can be modeled using nonbiogenic phases in the laboratory, the alkenone method assumes that the ratios of biomarkers measured were actively regulated by the producing organisms in life according to the temperature of the water in which they grew.Alkenone paleothermometry promises a direct estimate of near-surface ocean temperatures. Alkenones and the related alkenoates come exclusively from a few species of haptophyte algae. These organisms require sunlight, and they generally prefer the upper photic zone. The environmental information contained in their molecular fossils therefore is quite specific, although, as will be discussed at length in a later section, ambiguities still exist on the depth and seasonal variations of alkenone-producing species in the ocean. In contrast, many assemblages of planktonic organisms such as foraminifera and radiolaria contain many species known to live well below the surface mixed layer. The link between microfossil assemblages and sea surface temperature and salinity is therefore indirect and statistical, rather than mechanistic.As originally defined by the Bristol organic geochemistry group (Brassell, 1986a, b), the U37k index reflected the proportions of the di-(C37:2), tri-(C37:3), and tetra-(C37:4) unsaturated ketones. Subsequent work showed that there was no empirical benefit to including the C37:4 ketone in a paleotemperature equation. The currently accepted U37k' index (Prahl and Wakeham, 1987) varies positively with temperature, and is defined as C37:2/(C37:2+C37:3), where C37:2 represents the quantity of the di-unsaturated ketone and C37:3 the quantity of the tri-unsaturated form. The alkenone paleotemperature proxy thus depends only on the relative proportions of the common C37 ketones and not on their absolute amounts. Furthermore, although the alkenones are produced by calcareous algae, they survive in sediments where carbonate has dissolved, as first recognized by Marlowe et al. (1984a, b) and Brassell et al. (1986a). The above expression for the index shows that it can vary between 0 and 1.0; thus, it may saturate at either extremely cold or warm temperatures.Alkenones appear recalcitrant to diagenesis in the water column and within sediments relative to other large macromolecules. Indeed, the first reported occurrence of alkenones came not from recent material, but from Miocene age sediments of the Walvis Ridge (Boon et al., 1978). Shortly thereafter, these compounds were linked to modern haptophyte algae, principally Emiliania huxleyi (de Leeuw et al., 1980; Volkman et al., 1980a, b; Marlowe et al., 1984a, b). Reviews of lipid analyses of Deep Sea Drilling Project sediments revealed that most sediments of Pleistocene through mid-Eocene age appeared to contain measurable quantities of alkenones and alkenoates ( Marlowe et al., 1984a, 1990; Brassell, 1993). Brassell et al. (1986a) provided the seminal study linking alkenone unsaturation to paleotemperature fluctuations in the Late Pleistocene. After noting that modern surface sediments differed in their unsaturation ratios depending on latitude, Brassell et al. (1986a, b) reconstructed alkenone unsaturation in conjunction with benthic and planktonic foraminiferal δ18O over the last 8×105 yr in a core from the subtropical North Atlantic. The unsaturation index declined during glacial periods, suggesting cooler surface ocean temperatures during ice age conditions. The authors further demonstrated that the alkenone index gave a continuous paleoclimatic curve, even in intervals barren of foraminifera due to dissolution. Prahl and Wakeham (1987) and Prahl et al. (1988) proposed the first quantitative calibration of alkenone unsaturation to growth temperature. Unsaturation parameters measured on a strain of E.huxleyi grown in the laboratory at known temperatures were compared to the unsaturation index on particulate material collected from the near-surface ocean in the northeast Pacific. Prahl and Wakeham (1987) showed that the laboratory calibration appeared to apply well to the field observations of unsaturation and the water temperature in which the alkenones apparently were synthesized. The calibration of alkenone unsaturation to temperatures expanded with the first systematic study of core-top sediments by Sikes et al. (1991). That study produced two important results: (i) the unsaturation index in recent sediments followed a relation to overlying sea surface temperatures (SSTs) very similar to the Prahl et al. (1988) calibration, and (ii) there appeared to be no ill effects on the unsaturation index over the time of core storage. Pristine or frozen samples were therefore not needed to produce good estimates of the U37k' index for paleoceanographic studies.As with any paleoceanographic proxy, a number of uncertainties must be evaluated that could affect the accuracy measurement as an estimate of past SSTs. The principal caveats raised can be broadly categorized as ecological, physiological, genetic, and diagenetic. All describe factors, which could cause the U37k' index to deviate from a unique relation to SSTs. Ecological concerns come from observations that alkenone-producing species do not inhabit precisely the same depth throughout the ocean, and that they vary in abundance seasonally. The alkenone unsaturation parameter recorded by sediments could therefore measure past temperatures very precisely, but at which depths, and with what seasonal bias? It is also possible that the proportions of alkenones synthesized by haptophyte algae vary with growth rate, independent of temperature. Our present state of ignorance dictates that we do not know the growth phase of haptophyte material exported out of the photic zone - whether the products represent the initial exponential growth phase observed in culture or stationary growth. Natural populations also differ in their genetic composition. Alkenone-producing species are notable for their wide range of environmental tolerances. The consequences for the U37k' index of genetic variations within strains of the same producing species and between the different alkenone-synthesizing species are still debated. In addition, alkenones measured in sediments represent the surviving molecules of a series of degradational pathways that begin in the water column, proceed to the sediment/water interface, and may continue into the sediment. Should there be a bias in the relative lability of the C37:2 and C37:3 ketones, this would be imparted to paleoceanographic reconstructions of temperature.As should become clear, the U37k' index appears nevertheless to provide a remarkably faithful estimate of paleotemperatures near the sea surface. At the same time, difficulties in matching the space and timescales of modern process studies to the information contained in sediments mean that the caveats raised above remain significant. Field studies provide only snapshots of haptophyte abundance and alkenone unsaturation parameters, sediment traps provide only a few years of data at only a few locations in the global ocean, and it is unclear how well laboratory cultures replicate the natural environment. I have endeavored to treat different lines of evidence systematically, but I have found it difficult to discuss each aspect in a purely serial way. The reader will therefore be asked to digest a review in which very diverse measurements and paradigms are woven together to answer the central question of how to reconstruct past ocean surface temperatures with the U37k' proxy.

Giant lizards occupied herbivorous mammalian ecospace during the Paleogene greenhouse in Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Head, Jason J; Gunnell, Gregg F; Holroyd, Patricia A; Hutchison, J Howard; Ciochon, Russell L

2013-07-22

Mammals dominate modern terrestrial herbivore ecosystems, whereas extant herbivorous reptiles are limited in diversity and body size. The evolution of reptile herbivory and its relationship to mammalian diversification is poorly understood with respect to climate and the roles of predation pressure and competition for food resources. Here, we describe a giant fossil acrodontan lizard recovered with a diverse mammal assemblage from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar, which provides a historical test of factors controlling body size in herbivorous squamates. We infer a predominately herbivorous feeding ecology for the new acrodontan based on dental anatomy, phylogenetic relationships and body size. Ranking body masses for Pondaung Formation vertebrates indicates that the lizard occupied a size niche among the larger herbivores and was larger than most carnivorous mammals. Paleotemperature estimates of Pondaung Formation environments based on the body size of the new lizard are approximately 2-5°C higher than modern. These results indicate that competitive exclusion and predation by mammals did not restrict body size evolution in these herbivorous squamates, and elevated temperatures relative to modern climates during the Paleogene greenhouse may have resulted in the evolution of gigantism through elevated poikilothermic metabolic rates and in response to increases in floral productivity.

Revised paleoenvironmental analysis of the Holocene portion of the Barbados sea-level record: Cobbler's Reef revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toscano, Marguerite A.

2016-06-01

Sample elevations corrected for tectonic uplift and assessed relative to local modeled sea levels provide a new perspective on paleoenvironmental history at Cobbler's Reef, Barbados. Previously, 14C-dated surface samples of fragmented Acropora palmata plotted above paleo sea level based on their present (uplifted) elevations, suggesting supratidal rubble deposited during a period of extreme storms (4500-3000 cal BP), precipitating reef demise. At several sites, however, A. palmata persisted, existing until ~370 cal BP. Uplift-corrected A. palmata sample elevations lie below the western Atlantic sea-level curve, and ~2 m below ICE-6G-modeled paleo sea level, under slow rates of sea-level rise, negating the possibility that Cobbler's Reef is a supratidal storm ridge. Most sites show limited age ranges from corals likely damaged/killed on the reef crest, not the mixed ages of rubble ridges, strongly suggesting the reef framework died off in stages over 6500 yr. Reef crest death assemblages invoke multiple paleohistoric causes, from ubiquitous hurricanes to anthropogenic impacts. Comparison of death assemblage ages to dated regional paleotempestological sequences, proxy-based paleotemperatures, recorded hurricanes, tsunamis, European settlement, deforestation, and resulting turbidity, reveals many possible factors inimical to the survival of A. palmata along Cobbler's Reef.

Patterns in leaf morphological traits of Chinese woody plants and the application for paleoclimate reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yaoqi; Wang, Zhiheng

2017-04-01

Leaf morphological traits (LMTs) directly influence carbon-uptake and water-loss of plants in different habitats, and hence can be sensitive indicators of plant interaction with climate. The relationships between community-aggregated LMTs and their surrounding climate have been used to reconstruct paleoclimate. However, the uncertainties in its application remain poorly explored. Using distribution maps and LMTs data (leaf margin states, leaf length, leaf width, and length-width product/ratio) of 10480 Chinese woody dicots and dated family-level phylogenies, we demonstrated the variations of LMTs in geographical patterns, and analyzed their relationships with climate across different life-forms (evergreen and deciduous; trees, shrubs and lianas) and species quartiles with different family-ages. Results showed that from southern to northern China, leaves became shorter and narrower, while leaf length-width ratio increased and toothed-margin percentage decreased. Our results revealed great uncertainties in leaf margin-temperature relationships induced by life-form, precipitation and evolutionary history, and suggested that the widely-used method, leaf margin analysis, should be applied cautiously on paleotemperature reconstruction. Differently, mean leaf size responded tightly to spatial variations in annual evapotranspiration (AET) and primary productivity (GPP and NPP), and these relationships remained constant across different life-forms and evolutionary history, suggesting that leaf size could be a useful surrogate for paleo primary productivity.

Helium Isotopes and Noble Gas Abundances of Cave Dripping Water in Three Caves in East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, A. T.; Shen, C. C.; Tan, M.; Li, T.; Uemura, R.; Asami, R.

2015-12-01

Paleo-temperature recorded in nature archives is a critical parameter to understand climate change in the past. With advantages of unique inert chemical characteristics and sensitive solubilities with temperature, dissolved noble gases in speleothem inclusion water were recently proposed to retrieve terrestrial temperature history. In order to accurately apply this newly-developed speleothem noble gas temperature (NGT) as a reliable proxy, a fundamental issue about behaviors of noble gases in the karst should be first clarified. In this study, we measured noble gas contents in air and dripping water to evaluate any ratio deviation between noble gases. Cave dripping water samples was collected from three selected caves, Shihua Cave in northern China, Furong Cave in southwestern, and Gyukusen Cave in an island located in the western Pacific. For these caves are characterized by a thorough mixing and long-term storage of waters in a karst aquifer by the absence of seasonal oxygen isotope shifts. Ratios of dripping water noble gases are statistically insignificant from air data. Helium isotopic ratios in the dripping water samples match air value. The results indicate that elemental and isotopic signatures of noble gases from air can be frankly preserved in the epikarst and support the fidelity of NGT techniques.

On the lag time between internal strain and basement involved thrust induced exhumation: The case of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mora, Andrès; Blanco, Vladimir; Naranjo, Julian; Sanchez, Nelson; Ketcham, Richard A.; Rubiano, Jorge; Stockli, Daniel F.; Quintero, Isaid; Nemčok, Michal; Horton, Brian K.; Davila, Hamblet

2013-07-01

Thrust sheets accumulate internal strain before they start moving along discrete fault planes. However, there are no previous studies evaluating the time difference between initiation of strain and fault displacement. In this paper we use observations from the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia to evaluate this interval. We utilize multiple thermochronometers and paleothermometers to refine the timing of deformation. Based on these new data we build time-temperature path estimates that together with geometric outcrop-based structural analysis and fluid inclusions allow us to assign relative timing to features associated with strain, such as cleavage, veins and certain types of fractures, and compare that with the timing of thrusting. We find that cleavage was only formed close to maximum paleotemperatures, almost coeval with the onset of thrust-induced denudation by the Late Oligocene. The corresponding structural level of fold-related veins suggest that they were formed later but still when the country rocks were at temperatures higher than 160 °C, mostly during the Early Miocene and still coexisted with the latest stages of cleavage formation. Our data show that the main period of strain hardening was short (probably a few million years) and occurred before first-order basement thrusting was dominant, but was associated with second-order folding.

How warm is too warm for the life cycle of actinopterygian fishes?

PubMed Central

Motani, Ryosuke; Wainwright, Peter C.

2015-01-01

We investigated the highest constant temperature at which actinopterygian fishes can complete their lifecycles, based on an oxygen supply model for cleavage-stage eggs. This stage is one of the most heat-sensitive periods during the lifecycle, likely reflecting the exhaustion of maternally supplied heat shock proteins without new production. The model suggests that average eggs would not develop normally under a constant temperature of about 36 °C or higher. This estimate matches published empirical values derived from laboratory and field observations. Spermatogenesis is more heat sensitive than embryogenesis in fishes, so the threshold may indeed be lower, at about 35 °C, unless actinopterygian fishes evolve heat tolerance during spermatogenesis as in birds. Our model also predicts an inverse relationship between egg size and temperature, and empirical data support this prediction. Therefore, the average egg size, and hence hatching size, is expected to shrink in a greenhouse world but a feeding function prohibits the survival of very small hatchlings, posing a limit to the shrinkage. It was once suggested that a marine animal community may be sustained under temperatures up to about 38 °C, and this value is being used, for example, in paleotemperature reconstruction. A revision of the value is overdue. (199/200) PMID:26166622

Paleotemperatures at the lunar surfaces from open system behavior of cosmogenic 38Ar and radiogenic 40Ar

DOE PAGES

Shuster, David L.; Cassata, William S.

2015-02-10

The simultaneous diffusion of both cosmogenic 38Ar and radiogenic 40Ar from solid phases is controlled by the thermal conditions of rocks while residing near planetary surfaces. Combined observations of 38Ar/ 37Ar and 40Ar/ 39Ar ratios during stepwise degassing analyses of neutron-irradiated Apollo samples can distinguish between diffusive loss of Ar due to solar heating of the rocks and that associated with elevated temperatures during or following impact events; the data provide quantitative constraints on the durations and temperatures of each process. From sequentially degassed 38Ar/ 37Ar ratios can be calculated a spectrum of apparent 38Ar exposure ages versus the cumulativemore » release fraction of 37Ar, which is particularly sensitive to conditions at the lunar surface typically over ~106–108 year timescales. Due to variable proportions of K- and Ca-bearing glass, plagioclase and pyroxene, with variability in the grain sizes of these phases, each sample will have distinct sensitivity to, and therefore different resolving power on, past near-surface thermal conditions. Furthermore, we present the underlying assumptions, and the analytical and numerical methods used to quantify the Ar diffusion kinetics in multi-phase whole-rock analyses that provide these constraints.« less

Neogene sharks and rays from the Brazilian 'Blue Amazon'.

PubMed

Aguilera, Orangel; Luz, Zoneibe; Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge D; Kocsis, László; Vennemann, Torsten W; de Toledo, Peter Mann; Nogueira, Afonso; Amorim, Kamilla Borges; Moraes-Santos, Heloísa; Polck, Marcia Reis; Ruivo, Maria de Lourdes; Linhares, Ana Paula; Monteiro-Neto, Cassiano

2017-01-01

The lower Miocene Pirabas Formation in the North of Brazil was deposited under influence of the proto-Amazon River and is characterized by large changes in the ecological niches from the early Miocene onwards. To evaluate these ecological changes, the elasmobranch fauna of the fully marine, carbonate-rich beds was investigated. A diverse fauna with 24 taxa of sharks and rays was identified with the dominant groups being carcharhiniforms and myliobatiforms. This faunal composition is similar to other early Miocene assemblages from the proto-Carribbean bioprovince. However, the Pirabas Formation has unique features compared to the other localities; being the only Neogene fossil fish assemblage described from the Atlantic coast of Tropical Americas. Phosphate oxygen isotope composition of elasmobranch teeth served as proxies for paleotemperatures and paleoecology. The data are compatible with a predominantly tropical marine setting with recognized inshore and offshore habitats with some probable depth preferences (e.g., Aetomylaeus groups). Paleohabitat of taxa particularly found in the Neogene of the Americas (†Carcharhinus ackermannii, †Aetomylaeus cubensis) are estimated to have been principally coastal and shallow waters. Larger variation among the few analyzed modern selachians reflects a larger range for the isotopic composition of recent seawater compared to the early Miocene. This probably links to an increased influence of the Amazon River in the coastal regions during the Holocene.

Exploration in Ordovician of central Michigan Basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fisher, J.H.; Barratt, M.W.

1985-12-01

Deep wells in the central Michigan basin have provided sufficient data to define two new mappable formations - the Foster Formation and the Bruggers Formation. Recent conodont studies have corrected the age assignments of the strata containing these formations. Previously, the lower section (Foster) was classified as mostly Cambrian, and the upper unit (Bruggers) was identified as Early Ordovician. Conodont identifications indicate an Early and Middle Ordovician age for the Foster Formation and a Middle Ordovician age for the Bruggers Formation. The Michigan basin existed in embryonic form in the Late Cambrian, but the full outline of the present-day basinmore » did not develop until Early Ordovician. Gas and condensate are produced from the Bruggers Formation as deep as 11,252 ft (3429 m). Geothermal investigations suggest that gas production is possible to the base of the Paleozoic section in the central basin (17,000 ft or 5181 m). Paleotemperatures were higher during the Paleozoic owing to 3000-4000 ft (914-1291 m) of additional sedimentary cover. Five wells are producing from the Bruggers Formation. All are deeper tests in anticlines producing from Devonian reservoirs discovered earlier. The structures are the result of vertical movements of basement fault blocks activated by regional stresses. 12 figures, 2 tables.« less

Locomotive implication of a Pliocene three-toed horse skeleton from Tibet and its paleo-altimetry significance.

PubMed

Deng, Tao; Li, Qiang; Tseng, Zhijie Jack; Takeuchi, Gary T; Wang, Yang; Xie, Guangpu; Wang, Shiqi; Hou, Sukuan; Wang, Xiaoming

2012-05-08

The Tibetan Plateau is the youngest and highest plateau on Earth, and its elevation reaches one-third of the height of the troposphere, with profound dynamic and thermal effects on atmospheric circulation and climate. The uplift of the Tibetan Plateau was an important factor of global climate change during the late Cenozoic and strongly influenced the development of the Asian monsoon system. However, there have been heated debates about the history and process of Tibetan Plateau uplift, especially the paleo-altimetry in different geological ages. Here we report a well-preserved skeleton of a 4.6 million-y-old three-toed horse (Hipparion zandaense) from the Zanda Basin, southwestern Tibet. Morphological features indicate that H. zandaense was a cursorial horse that lived in alpine steppe habitats. Because this open landscape would be situated above the timberline on the steep southern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, the elevation of the Zanda Basin at 4.6 Ma was estimated to be ∼4,000 m above sea level using an adjustment to the paleo-temperature in the middle Pliocene, as well as comparison with modern vegetation vertical zones. Thus, we conclude that the southwestern Tibetan Plateau achieved the present-day elevation in the mid-Pliocene.

Trace-element partition coefficients in the calcite-water system and their paleoclimatic significance in cave studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gascoyne, Melvyn

1983-02-01

Speleothems (stalactites, stalagmites) formed in limestone caves have been found to contain much information on the timing and intensity of past climates, from analysis of their U, Th, 13C and 18O contents. Because the incorporation of certain trace elements (e.g., Mg, Mn and Zn) in calcite is known to be temperature-dependent, it may be possible to use variations in trace-metal content of fossil speleothems as an alternative paleotem-perature indicator. Using specially developed ion-exchange sampling techniques, analysis of trace-metal content of seepage water and associated fresh calcite deposits in caves in Vancouver Island and Jamaica shows that Mg is distributed between phases in a consistent manner within the temperature regimes of the caves (7° and 23°C, respectively). Average values of the distribution coefficient for Mg are respectively 0.017 and 0.045 at these temperatures. These results indicate that the Mg content of calcite varies directly with temperature and in a sufficiently pronounced manner that a 1°C rise in depositional temperature of a speleothem containing 500 ppm Mg, at ˜10°C, would be seen as an increase of ˜35ppm Mg — a readily determinable shift. Other factors affecting Mg content of a speleothem are considered.

Early Wuchiapingian cooling linked to Emeishan basaltic weathering?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jianghai; Cawood, Peter A.; Du, Yuansheng; Condon, Daniel J.; Yan, Jiaxin; Liu, Jianzhong; Huang, Yan; Yuan, Dongxun

2018-06-01

The last glaciation during the late Paleozoic ice age commenced at around the Guadalupian-Lopingian (G-L) boundary and is synchronous with the emplacement of the Emeishan large igneous province. Using CA-TIMS zircon U-Pb dating, we obtained an age of 259.51 ± 0.21 Ma for the uppermost tuff from the Puan volcanic sequence in the eastern Emeishan large igneous province, constraining the timing of Emeishan volcanism and providing another candidate age for the G-L boundary. In addition, we determined an age of 259.69 ± 0.72 Ma for a basal claystone in the immediately overlying Longtan Formation from a drill core section in southwest South China. These ages, along with source weathering trends of mudstones from the lower Longtan Formation, and compiled paleotemperature records, indicate an earliest Wuchiapingian cooling coinciding with the onset of the last Permian glaciation. This global cooling is associated with positive shifts in both organic and carbonate carbon isotopic records and likely a decrease in atmospheric pCO2. A hypothesised causal linkage is proposed in which the rapid post-eruptive basaltic weathering of the Emeishan province in an equatorial humid belt may accelerate the atmospheric CO2 consumption and lead to climate cooling. Our work supports the long-term climate cooling effects of large igneous provinces.

Giant lizards occupied herbivorous mammalian ecospace during the Paleogene greenhouse in Southeast Asia

PubMed Central

Head, Jason J.; Gunnell, Gregg F.; Holroyd, Patricia A.; Hutchison, J. Howard; Ciochon, Russell L.

2013-01-01

Mammals dominate modern terrestrial herbivore ecosystems, whereas extant herbivorous reptiles are limited in diversity and body size. The evolution of reptile herbivory and its relationship to mammalian diversification is poorly understood with respect to climate and the roles of predation pressure and competition for food resources. Here, we describe a giant fossil acrodontan lizard recovered with a diverse mammal assemblage from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar, which provides a historical test of factors controlling body size in herbivorous squamates. We infer a predominately herbivorous feeding ecology for the new acrodontan based on dental anatomy, phylogenetic relationships and body size. Ranking body masses for Pondaung Formation vertebrates indicates that the lizard occupied a size niche among the larger herbivores and was larger than most carnivorous mammals. Paleotemperature estimates of Pondaung Formation environments based on the body size of the new lizard are approximately 2–5°C higher than modern. These results indicate that competitive exclusion and predation by mammals did not restrict body size evolution in these herbivorous squamates, and elevated temperatures relative to modern climates during the Paleogene greenhouse may have resulted in the evolution of gigantism through elevated poikilothermic metabolic rates and in response to increases in floral productivity. PMID:23740779

Long Island Sound Water Temperatures During the Last Two Thousand Years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, C. E.; Varekamp, J. C.; Thomas, E.

2010-12-01

The Long Island Sound (LIS), sometimes called the “urban sea”, is a large estuary in the heavily populated coastal zone between New York City and the Connecticut - Rhode Island border. LIS has seen dramatic environmental shifts since colonial times, including major changes in aquatic food extraction, land use, contaminant and nutrient inputs, and climate change. Annual seasonal hypoxic/anoxic events, especially common in westernmost LIS, have been identified as potentially severe stressors for LIS biota including valuable fisheries species such as lobsters and shellfish. These conditions develop when the Sound becomes stratified in midsummer and oxygen consumption from the oxidation of organic matter exceeds oxygen resupply from the atmosphere or photosynthesis. Severity, lateral extent and frequency of hypoxia/anoxia is influenced by the amount of organic matter available for oxidation, both marine organic matter (produced by algal blooms in response to influx of N-rich effluents from waste water treatment plants) and terrestrial organic matter. These events are also influenced by the severity of stratification, determined by differences in density from temperature and salinity gradients of surface and bottom waters. Studies of cores in western and central LIS, dated using Hg-pollution profiles, 210Pb - 137Cs, and 14C, indicate that eutrophication and hypoxia have occurred in LIS only over the last ~150 years, with the possible exception of the Narrows (closest to NY) where it may have occurred before colonial times. Salinity decreased as well over the last 150 years, possibly due to changes in land use or deflection of fresh water from the Hudson River. Temperature variability in LIS over the last few thousand years has not been clearly documented, as several paleotemperature proxies are difficult to use in estuarine settings. Oxygen isotope values of carbonate microfossils are influenced by salinity fluctuations, and Mg/Ca values in these shells may be influenced by the carbonate saturation state of the water. The tetraether index (TEX86) temperature proxy is based on the number of cyclopentane rings in the glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) from the membrane lipids of marine Crenarchaeota, which changes in response to temperature. Crenarcheota are one of the three major groups of non-thermophilic Archaea, a widely distributed, abundant and ecologically diverse group. This proxy can be used in organic-rich sediments deposited in many different settings. We analyzed samples for TEX86 in LIS cores in order to generate a 2,000 year temperature record. We compare the TEX86 paleotemperature record data (dominantly reflecting surface water temperatures) with a Mg/Ca record based on benthic foraminifera (reflecting bottom water temperatures), and an oxygen isotope record based on benthic foraminifera and corrected for salinity changes by using the Mg/Ca record. The Mg/Ca record appears to show evidence for the Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period. Preliminary TEX86 data indicate that temperatures of LIS waters, as averaged over the part of the year that the proxy organisms are biologically active, generally fluctuated between 12-14°C.

Evidence of cyclic climatic changes recorded in clay mineral assemblages from a continental Paleocene-Eocene sequence, northwestern Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Do Campo, Margarita; Bauluz, Blanca; del Papa, Cecilia; White, Timothy; Yuste, Alfonso; Mayayo, Maria Jose

2018-06-01

The continental Paleocene-Eocene sequence investigated in this study belongs to the Salta Group, deposited in an intracontinental rift, the Salta Basin (NW Argentina), that evolved from the lower Cretaceous to the middle Paleogene, and is subdivided into the Pirgua, the Balbuena and the Santa Barbara Subgroups. The Maíz Gordo Formation (200 m thick) is the middle unit of the Santa Bárbara Subgroup, deposited during late post-rift sedimentation. We studied the mineralogy of fine-grained horizons of this formation by X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in order to examine the connection between vertical changes in clay mineralogy in alluvial sediments and paleosols, and global paleoclimatic changes registered during the Paleogene. Paleosols vary from calcic vertisols in the lowermost levels, to inseptisols and gleysols in intermediate positions, to gleyed oxisols in the upper section, indicating increased chemical weathering through time. Clay mineral relative abundances vary with a general increase in kaolinite content from bottom to top. However, at one site there are significant variations in kaolinite/muscovite (Kln/Ms) that define five cycles of kaolinite abundance and Kln/Ms. that indicate cyclic patterns of paleoprecipitation and paleotemperature. These are interpreted as several short-lived hyperthermals during the Paleocene-early Eocene in the Southern Hemisphere, which correlate with well-established episodes of warmth documented from the Northern Hemisphere.

Evidence that higher CO2 increases tree growth sensitivity to ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Aim: To test the growth-sensitivity to temperature under different ambient CO2 concentrations, we determined paleo tree growth rates as they relate to variation in temperature during the last deglacial period, and compare these to modern tree growth rates as they relate to spatial variation in temperature across the modern species distributional range. During the deglacial period, [CO2] averaged about 230 ppm, whereas modern [CO2] averaged about 330 ppm.Location: Paleo oaks were sampled from Northern Missouri, USA. The paleo temperature reconstruction was from a lake in Northern Illinois, USA. Data used to quantify the growth-sensitivity to temperature for modern oaks were collected across the Great Plains, Midwest and Upper Great Lakes regions.Methods: Growth data were from 53 paleo bur oak log cross-sections collected in Missouri that were preserved in river and stream sediments. These oaks were radiocarbon-dated to between 10.5 and 13.3 cal kyr BP, which spans rapid warming during the last deglaciation. Growth data from modern bur oaks were obtained from increment core collections paired with USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data. Paleotemperatures were obtained from a high-resolution pollen-based reconstruction and modern temperatures were obtained from gridded meteorological data. Results: Growth-sensitivity to temperature (i.e. the slope of growth rate versus temperature) was significantly greater for modern oaks growing at an average [CO2

Shell architecture: a novel proxy for paleotemperature reconstructions?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milano, Stefania; Nehrke, Gernot; Wanamaker, Alan D., Jr.; Witbaard, Rob; Schöne, Bernd R.

2017-04-01

Mollusk shells are unique high-resolution paleoenvironmental archives. Their geochemical properties, such as oxygen isotope composition (δ18Oshell) and element-to-calcium ratios, are routinely used to estimate past environmental conditions. However, the existing proxies have certain drawbacks that can affect paleoreconstruction robustness. For instance, the estimation of water temperature of brackish and near-shore environments can be biased by the interdependency of δ18Oshell from multiple environmental variables (water temperature and δ18Owater). Likely, the environmental signature can be masked by physiological processes responsible for the incorporation of trace elements into the shell. The present study evaluated the use of shell structural properties as alternative environmental proxies. The sensitivity of shell architecture at µm and nm-scale to the environment was tested. In particular, the relationship between water temperature and microstructure formation was investigated. To enable the detection of potential structural changes, the shells of the marine bivalves Cerastoderma edule and Arctica islandica were analyzed with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), nanoindentation and Confocal Raman Microscopy (CRM). These techniques allow a quantitative approach to the microstructural analysis. Our results show that water temperature induces a clear response in shell microstructure. A significant alteration in the morphometric characteristics and crystallographic orientation of the structural units was observed. Our pilot study suggests that shell architecture records environmental information and it has potential to be used as novel temperature proxy in near-shore and open ocean habitats.

Sensitivity of leaf size and shape to climate: Global patterns and paleoclimatic applications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peppe, D.J.; Royer, D.L.; Cariglino, B.; Oliver, S.Y.; Newman, S.; Leight, E.; Enikolopov, G.; Fernandez-Burgos, M.; Herrera, F.; Adams, J.M.; Correa, E.; Currano, E.D.; Erickson, J.M.; Hinojosa, L.F.; Hoganson, J.W.; Iglesias, A.; Jaramillo, C.A.; Johnson, K.R.; Jordan, G.J.; Kraft, N.J.B.; Lovelock, E.C.; Lusk, C.H.; Niinemets, U.; Penuelas, J.; Rapson, G.; Wing, S.L.; Wright, I.J.

2011-01-01

Paleobotanists have long used models based on leaf size and shape to reconstruct paleoclimate. However, most models incorporate a single variable or use traits that are not physiologically or functionally linked to climate, limiting their predictive power. Further, they often underestimate paleotemperature relative to other proxies. Here we quantify leaf-climate correlations from 92 globally distributed, climatically diverse sites, and explore potential confounding factors. Multiple linear regression models for mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) are developed and applied to nine well-studied fossil floras. We find that leaves in cold climates typically have larger, more numerous teeth, and are more highly dissected. Leaf habit (deciduous vs evergreen), local water availability, and phylogenetic history all affect these relationships. Leaves in wet climates are larger and have fewer, smaller teeth. Our multivariate MAT and MAP models offer moderate improvements in precision over univariate approaches (??4.0 vs 4.8??C for MAT) and strong improvements in accuracy. For example, our provisional MAT estimates for most North American fossil floras are considerably warmer and in better agreement with independent paleoclimate evidence. Our study demonstrates that the inclusion of additional leaf traits that are functionally linked to climate improves paleoclimate reconstructions. This work also illustrates the need for better understanding of the impact of phylogeny and leaf habit on leaf-climate relationships. ?? 2011 The Authors. New Phytologist ?? 2011 New Phytologist Trust.

Possible role of oceanic heat transport in early Eocene climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sloan, L. C.; Walker, J. C.; Moore, T. C. Jr

1995-01-01

Increased oceanic heat transport has often been cited as a means of maintaining warm high-latitude surface temperatures in many intervals of the geologic past, including the early Eocene. Although the excess amount of oceanic heat transport required by warm high latitude sea surface temperatures can be calculated empirically, determining how additional oceanic heat transport would take place has yet to be accomplished. That the mechanisms of enhanced poleward oceanic heat transport remain undefined in paleoclimate reconstructions is an important point that is often overlooked. Using early Eocene climate as an example, we consider various ways to produce enhanced poleward heat transport and latitudinal energy redistribution of the sign and magnitude required by interpreted early Eocene conditions. Our interpolation of early Eocene paleotemperature data indicate that an approximately 30% increase in poleward heat transport would be required to maintain Eocene high-latitude temperatures. This increased heat transport appears difficult to accomplish by any means of ocean circulation if we use present ocean circulation characteristics to evaluate early Eocene rates. Either oceanic processes were very different from those of the present to produce the early Eocene climate conditions or oceanic heat transport was not the primary cause of that climate. We believe that atmospheric processes, with contributions from other factors, such as clouds, were the most likely primary cause of early Eocene climate.

Determination of the Mg/Mn ratio in foraminiferal coatings: An approach to correct Mg/Ca temperatures for Mn-rich contaminant phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasenfratz, Adam P.; Martínez-García, Alfredo; Jaccard, Samuel L.; Vance, Derek; Wälle, Markus; Greaves, Mervyn; Haug, Gerald H.

2017-01-01

The occurrence of manganese-rich coatings on foraminifera can have a significant effect on their bulk Mg/Ca ratios thereby biasing seawater temperature reconstructions. The removal of this Mn phase requires a reductive cleaning step, but this has been suggested to preferentially dissolve Mg-rich biogenic carbonate, potentially introducing an analytical bias in paleotemperature estimates. In this study, the geochemical composition of foraminifera tests from Mn-rich sediments from the Antarctic Southern Ocean (ODP Site 1094) was investigated using solution-based and laser ablation ICP-MS in order to determine the amount of Mg incorporated into the coatings. The analysis of planktonic and benthic foraminifera revealed a nearly constant Mg/Mn ratio in the Mn coating of ∼0.2 mol/mol. Consequently, the coating Mg/Mn ratio can be used to correct for the Mg incorporated into the Mn phase by using the down core Mn/Ca values of samples that have not been reductively cleaned. The consistency of the coating Mg/Mn ratio obtained in this study, as well as that found in samples from the Panama Basin, suggests that spatial variation of Mg/Mn in foraminiferal Mn overgrowths may be smaller than expected from Mn nodules and Mn-Ca carbonates. However, a site-specific assessment of the Mg/Mn ratio in foraminiferal coatings is recommended to improve the accuracy of the correction.

Estimating climate sensitivity from paleo-data.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowley, T. J.; Hegerl, G. C.

2003-12-01

For twenty years estimates of climate sensitivity from the instrumental record have neen between about 1.5-4.5° C for a doubling of CO2. Various efforts, most notably by J. Hansen, and M. Hoffert and C. Covey. have been made to test this range against paleo-data for the ice age and Cretaceous, yielding approximately the same range with a "best guess" sensitivity of about 2.0-3.0° C. Here we re-examine this issue with new paleo-data and also include information for the time period 1000-present. For this latter interval formal pdfs can for the first time be calculated for paleo data. Regardless of the time interval examined we generally find that paleo-sensitivities still fall within the range of about 1.5-4.5° C. The primary impediments to more precise determinations involve not only uncertainties in forcings but also the paleo reconstructions. Barring a dramatic breakthrough in reconciliation of some long-standing differences in the magnitude of paleotemperature estimates for different proxies, the range of paleo-sensitivities will continue to have this uncertainty. This range can be considered either unsatisfactory or satisfactory. It is unsatisfactory because some may consider it insufficiently precise. It is satisfactory in the sense that the range is both robust and entirely consistent with the range independently estimated from the instrumental record.

Late Quaternary paleoclimate of western Alaska inferred from fossil chironomids and its relation to vegetation histories

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kurek, Joshua; Cwynar, Les C.; Ager, Thomas A.; Abbott, Mark B.; Edwards, Mary E.

2009-01-01

Fossil Chironomidae assemblages (with a few Chaoboridae and Ceratopogonidae) from Zagoskin and Burial Lakes in western Alaska provide quantitative reconstructions of mean July air temperatures for periods of the late-middle Wisconsin (~39,000-34,000 cal yr B.P.) to the present. Inferred temperatures are compared with previously analyzed pollen data from each site summarized here by indirect ordination. Paleotemperature trends reveal substantial differences in the timing of climatic warming following the late Wisconsin at each site, although chronological uncertainty exists. Zagoskin Lake shows early warming beginning at about 21,000 cal yr B.P., whereas warming at Burial Lake begins ~4000 years later. Summer climates during the last glacial maximum (LGM) were on average ~3.5C° below the modern temperatures at each site. Major shifts in vegetation occurred from ~19,000 to 10,000 cal yr B.P. at Zagoskin Lake and from ~17,000 to 10,000 cal yr B.P. at Burial Lake. Vegetation shifts followed climatic warming, when temperatures neared modern values. Both sites provide evidence of an early postglacial thermal maximum at ~12,300 cal yr B.P. These chironomid records, combined with other insect-based climatic reconstructions from Beringia, indicate that during the LGM: (1) greater continentality likely influenced regions adjacent to the Bering Land Bridge and (2) summer climates were, at times, not dominated by severe cold.

Late-Holocene climate evolution at the WAIS Divide site, West Antarctica: Bubble number-density estimates

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fegyveresi, John M.; Alley, R.B.; Spencer, M.K.; Fitzpatrick, J.J.; Steig, E.J.; White, J.W.C.; McConnell, J.R.; Taylor, K.C.

2011-01-01

A surface cooling of ???1.7??C occurred over the ???two millennia prior to ???1700 CE at the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) Divide site, based on trends in observed bubble number-density of samples from the WDC06A ice core, and on an independently constructed accumulation-rate history using annual-layer dating corrected for density variations and thinning from ice flow. Density increase and grain growth in polar firn are both controlled by temperature and accumulation rate, and the integrated effects are recorded in the number-density of bubbles as the firn changes to ice. Numberdensity is conserved in bubbly ice following pore close-off, allowing reconstruction of either paleotemperature or paleo-accumulation rate if the other is known. A quantitative late-Holocene paleoclimate reconstruction is presented for West Antarctica using data obtained from the WAIS Divide WDC06A ice core and a steady-state bubble number-density model. The resultant temperature history agrees closely with independent reconstructions based on stable-isotopic ratios of ice. The ???1.7??C cooling trend observed is consistent with a decrease in Antarctic summer duration from changing orbital obliquity, although it remains possible that elevation change at the site contributed part of the signal. Accumulation rate and temperature dropped together, broadly consistent with control by saturation vapor pressure.

Regional endothermy as a trigger for gigantism in some extinct macropredatory sharks

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Otodontids include some of the largest macropredatory sharks that ever lived, the most extreme case being Otodus (Megaselachus) megalodon. The reasons underlying their gigantism, distribution patterns and extinction have been classically linked with climatic factors and the evolution, radiation and migrations of cetaceans during the Paleogene. However, most of these previous proposals are based on the idea of otodontids as ectothermic sharks regardless of the ecological, energetic and body size constraints that this implies. Interestingly, a few recent studies have suggested the possible existence of endothermy in these sharks thus opening the door to a series of new interpretations. Accordingly, this work proposes that regional endothermy was present in otodontids and some closely related taxa (cretoxyrhinids), playing an important role in the evolution of gigantism and in allowing an active mode of live. The existence of regional endothermy in these groups is supported here by three different approaches including isotopic-based approximations, swimming speed inferences and the application of a novel methodology for assessing energetic budget and cost of swimming in extinct taxa. In addition, this finding has wider implications. It calls into question some previous paleotemperature estimates based partially on these taxa, suggests that the existing hypothesis about the evolution of regional endothermy in fishes requires modification, and provides key evidence for understanding the evolution of gigantism in active macropredators. PMID:28938002

Neogene sharks and rays from the Brazilian ‘Blue Amazon’

PubMed Central

Aguilera, Orangel; Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge D.; Kocsis, László; Vennemann, Torsten W.; de Toledo, Peter Mann; Nogueira, Afonso; Amorim, Kamilla Borges; Moraes-Santos, Heloísa; Polck, Marcia Reis; Ruivo, Maria de Lourdes; Linhares, Ana Paula; Monteiro-Neto, Cassiano

2017-01-01

The lower Miocene Pirabas Formation in the North of Brazil was deposited under influence of the proto-Amazon River and is characterized by large changes in the ecological niches from the early Miocene onwards. To evaluate these ecological changes, the elasmobranch fauna of the fully marine, carbonate-rich beds was investigated. A diverse fauna with 24 taxa of sharks and rays was identified with the dominant groups being carcharhiniforms and myliobatiforms. This faunal composition is similar to other early Miocene assemblages from the proto-Carribbean bioprovince. However, the Pirabas Formation has unique features compared to the other localities; being the only Neogene fossil fish assemblage described from the Atlantic coast of Tropical Americas. Phosphate oxygen isotope composition of elasmobranch teeth served as proxies for paleotemperatures and paleoecology. The data are compatible with a predominantly tropical marine setting with recognized inshore and offshore habitats with some probable depth preferences (e.g., Aetomylaeus groups). Paleohabitat of taxa particularly found in the Neogene of the Americas (†Carcharhinus ackermannii, †Aetomylaeus cubensis) are estimated to have been principally coastal and shallow waters. Larger variation among the few analyzed modern selachians reflects a larger range for the isotopic composition of recent seawater compared to the early Miocene. This probably links to an increased influence of the Amazon River in the coastal regions during the Holocene. PMID:28832664

Regional endothermy as a trigger for gigantism in some extinct macropredatory sharks.

PubMed

Ferrón, Humberto G

2017-01-01

Otodontids include some of the largest macropredatory sharks that ever lived, the most extreme case being Otodus (Megaselachus) megalodon. The reasons underlying their gigantism, distribution patterns and extinction have been classically linked with climatic factors and the evolution, radiation and migrations of cetaceans during the Paleogene. However, most of these previous proposals are based on the idea of otodontids as ectothermic sharks regardless of the ecological, energetic and body size constraints that this implies. Interestingly, a few recent studies have suggested the possible existence of endothermy in these sharks thus opening the door to a series of new interpretations. Accordingly, this work proposes that regional endothermy was present in otodontids and some closely related taxa (cretoxyrhinids), playing an important role in the evolution of gigantism and in allowing an active mode of live. The existence of regional endothermy in these groups is supported here by three different approaches including isotopic-based approximations, swimming speed inferences and the application of a novel methodology for assessing energetic budget and cost of swimming in extinct taxa. In addition, this finding has wider implications. It calls into question some previous paleotemperature estimates based partially on these taxa, suggests that the existing hypothesis about the evolution of regional endothermy in fishes requires modification, and provides key evidence for understanding the evolution of gigantism in active macropredators.

Advancements in the use of speleothems as climate archives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Corinne I.; Breecker, Daniel O.

2015-11-01

Speleothems have become a cornerstone of the approach to better understanding Earth's climatic teleconnections due to their precise absolute chronologies, their continuous or semicontinuous deposition and their global terrestrial distribution. We review the last decade of speleothem-related research, building off a similar review by McDermott (2004), in three themes - i) investigation of global teleconnections using speleothem-based climate reconstructions, ii) refinement of climate interpretations from speleothem proxies through cave monitoring, and iii) novel, technical methods of speleothem-based climate reconstructions. Speleothem records have enabled critical insight into the response of global hydroclimate to large climate changes. This includes the relevant forcings and sequence of climatic responses involved in glacial terminations and recognition of a global monsoon response to climate changes on orbital and millennial time scales. We review advancements in understanding of the processes that control speleothem δ13C values and introduce the idea of a direct atmospheric pCO2 influence. We discuss progress in understanding kinetic isotope fractionation, which, with further advances, may help quantify paleoclimate changes despite non-equilibrium formation of speleothems. This feeds into the potential of proxy system modeling to consider climatic, hydrological and biogeochemical processes with the objective of quantitatively interpreting speleothem proxies. Finally, we provide an overview of emerging speleothem proxies and novel approaches using existing proxies. Most recently, technical advancements made in the measurement of fluid inclusions are now yielding reliable determinations of paleotemperatures.

Climatic significance of the ostracode fauna from the Pliocene Kap Kobenhavn Formation, north Greenland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brouwers, E.M.; Jorgensen, N.O.; Cronin, T. M.

1991-01-01

The Kap Kobenhavn Formation crops out in Greenland at 80??N latitude and marks the most northerly onshore Pliocene locality known. The sands and silts that comprise the formation were deposited in marginal marine and shallow marine environments. An abundant and diverse vertebrate and invertebrate fauna and plant megafossil flora provide age and paleoclimatic constraints. The age estimated for the Kap Kobenhavn ranges from 2.0 to 3.0 million years old. Winter and summer bottom water paleotemperatures were estimated on the basis of the ostracode assemblages. The marine ostracode fauna in units B1 and B2 indicate a subfrigid to frigid marine climate, with estimated minimum sea bottom temperatures (SBT) of -2??C and estimated maximum SBT of 6-8??C. Sediments assigned to unit B2 at locality 72 contain a higher proportion of warm water genera, and the maximum SBT is estimated at 9-10??C. The marginal marine fauna in the uppermost unit B3 (locality 68) indicates a cold temperate to subfrigid marine climate, with an estimated minimum SBT of -2??C and an estimated maximum SBT ranging as high as 12-14??C. These temperatures indicated that, on the average, the Kap Kobenhavn winters in the late Pliocene were similar to or perhaps 1-2??C warmer than winters today and that summer temperatures were 7-8??C warmer than today. -from Authors

Isotope Variations in Terrestrial Carbonates and Thermal Springs as Biomarkers: Analogs for Martian Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Socki, Richard A.; Gibson, Everett K., Jr.; Bissada, K. K.

2006-01-01

Stable isotope measurements of carbonate minerals contained within ALH84001 [1] suggest that fluids were present at 3.9 Gy on Mars [2, 3, 4, 5]. Both oxygen and carbon isotopes provide independent means of deciphering paleoenvironmental conditions at the time of carbonate mineral precipitation. In terrestrial carbonate rocks oxygen isotopes not only indicate the paleotemperature of the precipitating fluid, but also provide clues to environmental conditions that affected the fluid chemistry. Carbon isotopes, on the other hand, can indicate the presence or absence of organic compounds during precipitation (i.e. biogenically vs. thermogenically-generated methane), thus serving as a potential biomarker. We have undertaken a study of micro scale stable isotope variations measured in some terrestrial carbonates and the influence of organic compounds associated with the formation of these carbonates. Preliminary results indicate that isotope variations occur within narrow and discrete intervals, providing clues to paleoenvironmental conditions that include both biological and non-biological activity. These results carry implications for deciphering Martian isotope data and therefore potential biological prospecting on the planet Mars. Recently, Fourier Transform Spectrometer observations have detected methane occurring in the Martian atmosphere [6] that could be attributed to a possible biogenic source. Indeed, Mars Express has detected the presence of methane in the Martian atmosphere [7], with evidence indicating that methane abundances are greatest above those basins with high water concentrations.

Early Oligocene paleosols of the Dagshai Formation, India: A record of the oldest tropical weathering in the Himalayan foreland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Pankaj; Patel, Subhra; Singh, Nandita; Jamir, Toshienla; Kumar, Nandan; Aruche, Manini; Patel, Ramesh C.

2013-08-01

This study reports paleopedological features of the fossil soils that formed during the earliest phase of continental sedimentation in the Himalayan foreland. The fluvial sequence of the Dagshai Formation (31.6 ± 3.9 Ma to 30.3 ± 3.9 Ma) exposed along the Koshaliya River, NW Himalaya, contains four pedofacies (named Pedofacies A-D) of ferruginous paleosol sequences contained within overbank sediments. The Dagshai Formation unconformably overlies the marine Subathu Formation. Pedofacies A consists of 3-4 well-developed ferruginous paleosols overlain by gray sandstone beds. Pedofacies B-D are marked by a progressive decrease in pedogenesis. These paleosols occur as 0.5 m to 1.5 m thick Bw/Bt/Btk/Bk/Bss horizons that are marked by extensive development of rhizoliths, pedogenic carbonate, and iron-rich clay pedofeatures that correspond to modern Entisols, Inceptisols, Alfisols and Vertisols. Based on early Oligocene paleogeographic position of the northward-drifting Indian Plate, it is inferred that these paleosols were formed at ~ 18°N paleolatitude in the Dagshai sub-basin in the Himalayan foreland. Micromorphology, geochemical analyses, weathering indices, and stable isotope composition of paleosols indicate tropical climate (paleoprecipitation of 947-1256 mm and paleotemperature of ~ 25 °C) with an initial phase of monsoonal conditions during pedogenesis. These paleoclimatic conditions favored C3 paleovegetation immediately after the transition from greenhouse to icehouse conditions.

A simple biomineralization model to explain Li, Mg, and Sr incorporation into aragonitic foraminifera and corals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchitto, T. M.; Bryan, S. P.; Doss, W.; McCulloch, M. T.; Montagna, P.

2018-01-01

In contrast to Li/Ca and Mg/Ca, Li/Mg is strongly anticorrelated with temperature in aragonites precipitated by the benthic foraminifer Hoeglundina elegans and a wide range of scleractinian coral taxa. We propose a simple conceptual model of biomineralization that explains this pattern and is consistent with available abiotic aragonite partition coefficients. Under this model the organism actively modifies seawater within its calcification pool by raising its [Ca2+], using a pump that strongly discriminates against both Li+ and Mg2+. Rayleigh fractionation during calcification effectively reverses this process, removing Ca2+ while leaving most Li+ and Mg2+ behind in the calcifying fluid. The net effect of these two processes is that Li/Mg in the calcifying fluid remains very close to the seawater value, and temperature-dependent abiotic partition coefficients are expressed in the biogenic aragonite Li/Mg ratio. We further show that coral Sr/Ca is consistent with this model if the Ca2+ pump barely discriminates against Sr2+. In H. elegans the covariation of Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca requires either that the pump more strongly discriminates against Sr2+, or that cation incorporation is affected by aragonite precipitation rate via the mechanism of surface entrapment. In either case Li/Mg is minimally affected by such 'vital effects' which plague other elemental ratio paleotemperature proxies.

Proxy comparisons for Paleogene sea water temperature reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Bar, Marijke; de Nooijer, Lennart; Schouten, Stefan; Ziegler, Martin; Sluijs, Appy; Reichart, Gert-Jan

2017-04-01

Several studies have reconstructed Paleogene seawater temperatures, using single- or multi-proxy approaches (e.g. Hollis et al., 2012 and references therein), particularly comparing TEX86 with foraminiferal δ18O and Mg/Ca. Whereas trends often agree relatively well, absolute temperatures can differ significantly between proxies, possibly because they are often applied to (extreme) climate events/transitions (e.g. Sluijs et al., 2011), where certain assumptions underlying the temperature proxies may not hold true. A more general long-term multi-proxy temperature reconstruction, is therefore necessary to validate the different proxies and underlying presumed boundary conditions. Here we apply a multi-proxy approach using foraminiferal calcite and organic proxies to generate a low-resolution, long term (80 Myr) paleotemperature record for the Bass River core (New Jersey, North Atlantic). Oxygen (δ18O), clumped isotopes (Δ47) and Mg/Ca of benthic foraminifera, as well as the organic proxies MBT'-CBT, TEX86H, U37K' index and the LDI were determined on the same sediments. The youngest samples of Miocene age are characterized by a high BIT index (>0.8) and fractional abundance of the C32 1,15-diol (>0.6; de Bar et al., 2016) and the absence of foraminifera, all suggesting high continental input and shallow depths. The older sediment layers (˜30 to 90 Ma) display BIT values and C32 1,15-diol fractional abundances <0.3, implying marine conditions. The temperature records (˜30 to 90 Ma) show the global transition from the Cretaceous to Eocene greenhouse world into the icehouse climate. The TEX86H sea surface temperature (SST) record shows a gradual cooling over time of ˜35 to 20 ˚ C, whereas the δ18O-derived bottom water temperatures (BWTs) decrease from ˜20 to 10 ˚ C, and the Mg/Ca and Δ47-derived BWTs decrease from ˜25 to 15 ˚ C. The absolute temperature difference between the δ18O and Δ47, might be explained by local variations in seawater δ18O composition. Similarly, the difference in Mg/Ca- and δ18O-derived BWTs is likely caused by uncertainties in the seawater Mg/Ca model and the relationship between the seawater Mg/Ca and the incorporation of Mg into the foraminiferal shell. The U37K' index could not be calculated as only di-unsaturated alkenones were identified, indicating that SSTs were > 28 ˚ C. In contrast, LDI temperatures were considerably lower and varied only between 21 and 19 ˚ C. MBT'-CBT derived mean annual temperatures for the ages of 9 and 20 Ma align well with the TEX86H SSTs. Overall, the agreement of the paleotemperature proxies in terms of main tendencies, and the covariation with the global benthic oxygen isotope compilation suggests that temperatures in this region varied in concert with global climate variability. The fact that offsets between the different proxies used here remain fairly constant down to 90 Ma ago, indicates that the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the proxy relation to temperature remained constant. de Bar, M. W., et al. (2016), Constraints on the application of long chain diol proxies in the Iberian Atlantic margin, Org. Geochem., 101, 184-195. Hollis, C. J., et al. (2012), Early Paleogene temperature history of the Southwest Pacific Ocean: Reconciling proxies and models, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 349, 53-66. Sluijs, A., et al. (2011), Southern ocean warming, sea level and hydrological change during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, Climate of the Past, 7(1), 47-61.

The relationship between the ratio of strontium to calcium and sea-surface temperature in a modern Porites astreoides coral: Implications for using P. astreoides as a paleoclimate archive

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tess E. Busch,; Flannery, Jennifer A.; Richey, Julie N.; Stathakopoulos, Anastasios

2015-11-13

An inverse relationship has been demonstrated between water temperature and the ratio of strontium to calcium (Sr/Ca) in coral aragonite for a number of Pacific species of the genus Porites. This empirically determined relationship has been used to reconstruct past sea-surface temperature (SST) from modern and Holocene age coral archives. A study was conducted to investigate this relationship for Porites astreoides to determine the potential for using these corals as a paleotemperature archive in the Caribbean and western tropical Atlantic Ocean. Skeletal aragonite from a P. astreoides colony growing offshore of the southeast coast of Florida was subsampled with a mean temporal resolution of 14 samples per year and analyzed for Sr/Ca. The resulting Sr/Ca time series yielded well-defined annual cycles that correspond to annual growth bands in the coral. Sr/Ca was regressed against a monthly SST record from C-MAN buoy station FWYF1 (located at Fowey Rocks, Florida), resulting in the following Sr/Ca-SST relationship: Sr/Ca = –0.040*SST + 10.128 (R = –0.77). A 10-year time series of Sr/Ca-derived SST yields annual cycles with a 10–12 degree Celsius seasonal amplitude, consistent with available local instrumental records. We conclude that Sr/Ca in Porites astreoides from the Caribbean/Atlantic region has high potential for developing subannually resolved modern and recent Holocene SST records.

Pliocene shallow water paleoceanography of the North Atlantic ocean based on marine ostracodes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cronin, T. M.

1991-01-01

Middle Pliocene marine ostracodes from coastal and shelf deposits of North and Central America and Iceland were studied to reconstruct paleotemperatures of shelf waters bordering portions of the Western Boundary Current System (including the Gulf Loop Current, Florida Current, Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift). Factor analytic transfer functions provided Pliocene August and February bottom-water temperatures of eight regions from the tropics to the subfrigid. The results indicate: (1) meridional temperature gradients in the western North Atlantic were less steep during the Pliocene than either today or during Late Pleistocene Isotope Stage 5e; (2) tropical and subtropical shelf waters during the Middle Pliocene were as warm as, or slightly cooler than today; (3) slightly cooler water was on the outer shelf off the southeastern and mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S., possibly due to summer upwelling of Gulf Stream water; (4) the shelf north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina may have been influenced by warm water incursions from the western edge of the Gulf Stream, especially in summer; (5) the northeast branch of the North Atlantic Drift brought warm water to northern Iceland between 4 and 3 Ma; evidence from the Iceland record indicates that cold East Greenland Current water did not affect coastal Iceland between 4 and 3 Ma; (6) Middle Pliocene North Atlantic circulation may have been intensified, transporting more heat from the tropics to the Arctic than it does today. ?? 1991.

Water Isotopes in Precipitation: Data/Model Comparison for Present-Day and Past Climates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jouzel, J.; Hoffmann, G.; Masson, V.

1998-01-01

Variations of HDO and H2O-18 concentrations are observed in precipitation both on a geographical and on a temporal basis. These variations, resulting from successive isotopic fractionation processes at each phase change of water during its atmospheric cycle, are well documented through the IAEA/WMO network and other sources. Isotope concentrations are, in middle and high latitudes, linearly related to the annual mean temperature at the precipitation site. Paleoclimatologists have used this relationship to infer paleotemperatures from isotope paleodata extractable from ice cores, deep groundwater and other such sources. For this application to be valid, however, the spatial relationship must also hold in time at a given location as the location undergoes a series of climatic changes. Progress in water isotope modeling aimed at examining and evaluating this assumption has been recently reviewed with a focus on polar regions and, more specifically, on Greenland. This article was largely based on the results obtained using the isotopic version of the NASA/GISS Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM) fitted with isotope tracer diagnostics. We extend this review in comparing the results of two different isotopic AGCMs (NASA/GISS and ECHAM) and in examining, with a more global perspective, the validity of the above assumption, i.e. the equivalence of the spatial and temporal isotope-temperature relationship. We also examine recent progress made in modeling the relationship between the conditions prevailing in moisture source regions for precipitation and the deuterium-excess of that precipitation.

The influence of kinetics on the oxygen isotope composition of calcium carbonate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watkins, James M.; Nielsen, Laura C.; Ryerson, Frederick J.; DePaolo, Donald J.

2013-08-01

Paleotemperature reconstructions rely on knowledge of the equilibrium separation of oxygen isotopes between aqueous solution and calcium carbonate. Although oxygen isotope separation is expected on theoretical grounds, the temperature-dependence remains uncertain because other factors, such as slow exchange of isotopes between dissolved CO2-species and water, can obscure the temperature signal. This is problematic for crystal growth experiments on laboratory timescales and for interpreting the oxygen isotope composition of crystals formed in natural settings. We present results from experiments in which inorganic calcite is precipitated in the presence of 0.25 μM dissolved bovine carbonic anhydrase (CA). The presence of dissolved CA accelerates oxygen isotope equilibration between the dissolved carbon species CO2, H2CO3, HCO3-, CO32- and water, thereby eliminating this source of isotopic disequilibrium during calcite growth. The experimental results allow us to isolate, for the first time, kinetic oxygen isotope effects occurring at the calcite-water interface. We present a framework of ion-by-ion growth of calcite that reconciles our new measurements with measurements of natural cave calcites that are the best candidate for having precipitated under near-equilibrium conditions. Our findings suggest that isotopic equilibrium between calcite and water is unlikely to have been established in laboratory experiments or in many natural settings. The use of CA in carbonate precipitation experiments offers new opportunities to refine oxygen isotope-based geothermometers and to interrogate environmental variables other than temperature that influence calcite growth rates.

A chironomid-based record of temperature variability during the past 4000 years in northern China and its possible societal implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Haipeng; Chen, Jianhui; Zhang, Shengda; Zhang, David D.; Wang, Zongli; Xu, Qinghai; Chen, Shengqian; Wang, Shijin; Kang, Shichang; Chen, Fahu

2018-03-01

Long-term, high-resolution temperature records which combine an unambiguous proxy and precise dating are rare in China. In addition, the societal implications of past temperature change on a regional scale have not been sufficiently assessed. Here, based on the modern relationship between chironomids and temperature, we use fossil chironomid assemblages in a precisely dated sediment core from Gonghai Lake to explore temperature variability during the past 4000 years in northern China. Subsequently, we address the possible regional societal implications of temperature change through a statistical analysis of the occurrence of wars. Our results show the following. (1) The mean annual temperature (TANN) was relatively high during 4000-2700 cal yr BP, decreased gradually during 2700-1270 cal yr BP and then fluctuated during the last 1270 years. (2) A cold event in the Period of Disunity, the Sui-Tang Warm Period (STWP), the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and the Little Ice Age (LIA) can all be recognized in the paleotemperature record, as well as in many other temperature reconstructions in China. This suggests that our chironomid-inferred temperature record for the Gonghai Lake region is representative. (3) Local wars in Shanxi Province, documented in the historical literature during the past 2700 years, are statistically significantly correlated with changes in temperature, and the relationship is a good example of the potential societal implications of temperature change on a regional scale.

Nacre tablet thickness records formation temperature in modern and fossil shells

DOE PAGES

Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A.; Bergmann, Kristin D.; Myers, Corinne E.; ...

2016-12-15

Nacre, the iridescent outer lining of pearls and inner lining of many mollusk shells, is made of periodic, parallel, organic sheets alternating with aragonite (CaCO 3) tablet layers. Nacre tablet thickness (TT) generates both nacre's iridescence and its remarkable resistance to fracture. Despite extensive studies on how nacre forms, the mechanisms controlling TT remain unknown, even though they determine the most conspicuous of nacre's characteristics, visible even to the naked eye.Thermodynamics predicts that temperature (T) will affect both physical and chemical components of biomineralized skeletons. The chemical composition of biominerals is well-established to record environmental parameters, and has therefore beenmore » extensively used in paleoclimate studies. The physical structure, however, has been hypothesized but never directly demonstrated to depend on the environment. Here we observe that the physical TT in nacre from modern and fossil shallow-water shells of the bivalves Pinna and Atrina correlates with T as measured by the carbonate clumped isotope thermometer. Based on the observed TT vs. T correlation, we anticipate that TT will be used as a paleothermometer, useful to estimate paleotemperature in shallow-water paleoenvironments. Here we successfully test the proposed new nacre TT thermometer on two Jurassic Pinna shells. The increase of TT with T is consistent with greater aragonite growth rate at higher T, and with greater metabolic rate at higher T. Thus, it reveals a complex, T-dependent biophysical mechanism for nacre formation.« less

Late Quaternary paleoclimate of western Alaska inferred from fossil chironomids and its relation to vegetation histories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurek, Joshua; Cwynar, Les C.; Ager, Thomas A.; Abbott, Mark B.; Edwards, Mary E.

2009-05-01

Fossil Chironomidae assemblages (with a few Chaoboridae and Ceratopogonidae) from Zagoskin and Burial Lakes in western Alaska provide quantitative reconstructions of mean July air temperatures for periods of the late-middle Wisconsin (˜39,000-34,000 cal yr B.P.) to the present. Inferred temperatures are compared with previously analyzed pollen data from each site summarized here by indirect ordination. Paleotemperature trends reveal substantial differences in the timing of climatic warming following the late Wisconsin at each site, although chronological uncertainty exists. Zagoskin Lake shows early warming beginning at about 21,000 cal yr B.P., whereas warming at Burial Lake begins ˜4000 years later. Summer climates during the last glacial maximum (LGM) were on average ˜3.5 °C below the modern temperatures at each site. Major shifts in vegetation occurred from ˜19,000 to 10,000 cal yr B.P. at Zagoskin Lake and from ˜17,000 to 10,000 cal yr B.P. at Burial Lake. Vegetation shifts followed climatic warming, when temperatures neared modern values. Both sites provide evidence of an early postglacial thermal maximum at ˜12,300 cal yr B.P. These chironomid records, combined with other insect-based climatic reconstructions from Beringia, indicate that during the LGM: (1) greater continentality likely influenced regions adjacent to the Bering Land Bridge and (2) summer climates were, at times, not dominated by severe cold.

Deglaciation in the High Andes - a Record from Laguna Piuray (Cusco, Peru)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nederbragt, A.; Thurow, J.; Brumsack, H.; Lowe, J.; Pearce, R.; Ramsey, C.

2007-12-01

The Peruvian Andes lie in a crucial location for paleoclimate investigation. Fluctuating Pacific and Atlantic air masses compete for long-term dominance of the region, with the El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system causing further variability. A laminated glacial/interglacial sediment sequence (6m) exposed around the shores of Laguna Piuray, near Cusco, offers not only the potential to reconstruct the climate history of the area but also to test for strength and frequency of the Atlantic monsoonal and Pacific ENSO influence. A suite of continuous cores was collected from deep trenches. The sedimentary record is characterized by postglacial diatom-rich chalk overlying organic-rich clayey chalk. Between these units are 3 distinct organic layers (80% TOC) deposited between 12-14 cal. kyr BP (14C). The base of the record is probably as old as 25kyrs (U/Th). We obtained a multi- proxy record of the section including continuous XRF scanning data of the entire sequence, and stable isotopes, XRF, XRD, TOC, biogenic opal, and carbonate analysis of discrete samples as well as a relative paleotemperature record from analyses of soil biomarkers. All the data profiles we obtained show a pronounced increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation at 13.8kyrs and are in good correlation with published regional Andean records using single proxies. Our results confirm that the Deglaciation Cold Reversal in central South America is not identical to the Younger Dryas event in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Origin of Antarctic Precipitation: A Modeling Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delaygue, Gilles; Masson, Valerie; Jouzel, Jean; Koster, Randal D.; Healy, Richard J.

1998-01-01

Isotope concentrations in polar ice cores have long been used to estimate paleotemperatures. Underlying the use of this "isotope paleothermometer" is the assumption that the relationship between surface temperature and isotope concentration over time at a single geographical point is the same as that observed over space during the present-day climate. The validity of this assumption may in fact be compromised by several factors related to climate change. The specific factor studied in this paper involves the evaporative sources for polar precipitation. Climatic changes in the relative strengths of these sources would imply a need for a recalibration of the paleothermometer. To quantify such changes, we performed two GCM simulations, one of present-day climate and the other of the climate during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), roughly 18000 years ago. Evaporative sources of Antarctic precipitation were established using special tracer diagnostics. Results suggest that polar precipitation during the LGM does indeed consist of (relatively) more water from tropical oceans, a direct reflection of the LGM's increased equator-to-pole temperature gradient and its increased sea ice extent, which reduces high latitude evaporation. This result implies that an uncalibrated ice core paleothermometer would produce LGM temperatures that are biased slightly low. Because LGM boundary conditions are still under debate, we performed a third GCM simulation using a modified set of LGM boundary conditions. Using this simulation gives some qualitatively similar results, though the tropical contribution is not quite as high. Uncertainties in the LGM boundary conditions does hamper success in calibrating the paleothermometer.

Carbon isotopes from fossil packrat pellets and elevational movements of Utah agave plants reveal the Younger Dryas cold period in Grand Canyon, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cole, K.L.; Arundel, S.T.

2005-01-01

Carbon isotopes in rodent fecal pellets were measured on packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens from the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The pellet samples reflect the abundance of cold-intolerant C4 and Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant species relative to the predominant C3 vegetation in the packrat diet. The temporal sequence of isotopic results suggests a temperature decline followed by a sharp increase corresponding to the B??lling/Aller??d-Younger Dryas - early Holocene sequence. This pattern was then tested using the past distribution of Utah agave (Agave utahensis). Spatial analyses of the range of this temperature-sensitive CAM species demonstrate that its upper elevational limit is controlled by winter minimum temperature. Applying this paleotemperature proxy to the past elevational limits of Utah agave suggests that minimum winter temperatures were ???8??C below modern values during the Last Glacial Maximum, 4.5-6.5 ??C below modern during the B??lling/Aller??d, and 7.5-8.7 ??C below modern during the early Younger Dryas. As the Younger Dryas terminated, temperatures warmed ???4 ??C between ca. 11.8 ka and 11.5 ka. These extreme fluctuations in winter minimum temperature have not been generally accepted for terrestrial paleoecological records from the arid southwestern United States, likely because of large statistical uncertainties of older radiocarbon results and reliance on proxies for summer temperatures, which were less affected. ?? 2005 Geological Society of America.

Understanding the Effects of Dissolution on the Mg/Ca Paleothermometer in Planktic Foraminifera: Evidence From a Novel Individual Foraminifera Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rongstad, Brigitta L.; Marchitto, Thomas M.; Herguera, Juan Carlos

2017-12-01

It is well documented that partial dissolution of planktic foraminiferal tests results in a reduction of Mg/Ca ratios, and hence of inferred calcification temperatures; however, traditional analysis techniques have made it difficult to identify the exact mechanism through which Mg is lost. Three hypotheses have been proposed as models for Mg loss for a given extent of dissolution: (1) a percent loss of Mg in individuals, (2) a molar loss of Mg in individuals, and (3) a loss of the highest-Mg (warmest) individuals from a population. It is vital to better constrain these models as they have very different implications for Mg/Ca paleotemperature dissolution corrections. Here we use a novel individual foraminifera Mg/Ca method to examine the effects of dissolution on the Mg/Ca paleothermometer in three species of planktic foraminifera, Globigerinoides ruber, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata, from a depth transect of core tops on the Ontong Java Plateau in the western equatorial Pacific. With the exception of the most heavily dissolved population of P. obliquiloculata, our data best support a percent Mg loss model as indicated by the preservation of inferred temperature distribution shapes among the sampled populations and the close fit of the simulated percent Mg loss model to the observed data. Coupled with estimates for foraminiferal dissolution, identification of the percent Mg loss model will allow for more accurate dissolution corrections in Mg/Ca paleothermometry work.

Northern refugia and recent expansion in the North Sea: the case of the wrasse Symphodus melops (Linnaeus, 1758)

PubMed Central

Robalo, Joana I; Castilho, Rita; Francisco, Sara M; Almada, Frederico; Knutsen, Halvor; Jorde, Per E; Pereira, Ana M; Almada, Vitor C

2012-01-01

Pleistocene climate changes have imposed extreme conditions to intertidal rocky marine communities, forcing many species to significant range shifts in their geographical distributions. Phylogeographic analyses based on both mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers provide a useful approach to unravel phylogeographic patterns and processes of species after this time period, to gain general knowledge of how climatic changes affect shifts in species distributions. We analyzed these patterns on the corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops, Labridae), a rocky shore species inhabiting North Sea waters and temperate northeastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway to Morocco including the Azores, using a fragment of the mitochondrial control region and the first intron of the nuclear S7 ribosomal protein gene. We found that S. melops shows a clear differentiation between the Atlantic and the Scandinavian populations and a sharp contrast in the genetic diversity, high in the south and low in the north. Within each of these main geographic areas there is little or no genetic differentiation. The species may have persisted throughout the last glacial maximum in the southern areas as paleotemperatures were not lower than they are today in North Scandinavia. The North Sea recolonization most likely took place during the current interglacial and is dominated by a haplotype absent from the south of the study area, but present in Plymouth and Belfast. The possibility of a glacial refugium in or near the English Channel is discussed. PMID:22408733

Diagenetic mineralization in Pennsylvanian coals from Indiana, USA: 13C/12C and 18O/16O implications for cleat origin and coalbed methane generation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Solano-Acosta, W.; Schimmelmann, A.; Mastalerz, Maria; Arango, I.

2008-01-01

Cleats and fractures in southwestern Indiana coal seams are often filled with authigenic kaolinite and/or calcite. Carbon- and oxygen-stable isotope ratios of kaolinite, calcite, and coalbed CO2 were evaluated in combination with measured values and published estimates of ??18O of coalbed paleowaters that had been present at the time of mineralization. ??18Omineral and ??18Owater values jointly constrain the paleotemperature of mineralization. The isotopic evidence and the thermal and tectonic history of this part of the Illinois Basin led to the conclusion that maximum burial and heat-sterilization of coal seams approximately 272??Ma ago was followed by advective heat redistribution and concurrent precipitation of kaolinite in cleats at a burial depth of < 1600??m at ??? 78 ?? 5????C. Post-Paleozoic uplift, the development of a second generation of cleats, and subsequent precipitation of calcite occurred at shallower burial depth between ??? 500 to ??? 1300??m at a lower temperature of 43 ?? 6????C. The available paleowater in coalbeds was likely ocean water and/or tropical meteoric water with a ??18Owater ??? - 1.25??? versus VSMOW. Inoculation of coalbeds with methanogenic CO2-reducing microbes occurred at an even later time, because modern microbially influenced 13C-enriched coalbed CO2 (i.e., the isotopically fractionated residue of microbial CO2 reduction) is out of isotopic equilibrium with 13C-depleted calcite in cleats. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nacre tablet thickness records formation temperature in modern and fossil shells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A.; Bergmann, Kristin D.; Myers, Corinne E.

Nacre, the iridescent outer lining of pearls and inner lining of many mollusk shells, is made of periodic, parallel, organic sheets alternating with aragonite (CaCO 3) tablet layers. Nacre tablet thickness (TT) generates both nacre's iridescence and its remarkable resistance to fracture. Despite extensive studies on how nacre forms, the mechanisms controlling TT remain unknown, even though they determine the most conspicuous of nacre's characteristics, visible even to the naked eye.Thermodynamics predicts that temperature (T) will affect both physical and chemical components of biomineralized skeletons. The chemical composition of biominerals is well-established to record environmental parameters, and has therefore beenmore » extensively used in paleoclimate studies. The physical structure, however, has been hypothesized but never directly demonstrated to depend on the environment. Here we observe that the physical TT in nacre from modern and fossil shallow-water shells of the bivalves Pinna and Atrina correlates with T as measured by the carbonate clumped isotope thermometer. Based on the observed TT vs. T correlation, we anticipate that TT will be used as a paleothermometer, useful to estimate paleotemperature in shallow-water paleoenvironments. Here we successfully test the proposed new nacre TT thermometer on two Jurassic Pinna shells. The increase of TT with T is consistent with greater aragonite growth rate at higher T, and with greater metabolic rate at higher T. Thus, it reveals a complex, T-dependent biophysical mechanism for nacre formation.« less

Contrasting early Holocene temperature variations between monsoonal East Asia and westerly dominated Central Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jiaju; An, Chen-Bang; Huang, Yongsong; Morrill, Carrie; Chen, Fa-Hu

2017-12-01

Numerous studies have demonstrated that there are major differences in the timing of maximum Holocene precipitation between the monsoonal East Asia and westerly dominated Central Asia, but it is unclear if the moisture differences are also associated with corresponding temperature contrasts. Here we present the first alkenone-based paleotemperature reconstructions for the past 21 kyr from Lake Balikun, central Asia. We show, unlike the initiation of Holocene warm conditions at ∼11 kyr BP in the monsoon regions, the arid central Asia remained in a glacial-like cold condition prior to 8 kyr BP and experienced abrupt warming of ∼9 °C after the collapse of the Laurentide ice sheet. Comparison with pollen and other geochemical data indicates the abrupt warming is closely associated with major increase in the moisture supply to the region. Together, our multiproxy data indicate ∼2 thousand years delay of temperature and moisture optimum relative to local summer insolation maximum, suggesting major influence of the Laurentide ice sheet and other high latitude ice sheet forcings on the regional atmospheric circulation. In addition, our data reveal a temperature drop by ∼4 °C around 4 kyr BP lasting multiple centuries, coinciding with severe increases in aridity previously reported based on multiproxy data. In contrast, model simulations display a much less pronounced delay in the initiation of Holocene warm conditions, raising unresolved questions about the relative importance of local radiative forcing and high-latitude ice on temperature in this region.

A regional record of expanded Holocene wetlands and prehistoric human occupation from paleowetland deposits of the western Yarlung Tsangpo valley, southern Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, Adam M.; Olsen, John W.; Quade, Jay; Lei, Guoliang; Huth, Tyler E.; Zhang, Hucai

2016-07-01

The Asian Monsoon, which brings ∼80% of annual precipitation to much of the Tibetan Plateau, provides runoff to major rivers across the Asian continent. Paleoclimate records indicate summer insolation and North Atlantic paleotemperature changes forced variations in monsoon rainfall through the Holocene, resulting in hydrologic and ecologic changes in plateau watersheds. We present a record of Holocene hydrologic variability in the Yarlung Tsangpo (YT) valley of the southern Tibetan Plateau, based on sedimentology and 14C dating of organic-rich 'black mats' in paleowetlands deposits, that shows changes in wetlands extent in response to changing monsoon intensity. Four sedimentary units indicate decreasing monsoon intensity since 10.4 ka BP. Wet conditions occurred at ∼10.4 ka BP, ∼9.6 ka BP and ∼7.9-4.8 ka BP, with similar-to-modern conditions from ∼4.6-2.0 ka BP, and drier-than-modern conditions from ∼2.0 ka BP to present. Wetland changes correlate with monsoon intensity changes identified in nearby records, with weak monsoon intervals corresponding to desiccation and erosion of wetlands. Dating of in situ ceramic and microlithic artifacts within the wetlands indicates Epipaleolithic human occupation of the YT valley after 6.6 ka BP, supporting evidence for widespread colonization of the Tibetan Plateau in the early and mid-Holocene during warm, wet post-glacial conditions.

A New Multi-Basin Calibration for Estimating Paleo-Temperature Using Mg/Ca from Tests of Neogloboquadrina dutertrei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, M. S.; Hertzberg, J. E.; Mekik, F.; Schmidt, M. W.

2017-12-01

Based on the thermodynamics of solid-solution substitution of Mg for Ca in biogenic calcite, magnesium to calcium ratios in planktonic foraminifera have been proposed as a means by which variations in habitat water temperatures can be reconstructed. Doing this accurately has been a problem, however, as we demonstrate that various calibration equations provide disparate temperature estimates from the same Mg/Ca dataset. We examined both new and published data to derive a globally applicable temperature-Mg/Ca relationship and from this relationship to accurately predict habitat depth for Neogloboquadrina dutertrei - a deep chlorophyll maximum dweller. N. dutertrei samples collected from Atlantic core tops were analyzed for trace element compositions at Texas A&M University, and the measured Mg/Ca ratios were used to predict habitat temperatures using multiple pre-existing calibration equations. When combining Atlantic and previously published Pacific Mg/Ca datasets for N. dutertrei, a notable dissolution effect was evident. To overcome this issue, we used the G. menardii Fragmentation Index (MFI) to account for dissolution and generated a multi-basin temperature equation using multiple linear regression to predict habitat temperature. However, the correlations between Mg/Ca and temperature, as well as the calculated MFI percent dissolved, suggest that N. dutertrei Mg/Ca ratios are affected equally by both variables. While correcting for dissolution makes habitat depth estimation more accurate, the lack of a definitively strong correlation between Mg/Ca and temperature is likely an effect of variable habitat depth for this species because most calibration equations have assumed a uniform habitat depth for this taxon.

Oxygen-isotope trends and seawater temperature changes across the Late Cambrian Steptoean positive carbon-isotope excursion (SPICE event)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elrick, M.; Rieboldt, S.; Saltzman, M.; McKay, R.M.

2011-01-01

The globally recognized Late Cambrian Steptoean positive C-isotope excursion (SPICE) is characterized by a 3???-5??? positive ??13C shift spanning <4 m.y. Existing hypotheses suggest that the SPICE represents a widespread ocean anoxic event leading to enhanced burial/preservation of organic matter (Corg) and pyrite. We analyzed ??18O values of apatitic inarticulate brachiopods from three Upper Cambrian successions across Laurentia to evaluate paleotemperatures during the SPICE. ??18O values range from ~12.5??? to 16.5???. Estimated seawater temperatures associated with the SPICE are unreasonably warm, suggesting that the brachiopod ??18O values were altered during early diagenesis. Despite this, all three localities show similar trends with respect to the SPICE ??13C curve, suggesting that the brachiopod apatite preserves a record of relative ??18O and temperature changes. The trends include relatively high ??18O values at the onset of the SPICE, decreasing and lowest values during the main event, and an increase in values at the end of the event. The higher ??18O values during the global extinction at the onset of the SPICE suggests seawater cooling and supports earlier hypotheses of upwelling of cool waters onto the shallow shelf. Decreasing and low ??18O values coincident with the rising limb of the SPICE support the hypothesis that seawater warming and associated reduced thermohaline circulation rates contributed to decreased dissolved O2 concentrations, which enhanced the preservation/burial of Corg causing the positive ??13C shift. ?? 2011 Geological Society of America.

Combined ice core and climate-model evidence for the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during Marine Isotope Stage 5e.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steig, Eric J.; Huybers, Kathleen; Singh, Hansi A.; Steiger, Nathan J.; Frierson, Dargan M. W.; Popp, Trevor; White, James W. C.

2015-04-01

It has been speculated that collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet explains the very high eustatic sea level rise during the last interglacial period, marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e, but the evidence remains equivocal. Changes in atmospheric circulation resulting from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) would have significant regional impacts that should be detectable in ice core records. We conducted simulations using general circulation models (GCMs) at varying levels of complexity: a gray-radiation aquaplanet moist GCM (GRaM), the slab ocean version of GFDL-AM2 (also as an aquaplanet), and the fully-coupled version of NCAR's CESM with realistic topography. In all the experiments, decreased elevation from the removal of the WAIS leads to greater cyclonic circulation over the West Antarctic region. This creates increased advection of relatively warm marine air from the Amundsen-Bellingshausen Seas towards the South Pole, and increased cold-air advection from the East Antarctic plateau towards the Ross Sea and coastal Marie Byrd Land. The result is anomalous warming in some areas of the East Antarctic interior, and significant cooling in Marie Byrd Land. Comparison of ice core records shows good agreement with the model predictions. In particular, isotope-paleotemperature records from ice cores in East Antarctica warmed more between the previous glacial period (MIS 6) and MIS 5e than coastal Marie Byrd Land. These results add substantial support to other evidence for WAIS collapse during the last interglacial period.

Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, Richard; Harwood, David; Florindo, Fabio; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Tripati, Robert; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Gasson, Edward; Kuhn, Gerhard; Tripati, Aradhna; DeConto, Robert; Fielding, Christopher; Field, Brad; Golledge, Nicholas; McKay, Robert; Naish, Timothy; Olney, Matthew; Pollard, David; Schouten, Stefan; Talarico, Franco; Warny, Sophie; Willmott, Veronica; Acton, Gary; Panter, Kurt; Paulsen, Timothy; Taviani, Marco; SMS Science Team; Acton, Gary; Askin, Rosemary; Atkins, Clifford; Bassett, Kari; Beu, Alan; Blackstone, Brian; Browne, Gregory; Ceregato, Alessandro; Cody, Rosemary; Cornamusini, Gianluca; Corrado, Sveva; DeConto, Robert; Del Carlo, Paola; Di Vincenzo, Gianfranco; Dunbar, Gavin; Falk, Candice; Field, Brad; Fielding, Christopher; Florindo, Fabio; Frank, Tracy; Giorgetti, Giovanna; Grelle, Thomas; Gui, Zi; Handwerger, David; Hannah, Michael; Harwood, David M.; Hauptvogel, Dan; Hayden, Travis; Henrys, Stuart; Hoffmann, Stefan; Iacoviello, Francesco; Ishman, Scott; Jarrard, Richard; Johnson, Katherine; Jovane, Luigi; Judge, Shelley; Kominz, Michelle; Konfirst, Matthew; Krissek, Lawrence; Kuhn, Gerhard; Lacy, Laura; Levy, Richard; Maffioli, Paola; Magens, Diana; Marcano, Maria C.; Millan, Cristina; Mohr, Barbara; Montone, Paola; Mukasa, Samuel; Naish, Timothy; Niessen, Frank; Ohneiser, Christian; Olney, Mathew; Panter, Kurt; Passchier, Sandra; Patterson, Molly; Paulsen, Timothy; Pekar, Stephen; Pierdominici, Simona; Pollard, David; Raine, Ian; Reed, Joshua; Reichelt, Lucia; Riesselman, Christina; Rocchi, Sergio; Sagnotti, Leonardo; Sandroni, Sonia; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Schmitt, Douglas; Speece, Marvin; Storey, Bryan; Strada, Eleonora; Talarico, Franco; Taviani, Marco; Tuzzi, Eva; Verosub, Kenneth; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Warny, Sophie; Wilson, Gary; Wilson, Terry; Wonik, Thomas; Zattin, Massimiliano

2016-03-01

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23-14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3-4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below preindustrial levels (˜280 ppm). Five intervals reflect ice sheet minima and air temperatures warm enough for substantial ice mass loss during episodes of high (˜500 ppm) atmospheric CO2. These new drill core data and associated ice sheet modeling experiments indicate that polar climate and the AIS were highly sensitive to relatively small changes in atmospheric CO2 during the early to mid-Miocene.

Carbon isotopes of C3 herbs correlate with temperature on removing the influence of precipitation across a temperature transect in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China.

PubMed

Liu, Xian-Zhao; Zhang, Yong; Li, Zhen-Guo; Feng, Teng; Su, Qing; Song, Yan

2017-12-01

Plant δ 13 C-temperature (δ-T) relation has been established in many systems and is often used as paleotemperature transfer function. However, it is still unclear about the exact contributions of temperature variation to plant 13 C discrimination because of covariation between temperature and precipitation (aridity), which reduces confidence in reconstruction of paleoclimate. In this study, we measured carbon isotope composition (δ 13 C) of 173 samples of C3 perennial herbs from 22 sites across a temperature gradient along the 400 mm isohyet in the farming-pastoral zone of North China. The results showed that precipitation obviously affected the correlations of temperatures and foliar δ 13 C. After removing the influence of precipitation by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), a more strongly positive relationship was obtained between site-mean foliar δ 13 C and annual mean temperature (AMT), with a regression coefficient of 0.1636‰/°C ( p  =   .0024). For widespread species, Artemisia lavandulaefolia and Artemisia capillaries , the slopes (or coefficients) of foliar δ 13 C and AMT were significantly steeper (larger) than those of foliar δ 13 C and AMT where the precipitation influence was not excluded, whereas the δ-T coefficients of Polygonum persicaria and Leymus chinensis showed little change across the transect after deducting the precipitation effect. Moreover, the positive relationship between temperature and δ 13 C over the transect could be explained by soil moisture availability related to temperature. Our results may afford new opportunities for investigating the nature of past climate variability.

A membrane inlet mass spectrometry system for noble gases at natural abundances in gas and water samples.

PubMed

Visser, Ate; Singleton, Michael J; Hillegonds, Darren J; Velsko, Carol A; Moran, Jean E; Esser, Bradley K

2013-11-15

Noble gases dissolved in groundwater can reveal paleotemperatures, recharge conditions, and precise travel times. The collection and analysis of noble gas samples are cumbersome, involving noble gas purification, cryogenic separation and static mass spectrometry. A quicker and more efficient sample analysis method is required for introduced tracer studies and laboratory experiments. A Noble Gas Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (NG-MIMS) system was developed to measure noble gases at natural abundances in gas and water samples. The NG-MIMS system consists of a membrane inlet, a dry-ice water trap, a carbon-dioxide trap, two getters, a gate valve, a turbomolecular pump and a quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electron multiplier. Noble gases isotopes (4)He, (22)Ne, (38)Ar, (84)Kr and (132)Xe are measured every 10 s. The NG-MIMS system can reproduce measurements made on a traditional noble gas mass spectrometer system with precisions of 2%, 8%, 1%, 1% and 3% for He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe, respectively. Noble gas concentrations measured in an artificial recharge pond were used to monitor an introduced xenon tracer and to reconstruct temperature variations to within 2 °C. Additional experiments demonstrated the capability to measure noble gases in gas and in water samples, in real time. The NG-MIMS system is capable of providing analyses sufficiently accurate and precise for introduced noble gas tracers at managed aquifer recharge facilities, groundwater fingerprinting based on excess air and noble gas recharge temperature, and field and laboratory studies investigating ebullition and diffusive exchange. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Laboratory calibration of the calcium carbonate clumped isotope thermometer in the 25-250 °C temperature range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kluge, Tobias; John, Cédric M.; Jourdan, Anne-Lise; Davis, Simon; Crawshaw, John

2015-05-01

Many fields of Earth sciences benefit from the knowledge of mineral formation temperatures. For example, carbonates are extensively used for reconstruction of the Earth's past climatic variations by determining ocean, lake, and soil paleotemperatures. Furthermore, diagenetic minerals and their formation or alteration temperature may provide information about the burial history of important geological units and can have practical applications, for instance, for reconstructing the geochemical and thermal histories of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry is a relatively new technique that can provide the formation temperature of carbonate minerals without requiring a priori knowledge of the isotopic composition of the initial solution. It is based on the temperature-dependent abundance of the rare 13C-18O bonds in carbonate minerals, specified as a Δ47 value. The clumped isotope thermometer has been calibrated experimentally from 1 °C to 70 °C. However, higher temperatures that are relevant to geological processes have so far not been directly calibrated in the laboratory. In order to close this calibration gap and to provide a robust basis for the application of clumped isotopes to high-temperature geological processes we precipitated CaCO3 (mainly calcite) in the laboratory between 23 and 250 °C. We used two different precipitation techniques: first, minerals were precipitated from a CaCO3 supersaturated solution at atmospheric pressure (23-91 °C), and, second, from a solution resulting from the mixing of CaCl2 and NaHCO3 in a pressurized reaction vessel at a pressure of up to 80 bar (25-250 °C).

Thermal history of sedimentary basins, maturation indices, and kinetics of oil and gas generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tissot, B.P.; Pelet, R.; Ungerer, P.

1987-12-01

Temperature is the most sensitive parameter in hydrocarbon generation. Thus, reconstruction of temperature history is essential when evaluating petroleum prospects. No measurable parameter can be directly converted to paleotemperature. Maturation indices such as vitrinite reflectance, T/sub max/ from Rock-Eval pyrolysis, spore coloration, Thermal Alteration Index (TAI), or concentration of biological markers offer an indirect approach. All these indices are a function of the thermal history through rather complex kinetics, frequently influenced by the type of organic matter. Their significance and validity are reviewed. Besides the problems of identification (e.g. vitrinite) and interlaboratory calibration, it is important to simultaneously interpret kerogenmore » type and maturation and to avoid difficult conversions from one index to another. Geodynamic models, where structural and thermal histories are connected, are another approach to temperature reconstruction which could be calibrated against the present distribution of temperature and the present value of maturation indices. Kinetics of kerogen decomposition controls the amount and composition of hydrocarbons generated. An empirical time-temperature index (TTI), originally introduced by Lopatin, does not allow such a quantitative evaluation. Due to several limitations (no provision for different types of kerogen and different rates of reactions, poor calibration on vitrinite reflectance), it is of limited interest unless one has no access to a desk-top computer. Kinetic models, based on a specific calibration made on actual source rock samples, can simulate the evolution of all types of organic matter and can provide a quantitative evaluation of oil and gas generated. 29 figures.« less

Burial thermal histories, vitrinite reflectance, and laumontite isograd

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCulloh, T.H.; Fan, J.J.

1985-02-01

The optical reflectance of vitrinite has become the standard basis for quantitative judgments of integrated temperature-time (burial) histories. Inferences about the crystallization temperature of the calcium zeolite laumontite also have been used repeatedly for such purposes. In a few cases, these 2 approaches have been combined or their results compared. As generally employed, neither approach has quantitative validity. Factors other than temperature and time play roles in the way that burial history affects vitrinite reflectance (R/sub o/). In particular, the organic geochemical environment exerts a strong and variable local-to-regional influence on the rate of increase of R/sub o/ versus temperature.more » Hydrocarbon-rich environments retard the rate of R/sub o/ increase; hydrocarbon-deficient environments accelerate it. Local (interbed) R/sub o/ divergencies up to 0.5% result, and regional (interbasin) divergencies are equal or possibly greater. Much of the scatter in compilation plots of R/sub o/ versus TTI may result from such divergencies. Laumontite, where it can crystallize at all, precipitates according to specific stringent requirements of fluid pressure and temperature. The crystallization temperature at the laumontite isograd ranges from 32/sup 0/C (1 atm) to 193/sup 0/C (P/sub f/ = 1325 atm). The crystallization rate is geologically instantaneous, completely unlike the time-dependent organic reactions responsible for the progressive aromatization of coal macerals during kerogen maturation, providing an instantaneous pressure-sensitive maximum-recording thermometer. Paleotemperatures to constrain interpretations of R/sub o/ data may be one of the greatest values to be gained from studies of diagenetic laumontite.« less

Diet and environment of a mid-Pliocene fauna in the Zanda Basin (western Himalaya): Paleo-elevation implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Xu, Y.; Khawaja, S. N.; Wang, X.; Passey, B. H.; Zhang, C.; Li, Q.; Tseng, Z. J.; Takeuchi, G.; Deng, T.; Xie, G.

2011-12-01

A mid-Pliocene fauna (3.1-4.0 Ma) was recently discovered in the Zanda Basin in western Himalaya, at an elevation of about 4200 m above sea level. These fossil materials provide a unique window for examining the linkage among tectonic, climatic and biotic changes. Here we report the initial results from isotopic analyses of this fauna and of modern herbivores in the Zanda Basin. The δ13C values of enamel samples from modern wild Tibetan ass, horse, cow and goat from the Zanda Basin are -9.1±2.1%, which indicate a diet comprising predominantly of C3 plants and are consistent with the current dominance of C3 vegetation in the area. The enamel-δ13C values of the fossil horse, rhino, deer, and bovid are -9.6±0.8%, indicating that these ancient mammals, like modern herbivores in the area, fed primarily on C3 vegetation and lived in an environment dominated by C3 plants. The enamel-δ18O values of mid-Pliocene obligate drinkers (i.e., horse and rhino) are lower than those of their modern counterpart, most likely indicating a shift in climate to much drier conditions after ~3-4 Ma. Preliminary paleo-temperature estimates derived from a fossil-based temperature proxy as well as the "clumped isotope" thermometer for the mid-Pliocene Zanda Basin, although somewhat equivocal, are close to the present-day mean annual temperature in the area, suggesting that the paleo-elevation of the Zanda Basin in the mid-Pliocene was similar to its present-day elevation.

Reproducibility of Clathromorphum compactum coralline algal Mg/Ca ratios and comparison to high-resolution sea surface temperature data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hetzinger, S.; Halfar, J.; Kronz, A.; Simon, K.; Adey, W. H.; Steneck, R. S.

2018-01-01

The potential of crustose coralline algae as high-resolution archives of past ocean variability in mid- to high-latitudes has only recently been recognized. Few comparisons of coralline algal proxies, such as temperature-dependent algal magnesium to calcium (Mg/Ca) ratios, with in situ-measured surface ocean data exist, even rarer are well replicated records from individual sites. We present Mg/Ca records from nine coralline algal specimens (Clathromorphum compactum) from a single site in the Gulf of Maine, North Atlantic. Sections from algal mounds were analyzed using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) yielding individual Mg/Ca records of up to 30 years in length. We first test intra- and intersample signal replication and show that algal Mg/Ca ratios are reproducible along several transects within individual sample specimens and between different samples from the same study site. In addition, LA-ICP-MS-derived Mg/Ca ratios are compared to electron microprobe (EMP) analyzed data on the longest-lived specimens and were found to be statistically commensurable. Second, we evaluate whether relationships between algal-based SST reconstructions and in situ temperature data can be improved by averaging Mg/Ca records from multiple algal specimens (intersample averages). We found that intersample averages yield stronger relationships to sea surface temperature (SST) data than Mg/Ca records derived from individual samples alone. Thus, Mg/Ca-based paleotemperature reconstructions from coralline algae can benefit from using multiple samples per site, and can expand temperature proxy precision from seasonal to monthly.

Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene

PubMed Central

Levy, Richard; Harwood, David; Florindo, Fabio; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Tripati, Robert; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Tripati, Aradhna; DeConto, Robert; Fielding, Christopher; Field, Brad; Golledge, Nicholas; McKay, Robert; Naish, Timothy; Olney, Matthew; Pollard, David; Schouten, Stefan; Talarico, Franco; Warny, Sophie; Willmott, Veronica; Acton, Gary; Panter, Kurt; Paulsen, Timothy; Taviani, Marco

2016-01-01

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23–14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3–4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below preindustrial levels (∼280 ppm). Five intervals reflect ice sheet minima and air temperatures warm enough for substantial ice mass loss during episodes of high (∼500 ppm) atmospheric CO2. These new drill core data and associated ice sheet modeling experiments indicate that polar climate and the AIS were highly sensitive to relatively small changes in atmospheric CO2 during the early to mid-Miocene. PMID:26903644

Rapid Middle Eocene temperature change in western North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Methner, Katharina; Mulch, Andreas; Fiebig, Jens; Wacker, Ulrike; Gerdes, Axel; Graham, Stephan A.; Chamberlain, C. Page

2016-09-01

Eocene hyperthermals are among the most enigmatic phenomena of Cenozoic climate dynamics. These hyperthermals represent temperature extremes superimposed on an already warm Eocene climate and dramatically affected the marine and terrestrial biosphere, yet our knowledge of temperature and rainfall in continental interiors is still rather limited. We present stable isotope (δ18O) and clumped isotope temperature (Δ47) records from a middle Eocene (41 to 40 Ma) high-elevation mammal fossil locality in the North American continental interior (Montana, USA). Δ47 paleotemperatures of soil carbonates delineate a rapid +9/-11 °C temperature excursion in the paleosol record. Δ47 temperatures progressively increase from 23 °C ± 3 °C to peak temperatures of 32 °C ± 3 °C and subsequently drop by 11 °C. This hyperthermal event in the middle Eocene is accompanied by low δ18O values and reduced pedogenic carbonate concentrations in paleosols. Based on laser ablation U/Pb geochronology of paleosol carbonates in combination with magnetostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, stable isotope, and Δ47 evidence, we suggest that this pronounced warming event reflects the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) in western North America. The terrestrial expression of northern hemisphere MECO in western North America appears to be characterized by warmer and wetter (sub-humid) conditions, compared to the post-MECO phase. Large and rapid shifts in δ18O values of precipitation and pedogenic CaCO3 contents parallel temperature changes, indicating the profound impact of the MECO on atmospheric circulation and rainfall patterns in the western North American continental interior during this transient warming event.

Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene.

PubMed

Levy, Richard; Harwood, David; Florindo, Fabio; Sangiorgi, Francesca; Tripati, Robert; von Eynatten, Hilmar; Gasson, Edward; Kuhn, Gerhard; Tripati, Aradhna; DeConto, Robert; Fielding, Christopher; Field, Brad; Golledge, Nicholas; McKay, Robert; Naish, Timothy; Olney, Matthew; Pollard, David; Schouten, Stefan; Talarico, Franco; Warny, Sophie; Willmott, Veronica; Acton, Gary; Panter, Kurt; Paulsen, Timothy; Taviani, Marco

2016-03-29

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23-14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3-4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below preindustrial levels (∼280 ppm). Five intervals reflect ice sheet minima and air temperatures warm enough for substantial ice mass loss during episodes of high (∼500 ppm) atmospheric CO2 These new drill core data and associated ice sheet modeling experiments indicate that polar climate and the AIS were highly sensitive to relatively small changes in atmospheric CO2 during the early to mid-Miocene.

Uses of vitrinite reflectance in determining thermal history in sedimentary basins

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Castano, J.R.

1985-02-01

Vitrinite reflectance (VR), adapted from coal petrology, came into routine use in the petroleum industry in the late 1960s. Initially, the principal goal was to help establish the VR limits for oil and gas generation. Subsequently, VR has become accepted as the most useful measure of burial history and paleotemperature, largely because VR affords the most practical means of measuring the progression of organic metamorphism. VR is used to correlate other measures of thermal history such as chemical maturity parameters, Rock-Eval t/sub max/, and burial-history reconstruction. VR can aid in identifying unconformities, geopressured sections, and thermally altered zones. Combined withmore » good temperature data, the determination of VR equivalents from temperature and burial time are used to evaluate the relationship of depth to log VR obtained directly. The time and temperature required for maturation in Tertiary basins stresses the interplay of both factors in the maturation process. Reflectance has been employed in deciphering the burial history and tectonic evolution of many areas, including structurally complex regions as the Alps and the Wyoming Overthrust Belt. Interpretational problems that arise include: (1) VR can be altered by the absorption of hydrogen-rich materials, oxidation, and natural coking; (2) the presence of reworked and caved organic matter produces multiple reflectance populations; and (3) vitrinite is sometimes difficult to distinguish from solid hydrocarbons and some inerts if the particle size is small. Most of these problems are resolved at the microscope. Interpretation is improved significantly by analyzing a series of samples rather than an isolated sample.« less

Quantifying climate changes of the Common Era for Finland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luoto, Tomi P.; Nevalainen, Liisa

2017-10-01

In this study, we aim to quantify summer air temperatures from sediment records from Southern, Central and Northern Finland over the past 2000 years. We use lake sediment archives to estimate paleotemperatures applying fossil Chironomidae assemblages and the transfer function approach. The used enhanced Chironomidae-based temperature calibration set was validated in a 70-year high-resolution sediment record against instrumentally measured temperatures. Since the inferred and observed temperatures showed close correlation, we deduced that the new calibration model is reliable for reconstructions beyond the monitoring records. The 700-year long temperature reconstructions from three sites at multi-decadal temporal resolution showed similar trends, although they had differences in timing of the cold Little Ice Age (LIA) and the initiation of recent warming. The 2000-year multi-centennial reconstructions from three different sites showed resemblance with each other having clear signals of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and LIA, but with differences in their timing. The influence of external forcing on climate of the southern and central sites appeared to be complex at the decadal scale, but the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was closely linked to the temperature development of the northern site. Solar activity appears to be synchronous with the temperature fluctuations at the multi-centennial scale in all the sites. The present study provides new insights into centennial and decadal variability in air temperature dynamics in Northern Europe and on the external forcing behind these trends. These results are particularly useful in comparing regional responses and lags of temperature trends between different parts of Scandinavia.

Planktic foraminifera shell chemistry response to seawater chemistry: Pliocene-Pleistocene seawater Mg/Ca, temperature and sea level change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, David; Brierley, Chris; Raymo, Maureen E.; Erez, Jonathan; Müller, Wolfgang

2016-03-01

Foraminifera Mg/Ca paleothermometry forms the basis of a substantial portion of ocean temperature reconstruction over the last 5 Ma. Furthermore, coupled Mg/Ca-oxygen isotope (δ18O) measurements of benthic foraminifera can constrain eustatic sea level (ESL) independent of paleo-shoreline derived approaches. However, this technique suffers from uncertainty regarding the secular variation of the Mg/Ca seawater ratio (Mg/Casw) on timescales of millions of years. Here we present coupled seawater-test Mg/Ca-temperature laboratory calibrations of Globigerinoides ruber in order to test the widely held assumptions that (1) seawater-test Mg/Ca co-vary linearly, and (2) the Mg/Ca-temperature sensitivity remains constant with changing Mg/Casw. We find a nonlinear Mg/Catest-Mg/Casw relationship and a lowering of the Mg/Ca-temperature sensitivity at lower than modern Mg/Casw from 9.0% °C-1 at Mg/Casw = 5.2 mol mol-1 to 7.5 ± 0.9% °C-1 at 3.4 mol mol-1. Using our calibrations to more accurately calculate the offset between Mg/Ca and biomarker-derived paleotemperatures for four sites, we derive a Pliocene Mg/Casw ratio of ∼4.3 mol mol-1. This Mg/Casw implies Pliocene ocean temperature 0.9-1.9 °C higher than previously reported and, by extension, ESL ∼30 m lower compared to when one assumes that Pliocene Mg/Casw is the same as at present. Correcting existing benthic foraminifera datasets for Mg/Casw indicates that deep water source composition must have changed through time, therefore seawater oxygen isotope reconstructions relative to present day cannot be used to directly reconstruct Pliocene ESL.

A Uranium-Lead Chronology of Speleothem Deposition in the Canadian Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gambino, C.; Shakun, J. D.; McGee, D.; Ramezani, J.; Khadivi, S.; Wong, C. I.

2017-12-01

The Artic is one of the fastest warming regions on the planet. Currently much of the Arctic is covered by permafrost, which contains approximately 1,700 gigatons of organic carbon. Permafrost thaw could release a substantial amount of this carbon as greenhouse gases into the atmosphere through microbial decomposition, potentially dramatically amplifying anthropogenic warming. However, the risk of permafrost thaw is uncertain, with models exhibiting a wide range of possibilities. Assessing the stability of permafrost during past interglacial periods enables evaluation of the sensitivity of permafrost to warming. Cave mineral deposits (speleothems) in areas currently covered with permafrost can act as a proxy for past permafrost thaw, as liquid water is one criteria of speleothem growth and thus implies thawed ground conditions. Previous uranium-thorium (U-Th) dating of speleothems (n=67) from a wide range of latitudes and permafrost zones across the southern Canadian Rockies, Northwest Territories, and the northern Yukon suggest deposition during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 and 13. The majority of U-Th dates of these speleothems, however, exceed the U-Th dating limit of 600 ka. In this study, we apply uranium-lead (U-Pb) geochronology to several of these speleothems to extend the records of speleothem growth further back in time. Initial results include a U-Pb age of 428 ± 14 ka that replicates a previous U-Th age of 416.8 ± 7.9 ka, and U-Pb ages on two other speleothems of 870 ± 100 ka and 1502 ± 30 ka. The results of currently in progress U-Pb analyses and a comparison of results with paleo-temperature and ice volume reconstructions will also be presented.

Terrestrial mollusk records from Chinese loess sequences and changes in the East Asian monsoonal environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Naiqin; Li, Fengjiang; Rousseau, Denis-Didier

2018-04-01

The terrestrial mollusk fossils found in Chinese loess strata have been studied for over one hundred years. However, the greatest progress in these studies has been made only in the last two decades. In this paper, we review the advancements, advantages and limitations of terrestrial mollusk studies in Chinese loess deposits. Improvements in research methods and approaches have allowed the extraction of more detailed paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic information from mollusk assemblages. The broadened research scope and content have yielded many new findings and results. The mollusk record has thus become one of the most important proxies in the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstruction of loess-paleosol sequences in China. The greatest progress in the studies of terrestrial mollusks in Chinese loess sequences can be summarized as follows: (1) modern mollusk assemblages can be classified into four ecotypes, based on their temperature and humidity requirements, including eurytopic, semi-aridiphilous and sub-humidiphilous, cold-aridiphilous, and thermo-humidiphilous types; (2) Quaternary mollusk assemblages can be modified into the following three ecological types: glacial loess, interglacial paleosol, and interstadial weakly-developed paleosol assemblages; (3) mollusk records successfully reveal long-term climatic and environmental changes reflective of the history of East Asian monsoonal variations since the Late Cenozoic, and the succession of mollusk species also indicate short-term environmental changes such as millennial climate variability during Last Glacial Maximum and unstable climatic fluctuations during glacial and interglacial periods; and (4) more recently, new analytical approaches have offered increased research potential in areas such as paleotemperature reconstruction using the isotopic compositions of modern and fossil mollusk shells, combined with higher accuracy 14C dating of Quaternary loess deposits, which will greatly improve future loess paleoenvironmental research.

Twentieth century warming of the tropical Atlantic captured by Sr-U paleothermometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpert, Alice E.; Cohen, Anne L.; Oppo, Delia W.; DeCarlo, Thomas M.; Gaetani, Glenn A.; Hernandez-Delgado, Edwin A.; Winter, Amos; Gonneea, Meagan E.

2017-02-01

Coral skeletons are valuable archives of past ocean conditions. However, interpretation of coral paleotemperature records is confounded by uncertainties associated with single-element ratio thermometers, including Sr/Ca. A new approach, Sr-U, uses U/Ca to constrain the influence of Rayleigh fractionation on Sr/Ca. Here we build on the initial Pacific Porites Sr-U calibration to include multiple Atlantic and Pacific coral genera from multiple coral reef locations spanning a temperature range of 23.15-30.12°C. Accounting for the wintertime growth cessation of one Bermuda coral, we show that Sr-U is strongly correlated with the average water temperature at each location (r2 = 0.91, P < 0.001, n = 19). We applied the multispecies spatial calibration between Sr-U and temperature to reconstruct a 96 year long temperature record at Mona Island, Puerto Rico, using a coral not included in the calibration. Average Sr-U derived temperature for the period 1900-1996 is within 0.12°C of the average instrumental temperature at this site and captures the twentieth century warming trend of 0.06°C per decade. Sr-U also captures the timing of multiyear variability but with higher amplitude than implied by the instrumental data. Mean Sr-U temperatures and patterns of multiyear variability were replicated in a second coral in the same grid box. Conversely, Sr/Ca records from the same two corals were inconsistent with each other and failed to capture absolute sea temperatures, timing of multiyear variability, or the twentieth century warming trend. Our results suggest that coral Sr-U paleothermometry is a promising new tool for reconstruction of past ocean temperatures.

Climatic and environmental controls on the occurrence and distributions of long chain alkenones in lakes of the interior United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toney, Jaime L.; Huang, Yongsong; Fritz, Sherilyn C.; Baker, Paul A.; Grimm, Eric; Nyren, Paul

2010-03-01

Long chain alkenones (LCA) are temperature-sensitive lipids with great potential for quantitative reconstruction of past continental climate. We conducted the first survey for alkenone biomarkers from 55 different lakes in the Northern Great Plains and Nebraska Sand Hills of the United States. Among those surveyed, we found 13 lakes that contain LCAs in the surface sediments. The highest concentrations of alkenones in sediments are found in cold (mean annual air temperature ˜11 °C versus 17 °C in our warmest sites), brackish to mesosaline (salinity = 8.5-9.7 g/L), and alkaline (pH = 8.4-9.0) lakes with high concentrations of sodium and sulfate. The dynamics of stratification and nutrient availability also appear to play a role in LCA abundance, as early spring mixing promotes a bloom of alkenone-producing haptophytes. Four of the alkenone-containing sites contain the C 37:4 alkenone; however, we discovered an unprecedented lacustrine alkenone distribution in a cluster of lakes, with a total absence of C 37:4 alkenone. We attribute this unusual composition to a different haptophyte species and show that the sulfate:carbonate ratio may control the occurrence of these two distinct populations. We created a new in-situ temperature calibration for lacustrine sites that contain C 37:4 using a water-column calibration from Lake George, ND and show that U37K is linearly correlated to lake water temperature ( R2 = 0.74), but U37K' is not. A number of lakes contain an unidentified compound series that elutes close to the LCAs, highlighting the importance of routine GC-MS examination prior to using lacustrine LCAs for paleotemperature reconstructions.

Tectono-thermal History of the Southern Nenana Basin, Interior Alaska: Implications for Conventional and Unconventional Hydrocarbon Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixit, N. C.; Hanks, C. L.

2014-12-01

The Tertiary Nenana basin of Interior Alaska is currently the focus of both new oil exploration and coalbed methane exploitation and is being evaluated as a potential CO2sequestration site. The basin first formed as a Late Paleocene extensional rift with the deposition of oil and gas-prone, coal-bearing non-marine sediments with excellent source potential. Basin inversion during the Early Eocene-Early Oligocene times resulted in folding and erosion of higher stratigraphic levels, forming excellent structural and stratigraphic traps. Initiation of active faulting on its eastern margin in the middle Oligocene caused slow tectonic subsidence that resulted in the deposition of reservoir and seal rocks of the Usibelli Group. Onset of rapid tectonic subsidence in Pliocene that continues to the present-day has provided significant pressure and temperature gradient for the source rocks. Apatite fission-track and vitrinite reflectance data reveals two major paleo-thermal episodes: Late Paleocene to Early Eocene (60 Ma to 54.8 Ma) and Late Miocene to present-day (7 Ma to present). These episodes of maximum paleotemperatures have implications for the evolution of source rock maturity within the basin. In this study, we are also investigating the potential for coalbed methane production from the Late Paleocene coals via injection of CO2. Our preliminary analyses demonstrate that 150 MMSCF of methane could be produced while 33000 tonnes of CO2 per injection well (base case of ~9 years) can be sequestered in the vicinity of existing infrastructure. However, these volumes of sequestered CO2and coal bed methane recovery are estimates and are sensitive to the reservoir's geomechanical and flow properties. Keywords: extensional rift, seismic, subsidence, thermal history, fission track, vitrinite reflectance, coal bed methane, Nenana basin, CO2 sequestration

Twentieth century warming of the tropical Atlantic captured by Sr-U paleothermometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alpert, Alice E.; Cohen, Anne L.; Oppo, Delia W.; DeCarlo, Thomas M.; Gaetani, Glenn A.; Hernandez-Delgado, Edwin A.; Winter, Amos; Gonneea, Meagan

2017-01-01

Coral skeletons are valuable archives of past ocean conditions. However, interpretation of coral paleotemperature records is confounded by uncertainties associated with single-element ratio thermometers, including Sr/Ca. A new approach, Sr-U, uses U/Ca to constrain the influence of Rayleigh fractionation on Sr/Ca. Here we build on the initial Pacific Porites Sr-U calibration to include multiple Atlantic and Pacific coral genera from multiple coral reef locations spanning a temperature range of 23.15–30.12°C. Accounting for the wintertime growth cessation of one Bermuda coral, we show that Sr-U is strongly correlated with the average water temperature at each location (r2 = 0.91, P < 0.001, n = 19). We applied the multispecies spatial calibration between Sr-U and temperature to reconstruct a 96 year long temperature record at Mona Island, Puerto Rico, using a coral not included in the calibration. Average Sr-U derived temperature for the period 1900–1996 is within 0.12°C of the average instrumental temperature at this site and captures the twentieth century warming trend of 0.06°C per decade. Sr-U also captures the timing of multiyear variability but with higher amplitude than implied by the instrumental data. Mean Sr-U temperatures and patterns of multiyear variability were replicated in a second coral in the same grid box. Conversely, Sr/Ca records from the same two corals were inconsistent with each other and failed to capture absolute sea temperatures, timing of multiyear variability, or the twentieth century warming trend. Our results suggest that coral Sr-U paleothermometry is a promising new tool for reconstruction of past ocean temperatures.

The different climatic response of pedogenic hematite and ferrimagnetic minerals: Evidence from particle-sized modern soils over the Chinese Loess Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xinbo; Hao, Qingzhen; Wang, Luo; Oldfield, Frank; Bloemendal, Jan; Deng, Chenglong; Song, Yang; Ge, Junyi; Wu, Haibin; Xu, Bing; Li, Fengjiang; Han, Long; Fu, Yu; Guo, Zhengtang

2018-01-01

In recent years, increasing interest in loess studies has focused on qualitative and quantitative paleoclimatic reconstruction using the imperfect antiferromagnetic mineral hematite. However, the linkage between the hematite formation and climatic variables remains controversial. Here we present the results of a comprehensive investigation of the magnetic properties and statistical analysis of a suite of clay and silt fractions of modern soil samples from 179 sites across the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) and adjacent regions. Our objective was to clarify the relationships between modern climatic variables and pedogenic hematite, as well as pedogenic ferrimagnetic minerals. First-order reversal curve measurements were also conducted on representative particle-sized subsamples from a N-S transect to understand the differences in magnetic mineralogy between the two fractions. Our results show that pipette extraction separates the fine-grained superparamagnetic (SP) and most of the single-domain (SD) magnetic grains into the clay fraction, and that the remaining silt fraction displays the magnetic properties of coarse pseudo-single domain (PSD) or a mixture of multidomain (MD)/PSD and a few SD particles. Only the pedogenic clay fraction shows a strong correlation with climatic variables. The application of redundancy analysis helps to distinguish the climate variables controlling the formation of ferrimagnetic minerals and hematite during pedogenesis. On the CLP, pedogenic ferrimagnetic minerals are sensitive to mean annual precipitation, while pedogenic hematite formation is preferentially dependent on mean annual temperature. The confirmation of the temperature-dependent nature of hematite on the CLP provides a new possibility for quantitatively reconstructing the paleotemperature history of Chinese loess/paleosol sequences.

The Different Climatic Response of Pedogenic Hematite and Ferrimagnetic Minerals: Evidence from Particle-Sized Modern Soils over the Chinese Loess Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, X.; Hao, Q.; Luo, W.; Oldfield, F.; Bloemendal, J.; Deng, C.; Song, Y.; Ge, J.; Wu, H.; Xu, B.; Li, F.; Han, L.; Fu, Y.; Guo, Z.

2017-12-01

In recent years, increasing interest in loess studies has focused on qualitative and quantitative paleoclimatic reconstruction using the imperfect antiferromagnetic mineral hematite. However, the linkage between the hematite formation and climatic variables remains controversial. Here we present the results of a comprehensive investigation of the magnetic properties and statistical analysis of a suite of clay and silt fractions of modern soil samples from 179 sites across the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) and adjacent regions. Our objective was to clarify the relationships between modern climatic variables and pedogenic hematite, as well as pedogenic ferrimagnetic minerals. First-order reversal curve measurements were also conducted on representative particle-sized subsamples from a N-S transect to understand the differences in magnetic mineralogy between the two fractions. Our results show that pipette extraction separates the fine-grained superparamagnetic (SP) and most of the single-domain (SD) magnetic grains into the clay fraction, and that the remaining silt fraction displays the magnetic properties of coarse pseudo-single domain (PSD) or a mixture of multidomain (MD)/PSD and a few SD particles. Only the pedogenic clay fraction shows a strong correlation with climatic variables. The application of redundancy analysis helps to distinguish the climate variables controlling the formation of ferrimagnetic minerals and hematite during pedogenesis. On the CLP, pedogenic ferrimagnetic minerals are sensitive to mean annual precipitation, while pedogenic hematite formation is preferentially dependent on mean annual temperature. The confirmation of the temperature-dependent nature of hematite on the CLP provides a new possibility for quantitatively reconstructing the paleotemperature history of Chinese loess/paleosol sequences.

Control of rift asymmetry and segmentation on the thermal architecture of hyperextended rift systems: insights from Pyrenean field observations and numerical modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lescoutre, Rodolphe; Tugend, Julie; Brune, Sascha; Manatschal, Gianreto

2017-04-01

Mid-Cretaceous rift basins are exposed in the Pyrenees providing key information on rifted domain formation that is not available at present-day rift system. Substantial paleotemperature and thermochronological data have been collected and published in numerous recent papers. These data show a strong heterogeneity in the distribution of peak temperatures within the Cretaceous rift basins. Locations that experienced relatively high or low temperatures appear to cluster in specific areas along strike. These areas have been interpreted as either reflecting hot and cold conditions during rifting, or alternatively, a change in the polarity of a strongly asymmetric rift systems. In this study, we test if the observed variability of peak temperatures can be explained by segmentation and a change in polarity of an asymmetrical upper/lower plate rift model. To this aim we restore the observed syn- to early post-rift peak temperatures to their paleo-location within sections across the evolving rift system. In the meantime, we conduct numerical models of rift migration leading to asymmetrical extension that are benchmarked with geological and geophysical observations from the Pyrenees. From the models, we extract thermal information at different stages of rifting that are finally compared to the thermal data from the Pyrenean Cretaceous rift basins. This work employs a novel approach by comparing thermal output from numerical modelling with the distribution of peak temperatures and thermal gradient from field data. As such, these results may have substantial implications to further understand the pre-orogenic thermal evolution of the Pyrenean rift system and the role of segmentation. More generally, the results of this work may unravel the role of rift asymmetry and segmentation on the thermal architecture of hyperextended rift basins and margins.

Late Cretaceous Extreme Polar Warmth recorded by Vertebrate Fossils from the High Canadian Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vandermark, D.; Tarduno, J. A.; Brinkman, D.

2006-12-01

A vertebrate fossil assemblage from Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Turonian, ~92 to 86 Ma) rocks on Axel Heiberg Island in the High Canadian Arctic reflects what was once a diverse community of freshwater fishes and reptiles. Paleomagnetic data indicate a paleolatitude of ~71° N for the site; the fossils are from non-migratory fauna, so they can provide insight into Late Cretaceous polar climate. The fossil assemblage includes large (> 2.4 m long) champsosaurs (extinct crocodilelike reptiles). The presence of large champsosaurs suggests a mean annual temperature > 14 °C (and perhaps as great as 25 °C). Here we summarize findings and analyses following the discovery of the fossil-bearing strata in 1996. Examination of larger fish elements, isolated teeth and SEM studies of microstructures indicates the presence of lepisosteids, amiids and teleosts (Friedman et al., 2003) Interestingly, the only other known occurrence of amiids and lepisosteids, fossil or recent, are from intervals of extreme warmth during the Tertiary. Turtles present in the assemblage include Boreralochelys axelheibergensis, a generically indeterminate eucryptodire and a trioychid (Brinkman and Tarduno, 2005). The level of turtle diversity is also comparable to mid-latitude assemblages with a mean annual paleotemperature of at least 14 °C. A large portion of the champsosaur fossil assemblage is comprised of elements from subadults. This dominance of subadults is similar to that seen from low latitude sites. Because of the sensitivity of juveniles to ice formation, the make-up of the Arctic champsosaur population further indicates that the Late Cretaceous saw an interval of extreme warmth and low seasonality. We note the temporal coincidence of these fossils with volcanism at large igneous provinces (including high Arctic volcanism) and suggest that a pulse in volcanic carbon dioxide emissions helped cause the global warmth.

Cenozoic seawater Sr/Ca evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sosdian, Sindia M.; Lear, Caroline H.; Tao, Kai; Grossman, Ethan L.; O'Dea, Aaron; Rosenthal, Yair

2012-10-01

Records of seawater chemistry help constrain temporal variations in geochemical processes that impact the global carbon cycle and climate through Earth's history. Here we reconstruct Cenozoic seawater Sr/Ca (Sr/Casw) using fossil Conus and turritellid gastropod Sr/Ca. Combined with an oxygen isotope paleotemperature record from the same samples, the gastropod record suggests that Sr/Caswwas slightly higher in the Eocene (˜11.4 ± 3 mmol/mol) than today (˜8.54 mmol/mol) and remained relatively stable from the mid- to late Cenozoic. We compare our gastropod Cenozoic Sr/Casw record with a published turritellid gastropod Sr/Casw record and other published biogenic (benthic foraminifera, fossil fish teeth) and inorganic precipitate (calcite veins) Sr/Caswrecords. Once the uncertainties with our gastropod-derived Sr/Casw are taken into account the Sr/Casw record agrees reasonably well with biogenic Sr/Caswrecords. Assuming a seawater [Ca] history derived from marine evaporite inclusions, all biogenic-based Sr/Casw reconstructions imply decreasing seawater [Sr] through the Cenozoic, whereas the calcite vein Sr/Casw reconstruction implies increasing [Sr] through the Cenozoic. We apply a simple geochemical model to examine the implications of divergence among these seawater [Sr] reconstructions and suggest that the interpretation and uncertainties associated with the gastropod and calcite vein proxies need to be revisited. Used in conjunction with records of carbonate depositional fluxes, our favored seawater Sr/Ca scenarios point to a significant increase in the proportion of aragonite versus calcite deposition in shelf sediments from the Middle Miocene, coincident with the proliferation of coral reefs. We propose that this occurred at least 10 million years after the seawater Mg/Ca threshold was passed, and was instead aided by declining levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The widespread distribution of a Group I alkenone-producing haptophyte: Implications for quantitative temperature reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, N.; Longo, W. M.; Amaral-Zettler, L. A.; Huang, Y.

2016-12-01

Isochysidales haptophytes uniquely produce unsaturated long-chain ketones called alkenones that are commonly applied to marine paleoclimate records. Recent efforts are extending alkenones as temperature proxies for continental environments; however, these systems are more complex due to the greater diversity of haptophyte species in these environments. Saline lakes, for instance, often contain multiple alkenone-producing species, making it difficult to obtain quantitative paleotemperature estimates. Recent findings point to the ubiquity of a distinct alkenone-producing Group I haptophyte that dominate the alkenones in freshwater, alkaline lakes. The purpose of this study was to confirm the presence of the Group I haptophyte in a suite of global freshwater, alkaline lakes that contain its alkenone signature: dominant C37:4 alkenones and tri-unsaturated ketone isomers. We have identified this signature in numerous lakes from North America, Europe, Asia, and the North Atlantic Islands. We have surveyed surface lake sediments for Group I haptophyte phylotypes using next-generation DNA amplicon sequencing targeting the hypervariable regions in the large and small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene. In addition, we used five lakes with distinct limnic and catchment characteristics from the North Slope of Alaska as model systems to monitor lake conditions that induce Group I haptophyte blooms. We collected multiple water column and surface sediment samples for alkenone and DNA analyses to track changes in haptophytes during the spring season. Lake ice-cover change and water column profiles monitored changes in lake stratification and isothermal mixing. These data will strengthen the springtime temperature calibration reported in a previous study by our group, thereby validating an accurate method for continental temperature reconstructions.

Precision and long-term stability of clumped-isotope analysis of CO2 using a small-sector isotope ratio mass spectrometer.

PubMed

Yoshida, Naohiro; Vasilev, Mikhail; Ghosh, Prosenjit; Abe, Osamu; Yamada, Keita; Morimoto, Maki

2013-01-15

The ratio of the measured abundance of (13)C-(18)O bonding CO(2) to its stochastic abundance, prescribed by the δ(13)C and δ(18)O values from a carbonate mineral, is sensitive to its growth temperature. Recently, clumped-isotope thermometry, which uses this ratio, has been adopted as a new tool to elucidate paleotemperatures quantitatively. Clumped isotopes in CO(2) were measured with a small-sector isotope ratio mass spectrometer. CO(2) samples digested from several kinds of calcium carbonates by phosphoric acid at 25 °C were purified using both cryogenic and gas-chromatographic separations, and their isotopic composition (δ(13)C, δ(18)O, Δ(47), Δ(48) and Δ(49) values) were then determined using a dual-inlet Delta XP mass spectrometer. The internal precisions of the single gas Δ(47) measurements were 0.005 and 0.02‰ (1 SE) for the optimum and the routine analytical conditions, respectively, which are comparable with those obtained using a MAT 253 mass spectrometer. The long-term variations in the Δ(47) values for the in-house working standard and the heated CO(2) gases since 2007 were close to the routine, single gas uncertainty while showing seasonal-like periodicities with a decreasing trend. Unlike the MAT 253, the Delta XP did not show any significant relationship between the Δ(47) and δ(47) values. The Delta XP gave results that were approximately as precise as those of the MAT 253 for clumped-isotope analysis. The temporal stability of the Delta XP seemed to be lower, although an advantage of the Delta XP was that no dependency of δ(47) on Δ(47) was found. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Internal waves and modern and ancient hiatuses in pelagic caps of Pacific guyots and seamounts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, Neil; Simmons, Harper; Lear, Carrie

2013-04-01

Locations of recent non-deposition and ancient hiatuses in the pelagic caps of guyots and seamounts are compared with paleotemperature and physiographic information to speculate on the character of internal tidal waves in the upper Pacific Ocean through the Cenozoic. Internal tidal waves are generated where the ocean barotropic tide passes over the Hawaiian and other major ridges in the Pacific basin. Drill core and geophysical evidence for sediment accumulation, non-deposition or erosion are used to classify broadly sites as either accumulating or eroding/non-depositing in the recent geological past. When these classified sites are compared against results of a numerical model of the internal tide field (Simmons, Ocean Mod. 2008), the sites accumulating particles over the past few million years are all found to lie away from beams of the modeled internal tide, while those that have not been accumulating are in areas of high internal wave energy. Given the correspondence to modern internal wave conditions, we examine whether internal tides can explain ancient hiatuses at the drill sites. For example, Late Cenozoic pelagic caps on guyots among the Marshall Islands contain two hiatuses of broadly similar age, but the dates of the first pelagic sediments deposited following each hiatus do not correlate between guyots, suggesting that they originate not from universal factors (e.g., water chemistry) but local, probably physical factors, such as internal tides. We investigate how changing boundary conditions such as ocean temperature and basin physiography may have affected the geometry and vigour of internal tides through the Cenozoic. Changes in the geometry of ridges underlying the Solomon, Bonin and Marianas Island chains caused by plate tectonics and subsidence may be responsible for sediment hiatuses at these far-field guyot sites.

Internal waves and modern and ancient hiatuses in pelagic caps of Pacific guyots and seamounts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, N. C.; Simmons, H. L.; Lear, C. H.

2012-12-01

Locations of recent non-deposition and ancient hiatuses in the pelagic caps of guyots and seamounts are compared with paleotemperature and physiographic information to speculate on the character of internal tidal waves in the upper Pacific Ocean through the Cenozoic. Internal tidal waves are generated where the ocean barotopic tide passes over the Hawaiian and other major ridges in the Pacific basin. Drill core and geophysical evidence for sediment accumulation, non-deposition or erosion are used to classify broadly sites as either accumulating or eroding/non-depositing in the recent geological past. When these classified sites are compared against results of a numerical model of the internal tide field (Simmons, Ocean Mod. 2008), the sites accumulating particles over the past few million years are all found to lie away from beams of the modeled internal tide, while those that have not been accumulating are in areas of high internal wave energy. Given the correspondence to modern internal wave conditions, we examine whether internal tides can explain ancient hiatuses at the drill sites. For example, Late Cenozoic pelagic caps on guyots among the Marshall Islands contain two hiatuses of broadly similar age, but the dates of the first pelagic sediments deposited following each hiatus do not correlate between guyots, suggesting that they originate not from universal factors (e.g., water chemistry) but local, probably physical factors, such as internal tides. We investigate how changing boundary conditions such as ocean temperature and basin physiography may have affected the geometry and vigour of internal tides through the Cenozoic. Changes in the geometry of ridges underlying the Solomon, Bonin and Marianas Island chains caused by plate tectonics and subsidence may be responsible for sediment hiatuses at these far-field guyot sites.

Factors Controlling the Distribution of Archaeal Tetraethers in Terrestrial Hot Springs▿

PubMed Central

Pearson, Ann; Pi, Yundan; Zhao, Weidong; Li, WenJun; Li, Yiliang; Inskeep, William; Perevalova, Anna; Romanek, Christopher; Li, Shuguang; Zhang, Chuanlun L.

2008-01-01

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) found in hot springs reflect the abundance and community structure of Archaea in these extreme environments. The relationships between GDGTs, archaeal communities, and physical or geochemical variables are underexamined to date and when reported often result in conflicting interpretations. Here, we examined profiles of GDGTs from pure cultures of Crenarchaeota and from terrestrial geothermal springs representing a wide distribution of locations, including Yellowstone National Park (United States), the Great Basin of Nevada and California (United States), Kamchatka (Russia), Tengchong thermal field (China), and Thailand. These samples had temperatures of 36.5 to 87°C and pH values of 3.0 to 9.2. GDGT abundances also were determined for three soil samples adjacent to some of the hot springs. Principal component analysis identified four factors that accounted for most of the variance among nine individual GDGTs, temperature, and pH. Significant correlations were observed between pH and the GDGTs crenarchaeol and GDGT-4 (four cyclopentane rings, m/z 1,294); pH correlated positively with crenarchaeol and inversely with GDGT-4. Weaker correlations were observed between temperature and the four factors. Three of the four GDGTs used in the marine TEX86 paleotemperature index (GDGT-1 to -3, but not crenarchaeol isomer) were associated with a single factor. No correlation was observed for GDGT-0 (acyclic caldarchaeol): it is effectively its own variable. The biosynthetic mechanisms and exact archaeal community structures leading to these relationships remain unknown. However, the data in general show promise for the continued development of GDGT lipid-based physiochemical proxies for archaeal evolution and for paleo-ecology or paleoclimate studies. PMID:18390673

Factors controlling the distribution of archaeal tetraethers in terrestrial hot springs.

PubMed

Pearson, Ann; Pi, Yundan; Zhao, Weidong; Li, WenJun; Li, Yiliang; Inskeep, William; Perevalova, Anna; Romanek, Christopher; Li, Shuguang; Zhang, Chuanlun L

2008-06-01

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) found in hot springs reflect the abundance and community structure of Archaea in these extreme environments. The relationships between GDGTs, archaeal communities, and physical or geochemical variables are underexamined to date and when reported often result in conflicting interpretations. Here, we examined profiles of GDGTs from pure cultures of Crenarchaeota and from terrestrial geothermal springs representing a wide distribution of locations, including Yellowstone National Park (United States), the Great Basin of Nevada and California (United States), Kamchatka (Russia), Tengchong thermal field (China), and Thailand. These samples had temperatures of 36.5 to 87 degrees C and pH values of 3.0 to 9.2. GDGT abundances also were determined for three soil samples adjacent to some of the hot springs. Principal component analysis identified four factors that accounted for most of the variance among nine individual GDGTs, temperature, and pH. Significant correlations were observed between pH and the GDGTs crenarchaeol and GDGT-4 (four cyclopentane rings, m/z 1,294); pH correlated positively with crenarchaeol and inversely with GDGT-4. Weaker correlations were observed between temperature and the four factors. Three of the four GDGTs used in the marine TEX(86) paleotemperature index (GDGT-1 to -3, but not crenarchaeol isomer) were associated with a single factor. No correlation was observed for GDGT-0 (acyclic caldarchaeol): it is effectively its own variable. The biosynthetic mechanisms and exact archaeal community structures leading to these relationships remain unknown. However, the data in general show promise for the continued development of GDGT lipid-based physiochemical proxies for archaeal evolution and for paleo-ecology or paleoclimate studies.

Modelling the Phanerozoic carbon cycle and climate: constraints from the 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratio of seawater

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Francois, L. M.; Walker, J. C.

1992-01-01

A numerical model describing the coupled evolution of the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and strontium has been developed to describe the long-term changes of atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate during the Phanerozoic. The emphasis is on the effects of coupling the cycles of carbon and strontium. Various interpretations of the observed Phanerozoic history of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratio are investigated with the model. More specifically, the abilities of continental weathering, volcanism, and surface lithology in generating that signal are tested and compared. It is suggested that the observed fluctuations are mostly due to a changing weatherability over time. It is shown that such a conclusion is very important for the modelling of the carbon cycle. Indeed, it implies that the conventional belief that the evolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate on a long time scale is governed by the balance between the volcanic input of CO2 and the rate of silicate weathering is not true. Rather carbon exchanges between the mantle and the exogenic system are likely to have played a key role too. Further, the increase of the global weathering rates with increasing surface temperature and/or atmospheric CO2 pressure usually postulated in long-term carbon cycle and climate modelling is also inconsistent with the new model. Other factors appear to have modulated the weatherability of the continents through time, such as mountain building and the existence of glaciers and ice sheets. Based on these observations, a history of atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate during Phanerozoic time, consistent with the strontium isotopic data, is reconstructed with the model and is shown to be compatible with paleoclimatic indicators, such as the timing of glaciation and the estimates of Cretaceous paleotemperatures.

Interaction between climate, volcanism, and isostatic rebound in Southeast Alaska during the last deglaciation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Praetorius, Summer; Mix, Alan; Jensen, Britta; Froese, Duane; Milne, Glenn A.; Wolhowe, Matthew; Addison, Jason A.; Prahl, Fred

2016-01-01

Observations of enhanced volcanic frequency during the last deglaciation have led to the hypothesis that ice unloading in glaciated volcanic terrains can promote volcanism through decompression melting in the shallow mantle or a reduction in crustal magma storage time. However, a direct link between regional climate change, isostatic adjustment, and the initiation of volcanism remains to be demonstrated due to the difficulty of obtaining high-resolution well-dated records that capture short-term climate and volcanic variability traced to a particular source region. Here we present an exceptionally resolved record of 19 tephra layers paired with foraminiferal oxygen isotopes and alkenone paleotemperatures from marine sediment cores along the Southeast Alaska margin spanning the last deglacial transition. Major element compositions of the tephras indicate a predominant source from the nearby Mt. Edgecumbe Volcanic Field (MEVF). We constrain the timing of this regional eruptive sequence to 14.6–13.1 ka. The sudden increase in volcanic activity from the MEVF coincides with the onset of Bølling–Allerød interstadial warmth, the disappearance of ice-rafted detritus, and rapid vertical land motion associated with modeled regional isostatic rebound in response to glacier retreat. These data support the hypothesis that regional deglaciation can rapidly trigger volcanic activity. Rapid sea surface temperature fluctuations and an increase in local salinity (i.e., δ18Osw) variability are associated with the interval of intense volcanic activity, consistent with a two-way interaction between climate and volcanism in which rapid volcanic response to ice unloading may in turn enhance short-term melting of the glaciers, plausibly via albedo effects on glacier ablation zones.

Cavity ring down spectroscopy for the isotope composition measurement of water from fluid inclusion in stalagmites using heating and crushing techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamoto, M.; Uemura, R.; Gibo, M.; Mishima, S.; Asami, R.

2013-12-01

Oxygen isotope record in stalagmites is useful to reconstruct past environmental changes. However, the interpretation of calcite isotope record is not straightforward because it is affected by various factors such as amount of precipitation and temperature. Water isotope composition of fluid inclusions, and oxygen isotope difference between water and host calcite, from stalagmite are potentially important proxies to estimate the paleo-temperature. Recently, infrared spectroscopy (IRIS) has been widely used for stable isotope ratio measurement of water. Unlike traditional isotope mass spectrometer (IRMS), the IRIS does not require pre-treatment processes (e.g., high-temperature furnace or equilibration device). A limitation of IRIS is that commercially available IRIS systems need large sample volume (1 - 2 micro litres) for liquid water measurement. In this study, we first developed a device suitable for measurement of smaller volume of water, and tested two extraction methods (thermal extraction and mechanical crushing). Oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of water were measured using cavity ring down spectroscopy (IRIS: WS-CRDS Picarro L2120-i, L2130-i). Stalagmite samples, which appear to be still growing, were collected in several caves in Okinawa, Japan. Reproducibility of a reference water (0.1 micro litres) was within 0.2 permil for δ18O and 1 permil for δD. The results showed that the IRIS is useful for small amount discrete sample. Although the δ18O value of inclusion water generally showed values resembling those of cave dripwaters, the δD value showed large depletion against that of dripwaters. The δD deviation was reduced at lower temperature extraction, suggesting that the erroneous δD values would be caused by spectral interference from organic contaminants produced by thermal decomposition.

Climatic teleconnections between the subtropical and polar North Atlantic during the Last Interglacial period (MIS5e)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauch, H. A.; Zhuravleva, A.

2017-12-01

Meridional gradients in sea surface temperature (SST) control ocean-atmosphere circulation patterns and, thus, regulate the global climate. Here we reconstruct variability of these gradients in the course of the Last Interglacial (MIS5e), by using sediment records from the low and high latitude North Atlantic which are linked via the Gulf Stream.In the Nordic Seas, i.e., at the northern end of the Gulf Stream extension, strong post-Saalian meltwater discharge reduced northward-directed transport of surface oceanic heat until the mid-MIS5e, resulting in a late and rather weak SST peak. To decipher the corresponding climatic changes in the area of the Gulf Stream origin, we employ stable isotopes data, planktic foraminifera assemblages as well as a new alkenone paleotemperature record from core drilled on the upper northern slope of the Little Bahama Bank. In addition, chemical composition of sediments (XRF data) was used to asses past sea level fluctuations and sedimentation regimes on this shallow-water carbonate bank. Significant variations in Sr/Ca ratios point to a two-fold structure of the Last Interglacial. Stabilized Sr/Ca values were reached only during the second phase of MIS5e, possibly representing the interval of maximum bank-top flooding after the northern hemisphere deglaciation terminated. Faunal-based proxies as well as oxygen isotopic gradients between surface and bottom-dwelling foraminifera corroborate existence of the two major climatic phases within the Last Interglacial, in agreement with the respective development in the polar region. This further suggests a strong climatic coupling between the subtropical and high-latitude North Atlantic with important implications for meridional SST gradients during the Last Interglacial.

Major variation of paleo-maximum temperature and consolidation state within post Miocene forearc basin, central Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamiya, N.; Yamamoto, Y.; Takemura, T.

2015-12-01

Since forearc-basin evolve associated with development of the accretionary prisms, their geologic structures have clues to understanding the tectonic processes associated with plate subduction. We found a major difference in paleo-geothermal structure and consolidation states between the unconformity in the forearc basin in the Boso Peninsula, central Japan. The geology of the Boso Peninsula, central Japan is divided into three parts; Early Miocene and Late Miocene accretionary prisms in the southern part, the Hayama-Mineoka tectonic belt mainly composed of ophiolite in the middle part, and post-Middle Miocene forearc basin in the northern part. Sediments in the forearc basin are composed of 15-3Ma Miura Group and 3-0.6Ma Kazusa Group. Boundary of the two groups is the Kurotaki Unconformity formed about 3Ma, when convergent direction of the Philippine Sea Plate has been changed (Takahashi, 2006). Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) analyses were conducted and revealed that major variation of paleo-maximum temperature between the Miura and Kazusa groups. The maximum paleo-temperature in the Miura Group is estimated as 70-95˚C, whereas in the lower part of the Kazusa Group is less than 10-35˚C. Given 20˚C/km (Sakai et al, 2011) paleo-geothermal gradient, approximately 2000 m uplifting/erosion of the Miura Group is expected when the unconformity formed. To verify the amount of this uplifting/erosion, we are performing consolidation test of mudstone. [Reference] Takahashi, M., 2006, Tectonic Development of the Japanese Islands Controlled by Philippine Sea Plate Motion, Journal of Geography, 115, 116-123. Sakai R., Munakata M., Kimura H., Ichikawa Y., and Nakamura M., 2011, Study on Validation Method of Regional Groundwater Flow Model : Case Study for Boso Peninsula, JAEA-research 2010(66), 1-20, 1-2.

Temperature and vital effect controls on Bamboo coral (Isididae) isotopegeochemistry: A test of the "lines method"

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hill, T M; Spero, H J; Guilderson, T P

Deep-sea bamboo corals hold promise as long-term climatic archives, yet little information exists linking bamboo coral geochemistry to measured environmental parameters. This study focuses on a suite of 10 bamboo corals collected from the Pacific and Atlantic basins (250-2136 m water depth) to investigate coral longevity, growth rates, and isotopic signatures. Calcite samples for stable isotopes and radiocarbon were collected from the base the corals, where the entire history of growth is recorded. In three of the coral specimens, samples were also taken from an upper branch for comparison. Radiocarbon and growth band width analyses indicate that the skeletal calcitemore » precipitates from ambient dissolved inorganic carbon and that the corals live for 150-300 years, with extension rates of 9-128 {micro}m/yr. A linear relationship between coral calcite {delta}{sup 18}O and {delta}{sup 13}C indicates that the isotopic composition is influenced by vital effects ({delta}{sup 18}O:{delta}{sup 13}C slope of 0.17-0.47). As with scleractinian deep-sea corals, the intercept from a linear regression of {delta}{sup 18}O versus {delta}{sup 13}C is a function of temperature, such that a reliable paleotemperature proxy can be obtained, using the 'lines method.' Although the coral calcite {delta}{sup 18}O:{delta}{sup 13}C slope is maintained throughout the coral base ontogeny, the branches and central cores of the bases exhibit {delta}{sup 18}O:{delta}{sup 13}C values that are shifted far from equilibrium. We find that a reliable intercept value can be derived from the {delta}{sup 18}O:{delta}{sup 13}C regression of multiple samples distributed throughout one specimen or from multiple samples within individual growth bands.« less

Why the sacramento delta area differs from other parts of the great valley: numerical modeling of thermal structure and thermal subsidence of forearc basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mikhailov, V.O.; Parsons, T.; Simpson, R.W.; Timoshkina, E.P.; Williams, C.

2007-01-01

Data on present-day heat flow, subsidence history, and paleotemperature for the Sacramento Delta region, California, have been employed to constrain a numerical model of tectonic subsidence and thermal evolution of forearc basins. The model assumes an oceanic basement with an initial thermal profile dependent on its age subjected to refrigeration caused by a subducting slab. Subsidence in the Sacramento Delta region appears to be close to that expected for a forearc basin underlain by normal oceanic lithosphere of age 150 Ma, demonstrating that effects from both the initial thermal profile and the subduction process are necessary and sufficient. Subsidence at the eastern and northern borders of the Sacramento Valley is considerably less, approximating subsidence expected from the dynamics of the subduction zone alone. These results, together with other geophysical data, show that Sacramento Delta lithosphere, being thinner and having undergone deeper subsidence, must differ from lithosphere of the transitional type under other parts of the Sacramento Valley. Thermal modeling allows evaluation of the rheological properties of the lithosphere. Strength diagrams based on our thermal model show that, even under relatively slow deformation (10−17 s−1), the upper part of the delta crystalline crust (down to 20–22 km) can fail in brittle fashion, which is in agreement with deeper earthquake occurrence. Hypocentral depths of earthquakes under the Sacramento Delta region extend to nearly 20 km, whereas, in the Coast Ranges to the west, depths are typically less than 12–15 km. The greater width of the seismogenic zone in this area raises the possibility that, for fault segments of comparable length, earthquakes of somewhat greater magnitude might occur than in the Coast Ranges to the west.

Climatic History of the Northeastern United States During the Past 3000 Years

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marlon, Jennifer R.; Pederson, Neil; Nolan, Connor; Goring, Simon; Shuman, Bryan; Robertson, Ann; Booth, Robert; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Berke, Melissa A.; Clifford, Michael;

Application of Lacustrine Biomarkers to Reconstruct Late Holocene Temperature Change in the Saskatchewan Prairies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavazzin, B.; Toney, J. L.; Pearson, E. J.; Schouten, S.; Leavitt, P.; Haig, H.

2016-12-01

Extreme hydrological events such as prolonged droughts are among Canada's costliest natural calamities resulting in disastrous impacts on agriculture, forestry, industry, and ecosystems. Investigations into climate variations prior to significant anthropogenic modification are essential to build effective projection models and adaptation strategies needed to reduce economic, social and environmental vulnerability within the prairies eco-region. In this study we use organic geochemical analysis of lipids produced by bacteria, archaea and algae in lake and catchment sediments. These organic compounds are highly resistant to degradation and accumulate in the sediments as geochemical fossils or biomarkers. In particular we focus on Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraethers (GDGT) biomarkers which are ubiquitous in soils and lacustrine environments and can be applied as quantitative temperature proxies in regions of the world where other proxies cannot be used. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between GDGT distribution and temperature and assess the potential for establishing a GDGT-based paleothermometer for the Canadian prairies lakes. Our training set includes GDGT data from core-top sediments from 105 lakes across spanning a 5° latitudinal gradient and spring surface water temperature gradient of about 9°C. We identified 30 known bacterial and archaeal GDGTs, including the novel archaeal tetraether lipids with a cyclohexyl ring. These compounds are present in varying proportions in all the lakes investigated, suggesting a broad range of GDGT inputs and also potential in-situ production. We analysed the relationships between individual GDGT compounds against temperature, pH, conductivity, water depth and other environmental variables. We also examined previously published GDGT-environment indices in order to test the applicability of previously developed GDGT-based paleotemperature calibrations to the prairies lakes and assess whether a new calibration is needed specifically for this region.

Neotropical eocene coastal floras and [sup 18]O/[sup 16]O-estimated warmer vs. cooler equatorial waters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Graham, A.

1994-03-01

The history of the earth's sea-surface temperature (SST) in equatorial regions during the Tertiary is unsettled because of uncertainty as to the presence and extent of glaciers during the Paleogene. The [sup 16]O trapped in glaciers and subsequently released back to the ocean basins as meltwater during interglacials affects the [sup 18]O/[sup 16]O ratio of sea water, one of the variables that must be known for oxygen isotope paleotemperature analysis of calcareous fossils. Estimates of SST range from [approximately]18 to 20 C, assuming an ice-free earth, to [approximately]28 C assuming glaciers were present in the Paleogene. Low latitude SST presentlymore » averages 28C, so the former estimate gives a value 8 to 10 C cooler than present, while the latter gives a value as warm or slightly warmer than present. The figures are important for interpreting terrestrial vegetational history because the temperature differential between low and high latitudes is a major factor in determining global climates through the control of poleward transfer of heat. The middle( ) to late Eocene Gatuncillo Formation palynoflora of Panama was deposited at the ocean-continental interface at [approximately]9[degrees]N latitude. The individual components and paleocommunities are distinctly tropical and similar to the present vegetation along the Atlantic coast of southern Central America. This is consistent with data emerging from other recently studied tropical coastal biotas and represents a contribution from paleobiology toward eventually resolving the problem of Eocene equatorial marine environments. Collectively, the evidence is beginning to favor a model of Eocene SST near present values. 50 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less

The art of maturity modeling. Part 2. Alternative models and sensitivity analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Waples, D.W.; Suizu, Masahiro; Kamata, Hiromi

1992-01-01

The sensitivity of exploration decisions to variations in several input parameters for maturity modeling was examined for the MITI Rumoi well, Hokkaido, Japan. Decisions were almost completely insensitive to uncertainties about formation age and erosional removal across some unconformities, but were more sensitive to changes in removal during unconformities which occurred near maximum paleotemperatures. Exploration decisions were not very sensitive to the choice of a particular kinetic model for hydrocarbon generation. Uncertainties in kerogen type and the kinetics of different kerogen types are more serious than differences among the various kinetic models. Results of modeling using the TTI method weremore » unsatisfactory. Thermal history and timing and amount of hydrocarbon generation estimated or calculated using the TTI method were greatly different from those obtained using a purely kinetic model. The authors strongly recommend use of the kinetic R{sub o} method instead of the TTI method. If they had lacked measured R{sub o} data, subsurface temperature data, or both, their confidence in the modeling results would have been sharply reduced. Conceptual models for predicting heat flow and thermal conductivity are simply too weak at present to allow one to carry out highly meaningful modeling unless the input is constrained by measured data. Maturity modeling therefore requires the use of more, not fewer, measured temperature and maturity data. The use of sensitivity analysis in maturity modeling is very important for understanding the geologic system, for knowing what level of confidence to place on the results, and for determining what new types of data would be most necessary to improve confidence. Sensitivity analysis can be carried out easily using a rapid, interactive maturity-modeling program.« less

Planktonic foraminifera as proxies of Upper Quaternary sedimentation in The Okhotsk sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanova, Alexandra

2013-04-01

Analyzing planktonic foraminifera in marine sediments assists us in reconstructing historical maps of climatic changes. The object of the study is the Okhotsk Sea, largest Russian Far East sea. Okhotsk sea, like other marginal seas, is very sensitive to global and regional climate changes. Planktonic foraminifera are poorly investigated in Okhotsk sea. Studying of planktonic foraminifera in Okhotsk sea has some problems: low quantity of species, one taxon domination, low percents of another species, influence of dissolution. These facts don't allow us to use standard approaches for paleotemperature reconstructions using planktonic foraminifera. This research explores the response of this group of microorganisms to main paleoclimatic events in Okhotsk region and attempt to reveal the special characteristics of this proxy for interpreting the paleoodata. The research was based on samples from 4 cores in the central part of the sea and 67 sediment stations from north to south (total of about 270 samples). As a result of studying sediment stations we created a map of biogeographycal distribution of planktonic foraminifera and distinguished five provinces. Each province has specific quantitive and qualative characteristics of foraminifera assemblages that give us information about their modern distribution and ecological preferences. This information is necessary for comparison with cores data. By correlating data from other analysis (radiocarbon dating, benthic and planktonic δ18O records, geochemical, pollen, diatom analyses) with discovered foraminifera sample data (core 936), we established certain climatic patterns and defined 5 criteria to apply to all of the other cores that did not have the same depth of climate information. We find that variation in abundance of different morhpotypes allows determining period of cooling and warming, which is confirmed by the variation in abundance across all of foraminifera species. These criteria might be a solution for paleotemerature reconstruction using planktonic foraminifera.

Temperature and seawater isotopic controls on two stalagmite records since 83 ka from maritime Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mori, Taiki; Kashiwagi, Kenji; Amekawa, Shota; Kato, Hirokazu; Okumura, Tomoyo; Takashima, Chiduru; Wu, Chung-Che; Shen, Chuan-Chou; Quade, Jay; Kano, Akihiro

2018-07-01

Millennial-scale interstadial Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles and Heinrich (H) stadial events are pronounced paleoclimatic features during the last glacial period, which were first demonstrated in the North Atlantic region. These stadial and interstadial events are expressed in marine and terrestrial high-resolution records elsewhere in the world, but the magnitude and mode of the regional climate changes are still poorly quantified. Here we present new replicated stalagmite δ18O profiles from two caves in central Japan, which extend back to 83.4 ka. The records clearly display the H7 to H3 events, but not D-O cycles. An important feature of the two Japanese stalagmites is the small difference (∼2.9‰) in δ18O values between the mid-Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Long-term trends of the stalagmite δ18O values at the more maritime site generally follow that of the δ18O record of seawater, which is responsible for ∼1.1‰ of the ∼2.9‰ difference between mid-Holocene and LGM. The remaining 1.8‰ in the difference can be accounted for by +9 °C of warming between the LGM and mid-Holocene and -3 °C cooling at H events, which are comparable with the previous estimates of land paleo-temperature in the Japanese Islands. The attenuated isotopic signal associated with D-O interstadials indicates that the warming in the Atlantic did not significantly transfer to the maritime Japan. These unique features of the isotopic records of the Japanese stalagmites are due to the geographic position at the vicinity of the moisture source, Kuroshio warm current.

Climatic history of the northeastern United States during the past 3000 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marlon, Jennifer R.; Pederson, Neil; Nolan, Connor; Goring, Simon; Shuman, Bryan; Robertson, Ann; Booth, Robert; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Berke, Melissa A.; Clifford, Michael; Cook, Edward; Dieffenbacher-Krall, Ann; Dietze, Michael C.; Hessl, Amy; Hubeny, J. Bradford; Jackson, Stephen T.; Marsicek, Jeremiah; McLachlan, Jason; Mock, Cary J.; Moore, David J. P.; Nichols, Jonathan; Peteet, Dorothy; Schaefer, Kevin; Trouet, Valerie; Umbanhowar, Charles; Williams, John W.; Yu, Zicheng

2017-10-01

Many ecosystem processes that influence Earth system feedbacks - vegetation growth, water and nutrient cycling, disturbance regimes - are strongly influenced by multidecadal- to millennial-scale climate variations that cannot be directly observed. Paleoclimate records provide information about these variations, forming the basis of our understanding and modeling of them. Fossil pollen records are abundant in the NE US, but cannot simultaneously provide information about paleoclimate and past vegetation in a modeling context because this leads to circular logic. If pollen data are used to constrain past vegetation changes, then the remaining paleoclimate archives in the northeastern US (NE US) are quite limited. Nonetheless, a growing number of diverse reconstructions have been developed but have not yet been examined together. Here we conduct a systematic review, assessment, and comparison of paleotemperature and paleohydrological proxies from the NE US for the last 3000 years. Regional temperature reconstructions (primarily summer) show a long-term cooling trend (1000 BCE-1700 CE) consistent with hemispheric-scale reconstructions, while hydroclimate data show gradually wetter conditions through the present day. Multiple proxies suggest that a prolonged, widespread drought occurred between 550 and 750 CE. Dry conditions are also evident during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, which was warmer and drier than the Little Ice Age and drier than today. There is some evidence for an acceleration of the longer-term wetting trend in the NE US during the past century; coupled with an abrupt shift from decreasing to increasing temperatures in the past century, these changes could have wide-ranging implications for species distributions, ecosystem dynamics, and extreme weather events. More work is needed to gather paleoclimate data in the NE US to make inter-proxy comparisons and to improve estimates of uncertainty in reconstructions.

Climatic fluctuations and seasonality during the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian-Early Kimmeridgian) inferred from δ18O of Paris Basin oyster shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brigaud, Benjamin; Pucéat, Emmanuelle; Pellenard, Pierre; Vincent, Benoît; Joachimski, Michael M.

2008-08-01

Oxygen isotope data from biostratigraphically well-dated oyster shells from the Late Jurassic of the eastern Paris Basin are used to reconstruct the thermal evolution of western Tethyan surface waters during the Early Oxfordian-Early Kimmeridgian interval. Seventy eight oyster shells were carefully screened for potential diagenetic alteration using cathodoluminescence microscopy. Isotope analyses were performed on non-luminescent parts of shells (n = 264). Intra-shell δ18O variability was estimated by microsampling along a transect perpendicular to the growth lines of the largest oyster shell. The sinusoidal distribution of the δ18O values along this transect and the dependence of the amplitude of variations with bathymetry suggest that intra-shell variability reflects seasonal variations of temperature and/or salinity. Average amplitudes of about 5 °C in shallow water environments and of about 2-3 °C in deeper offshore environments are calculated. These amplitudes reflect minimum seasonal temperature variation. Our new data allow to constrain existing paleotemperature trends established from fish tooth and belemnite δ18O data and are in better agreement with paleontological data. More specifically, a warming trend of about 3 °C is reconstructed for oceanic surface waters during the Early to Middle Oxfordian transition, with maximum temperatures reaching 24 °C in the transversarium Zone (late Middle Oxfordian). From the transversarium Zone to the bimmamatum Zone, a cooling of about 7 °C is indicated, whereas from the bimmamatum Zone, temperatures increased again by about 7 °C to reach 24 °C in average during the cymodoce Zone (Early Kimmeridgian).

Temperature under the Tongue: A paleotemperature record of the Drygalksi Ice Tongue with improved chronology of ice retreat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subt, C.; Rosenheim, B. E.; Lee, J. I.; Yoo, K. C.; Browne, I. M.; Shevenell, A.

2017-12-01

The Ross Embayment is among the most well-studied regions in Antarctica. Despite the relative abundance of data, the style and forcing of deglaciation of the Ross Sea sector following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 23-19 ka) is challenging due to the region's considerable size, complex geometry, and the difficulties in dating Antarctic glaciomarine sedimentary sequences. Ross Sea sediments indicate a dynamic glacial retreat in the western Ross Sea, whereas regional glacial systems may have retreated and advanced multiple times during the last deglaciation. Two marine sediment cores collected near the Drygalski Ice Tongue in the western Ross Sea during 2012 and 2015 Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) expeditions reveal a sequence of alternating diatomaceous muds and oozes interbedded with diamict, which suggest dynamic post-LGM grounded ice retreat in the Ross Sea. Dynamic retreat is hypothesized to have been driven by rising sea levels and warmer ocean waters on the continental shelf, thus a record of upper ocean temperatures should reflect this. Here we present the first post-LGM upper ocean temperature record from the Ross Sea, developed using the TEX86 (tetraether index of lipids consisting of 86 carbons) paleothermometer. To overcome the difficulties of dating these sediments using traditional methods, we apply specialized Ramped PyrOx 14C dating for sediments with high proportions of relict carbon . This technique is particularly well-suited for the post-LGM retreat sedimentary sequences from Antarctic margins because it allows for separation of autochthonous and relict material for dating. By combining organic paleothermometry and state-of-the-art chronologic techniques, we gain a more thorough understanding of upper ocean temperatures in the Ross Sea during the last deglaciation, and their implications for ice retreat.

Fluid inclusion and vitrinite-reflectance geothermometry compared to heat-flow models of maximum paleotemperature next to dikes, western onshore Gippsland Basin, Australia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barker, C.E.; Bone, Y.; Lewan, M.D.

1999-01-01

Nine basalt dikes, ranging from 6 cm to 40 m thick, intruding the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Strzelecki Group, western onshore Gippsland Basin, were used to study maximum temperatures (Tmax) reached next to dikes. Tmax was estimated from fluid inclusion and vitrinitereflectance geothermometry and compared to temperatures calculated using heat-flow models of contact metamorphism. Thermal history reconstruction suggests that at the time of dike intrusion the host rock was at a temperature of 100-135??C. Fracture-bound fluid inclusions in the host rocks next to thin dikes ( 1.5, using a normalized distance ratio used for comparing measurements between dikes regardless of their thickness. In contrast, the pattern seen next to the thin dikes is a relatively narrow zone of elevated Rv-r. Heat-flow modeling, along with whole rock elemental and isotopic data, suggests that the extended zone of elevated Rv-r is caused by a convection cell with local recharge of the hydrothermal fluids. The narrow zone of elevated Rv-r found next to thin dikes is attributed to the rise of the less dense, heated fluids at the dike contact causing a flow of cooler groundwater towards the dike and thereby limiting its heating effects. The lack of extended heating effects suggests that next to thin dikes an incipient convection system may form in which the heated fluid starts to travel upward along the dike but cooling occurs before a complete convection cell can form. Close to the dike contact at X/D 1.5. ?? 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in Arctic lake sediments: Sources and implications for paleothermometry at high latitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterse, Francien; Vonk, Jorien E.; Holmes, R. Max; Giosan, Liviu; Zimov, Nikita; Eglinton, Timothy I.

2014-08-01

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are analyzed in different lakes of the Mackenzie (Canadian Arctic) and Kolyma (Siberian Arctic) River basins to evaluate their sources and the implications for brGDGT-based paleothermometry in high-latitude lakes. The comparison of brGDGT distributions and concentrations in the lakes with those in river suspended particulate matter, riverbank sediments, and permafrost material indicates that brGDGTs in Arctic lake sediments have mixed sources. In contrast to global observations, distributional offsets between brGDGTs in Arctic lakes and elsewhere in the catchment are minor, likely due to the extreme seasonality and short window of biological production at high latitudes. Consequently, both soil- and lake-calibrated brGDGT-based temperature proxies return sensible temperature estimates, even though the mean air temperature (MAT) in the Arctic is below the calibration range. The original soil-calibrated MBT-CBT (methylation of branched tetraethers-cyclisation of branched tetraethers) proxy generates MATs similar to those in the studied river basins, whereas using the recently revised MBT'-CBT calibration overestimates MAT. The application of the two global lake calibrations, generating summer air temperatures (SAT) and MAT, respectively, illustrates the influence of seasonality on the production of brGDGTs in lakes, as the latter overestimates actual MAT, whereas the SAT-based lake calibration accounts for this influence and consequently returns more accurate temperatures. Our results in principle support the application of brGDGT-based temperature proxies in high-latitude lakes in order to obtain long-term paleotemperature records for the Arctic, although the calibration and associated transfer function have to be selected with care.

A quantitative micropaleontologic method for shallow marine peleoclimatology: Application to Pliocene deposits of the western North Atlantic Ocean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cronin, T. M.; Dowsett, H.J.

1990-01-01

A transfer function was developed to estimate summer and winter paleotemperatures for arctic to tropical regions of the western North Atlantic Ocean using fossil ostracode assemblages. Q-mode factor analysis was run on ostracode assemblages from 100 modern bottom sediment samples from continental shelves of North America, Greenland and the Caribbean using 59 ostracode taxa. Seven factors accounting for 80% of the variance define assemblages that correspond to frigid, subfrigid, cold temperate, mild temperate, warm temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic zones. Multiple regression of the factor matrix against observed February and August bottom temperatures yielded an astracode transfer function with an accuracy of about ??2??C. The transfer function was used to reconstruct middle Pliocene (3.5-3.0 Ma) shallow marine climates of the western North Atlantic during the marine transgression that deposited the Yorktown Formation (Virginia and North Carolina), the Duplin Formation (South and North Carolina) and the Pinecrest beds (Florida). Middle Pliocene paleowater temperatures in Virginia averaged 19??C in August and 13.5??C in February, about 5??C to 8??C warmer than at comparable depths off Virginia today. August and February water temperatures in North Carolina were 23??C and 13.4??C, in South Carolina about 23??C and 13.5??C and in southern Florida about 24.6??C and 15.4??C. Marine climates north of 35??N were warmer than today; south of 35??N, they were about the same or slightly cooler. Thermal gradients along the coast were generally not as steep as they are today. The North Atlantic transfer function can be applied to other shallow marine Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits of eastern North America. ?? 1990 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

Miocene climate variations in the Moesian Platform sediments based on sedimentology and biomarkers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butiseaca, Geanina; Vasiliev, Iuliana; Rabagia, Traian; Dinu, Corneliu; Mulch, Andreas

2017-04-01

During the Miocene the Moesian Platform (southern Romania and northern Bulgaria) had a complicated flexural behavior due to the mobility of the nearby orogens. The different behavior induced varying sediment charges, sediment distribution and sediment types. The northern part of the study area (on which the Dacian Basin is overlaid) is characterized by siliciclastic units with dominantly deep facieses, while the southern part is characterized by carbonate production in shallower basin waters. Since the Miocene, the Dacian and Black Sea basins have been highly sensitive to fluctuations in the hydrological cycle. To establish the dynamic evolution of the basin and the climate variations during the Miocene, we have sampled both northern and southern margins of the basin. To discriminate between the tectonic imprint and the eustatic influence over the sedimentation rate we have chosen a multidisciplinary approach including sedimentology, tectonics and organic geochemistry based reconstructions. The sedimentary succession is interrupted by few unconformities correspondent with the main phases of orogeny (in the Carpathian Foredeep) while the southern part seems to have been exposed more often expressed in the geological record by a higher number of unconformities and paleo-soils levels. The n-alkanes distribution recovered from the lipids extracted from the sedimentary rocks indicates a mixture of terrestrial and marine input in the northern, Romanian, closer to Carpathians, part of the Dacian Basin. Surprisingly, the southern, Bulgarian side, showed a more predominant terrestrial input (with higher contribution of the long chain n-alkanes) at least for the Sarmatian (arround 10 Ma). The estimated paleotemperatures based on branched GDGT's indicate much warmer conditions than present day, up to a value of 20 C mean annual temperatures. We will further investigate the paleoenvironmental changes during the latest Miocene of the Dacian basin, using the biomarker approach on the organic biomarkers.

Pinedale glacial history of the upper Arkansas River valley: New moraine chronologies, modeling results, and geologic mapping

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schweinsberg, Avriel D.; Briner, Jason P.; Shroba, Ralph R.; Licciardi, Joseph M.; Leonard, Eric M.; Brugger, Keith A.; Russell, Charles M.

2016-01-01

This field-trip guide outlines the glacial history of the upper Arkansas River valley, Colorado, and builds on a previous GSA field trip to the area in 2010. The following will be presented: (1) new cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages of moraine boulders from the Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations (Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 6, respectively) located adjacent to the Twin Lakes Reservoir, (2) numerical modeling of glaciers during the Pinedale glaciation in major tributaries draining into the upper Arkansas River, (3) discharge estimates for glacial-lake outburst floods in the upper Arkansas River valley, and (4) 10Be ages on flood boulders deposited downvalley from the moraine sequences. This research was stimulated by a new geologic map of the Granite 7.5′ quadrangle, in which the mapping of surficial deposits was revised based in part on the interpretation of newly acquired LiDAR data and field investigations. The new 10Be ages of the Pinedale terminal moraine at Twin Lakes average 21.8 ± 0.7 ka (n = 14), which adds to nearby Pinedale terminal moraine ages of 23.6 ± 1.4 ka (n = 5), 20.5 ± 0.2 ka (n = 3), and 16.6 ± 1.0 ka (n = 7), and downvalley outburst flood terraces that date to 20.9 ± 0.9 ka (n = 4) and 19.0 ± 0.6 ka (n = 4). This growing chronology leads to improved understanding of the controls and timing of glaciation in the western United States, the modeling of glacial-lake outburst flooding, and the reconstruction of paleotemperature through glacier modeling.

Surface Exposure Dating of the Huancané III Moraines in Peru: A Record of Quelccaya Ice Cap's Maximum Extent during the Last Glacial Period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baranes, H. E.; Kelly, M. A.; Stroup, J. S.; Howley, J. A.; Lowell, T. V.

2012-12-01

The climatic conditions that influenced the tropics during the height of the last glacial period are not well defined and controversial. There are disparities in estimates of temperature anomalies (e.g., MARGO, 2009; Rind and Peteet, 1985; CLIMAP, 1976), and critical terrestrial paleotemperature proxy records in tropical regions are poorly dated (e.g., Porter, 2001). Defining these conditions is important for understanding the mechanisms that cause major shifts in climate, as the tropics are a primary driver of atmospheric and oceanic circulation. This study aims to constrain the timing of maximum glacier extents in the Cordillera Oriental in southern Peru during the last glacial period by applying surface exposure (beryllium-10) dating to the Huancané III (Hu-III) moraines. The Hu-III moraines mark the maximum extent of Quelccaya Ice Cap (QIC) (13.93°S, 70.83°W), the largest tropical ice cap, during the last ice age. The eight beryllium-10 ages presented here yield 17,056 ± 520 yrs ago as a minimum age for the onset of recession from the ice cap advance marked by the Hu-III moraines. Comparing this age to other paleoclimate records indicates that the ice cap advance marked by the Hu-III moraines is more likely associated with a North Atlantic climate event known as Heinrich I (H1; 16,800 yrs ago, Bond et al., 1992, 1993) than with global cooling at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~21,000 yrs ago, Denton and Hughes, 1981). This result suggests that climate processes in the North Atlantic region are linked to climatic conditions in the tropical Andes. A mesoscale climate model and an ice-flow model are currently being developed for QIC. The moraine data presented in this study will be used with these two models to test response of QIC to North Atlantic and global climate events.

Holocene temperature shifts around Greenland: Paleolimnological approaches to quantifying past warmth and documenting its consequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axford, Y.; Lasher, G. E.; McFarlin, J. M.; Francis, D. R.; Kelly, M. A.; Langdon, P. G.; Levy, L.; Osburn, M. R.; Osterberg, E. C.

2015-12-01

Insolation-driven warmth across the Arctic during the early to middle Holocene (the Holocene Thermal Maximum, or HTM) represents a geologically accessible analog for future warming and its impacts. Improved constraints on the magnitude and seasonality of HTM warmth around Greenland's margins can advance the use of paleoclimate data to test and improve climate and ice sheet models. Here we present an overview of our recent efforts to reconstruct climate through the Holocene around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet using multiple proxies in lake sediments. We use insect (chironomid) assemblages to derive quantitative estimates of Holocene temperatures at sites with minimal soil and vegetation development near the eastern, northwestern and western margins of the ice sheet. Our chironomid-based temperature reconstructions consistently imply HTM July air temperatures 3 to 4.5 °C warmer than the pre-industrial late Holocene in these sectors of Greenland. The timing of reconstructed peak warmth differs between sites, with onset varying from ~10 ka to ~6.5 ka, but in good agreement with glacial geology and other evidence from each region. Our reconstructed temperature anomalies are larger than those typically inferred from annually-integrated indicators from the ice sheet itself, but comparable to the few other quantitative summer temperature estimates available from beyond the ice sheet on Greenland. Additional records are needed to confirm the magnitude of HTM warmth and to better define its seasonality and spatial pattern. To provide independent constraints on paleotemperatures and to elucidate additional aspects of Holocene paleoclimate, we are also employing oxygen isotopes of chironomid remains and other aquatic organic materials, and molecular organic proxies, in parallel (see Lasher et al. and McFarlin et al., this meeting). Combined with glacial geologic evidence, these multi-proxy records elucidate diverse aspects of HTM climate around Greenland - including temperature, hydroclimate, and the response of Greenland's glaciers to past climate change.

"No future without a past" or "History will teach us nothing"?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeebe, R. E.

2012-12-01

.In 1947, Harold Clayton Urey published a landmark paper on the thermodynamic properties of isotopic substances. With his work, Urey paved the way for the reconstruction of paleotemperatures based on small differences in the distribution of stable isotopes in compounds such as sedimentary calcium carbonate. Cesare Emiliani (a student of Urey) followed in Urey's footsteps and in 1955 provided temperature reconstructions over several glacial cycles based on stable isotopes - as Urey had proposed. Emiliani is today considered the father of Paleoceanography. Over the past 60 years, the field has grown immensely and has provided unique and fundamental knowledge about the functioning of the Earth system and Earth's climatic history. In this presentation, I will explain why studying the climate of the past is fun and important. I will make the case that studying past climate events is indispensable to predicting future climate change resulting from human activities ("No future without a past"). If mankind continues on the current path of carbon emissions, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will reach levels probably unprecedented during the past 30 million years. The rate of anthropogenic carbon input is likely unprecedented during the past 56 million years. Recent evidence from paleoclimate archives reveals dramatic and long-lived consequences for Earth's climate and environment following large and rapid carbon release into the ocean-atmosphere system. While the evidence for the close link between rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and past climate change is unequivocal, such lessons from the past seem to be largely ignored at the moment ("History will teach us nothing"?). Currently, there is no indication that mankind will start reducing carbon emissions any time soon. In 1973, Emiliani warned: "If the present climatic balance is not maintained, we may soon be confronted with either a runaway glaciation or runaway deglaciation." The past forty years of climate research have shown that the latter scenario is overwhelmingly more likely.

Linking the Modern and Recent Record of Cabo Frio Upwelling with Local Climate and Biogeochemical Processes in Hypersaline Coastal Lagoons, Região dos Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKenzie, J. A.; Nascimento, G. S.; Albuquerque, A. L.; Belem, A. L.; Carreira, R.; Eglinton, T. I.; Vasconcelos, C.

2015-12-01

A unique marine and lagoonal system along the coast east of Rio de Janeiro is being investigated to understand the impact of climatic variability on the South Atlantic carbon cycle and biomineralisation processes involved in carbonate precipitation in the hypersaline coastal lagoons. The region is dominated by a semi-arid microclimate attributed to the local coastal upwelling phenomenon near Cabo Frio. The intensity of the upwelling affects the hydrology of the annual water and biogeochemical cycles in the lagoons, as well as biogeochemical signals of environmental change recorded in both onshore and offshore sediments. Preliminary results of δ18O and δD values of water samples collected monthly in Lagoa Vermelha and Brejo do Espinho from 2011 to 2014 show lower values for waters corresponding to the wet season, reflecting increased input of meteoric water. The higher values for waters collected during the dry season reflect the greater amount of evaporation with increased seasonal aridity. Radiocarbon dating of Holocene marine and lagoonal cores indicates that Mg-carbonate precipitation in the lagoons is associated with high evaporation. Modern field observations for the last 3 years suggest that the amount of carbonate precipitation is correlated with evaporitic conditions associated with the upwelling phenomenon. A calibration study of hydrogen isotopic fractionation in the modern lagoons is underway to define a relationship between δDlipid of suspended particles and δDwater of associated water. This isotopic relationship will be applied to material obtained in cores from the lagoons. Offshore cores will be studied using well-tested paleotemperature proxies to evaluate the intensity of the upwelling during the Holocene. In summary, linking the coastal upwelling with the lagoonal hydrology has the potential to furnish important insights about the relationship between the local climate and paleoceanographic circulation associated with the regional carbon cycle.

Climatic history of the northeastern United States during the past 3000 years

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marlon, Jennifer R.; Pederson, Neil; Nolan, Connor; Goring, Simon; Shuman, Bryan; Robertson, Ann; Booth, Robert K.; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Berke, Melissa A.; Clifford, Michael; Cook, Edward; Dieffenbacher-Krall, Ann; Dietze, Michael C.; Hessl, Amy; Hubeny, J. Bradford; Jackson, Stephen T.; Marsicek, Jeremiah; McLachlan, Jason S.; Mock, Cary J.; Moore, David J. P.; Nichols, Jonathan M.; Peteet, Dorothy M.; Schaefer, Kevin; Trouet, Valerie; Umbanhowar, Charles; Williams, John W.; Yu, Zicheng

2017-01-01

Many ecosystem processes that influence Earth system feedbacks, including vegetation growth, water and nutrient cycling, and disturbance regimes, are strongly influenced by multi-decadal to millennial-scale variations in climate that cannot be captured by instrumental climate observations. Paleoclimate information is therefore essential for understanding contemporary ecosystems and their potential trajectories under a variety of future climate conditions. With the exception of fossil pollen records, there are a limited number of northeastern US (NE US) paleoclimate archives that can provide constraints on its temperature and hydroclimate history. Moreover, the records that do exist have not been considered together. Tree-ring data indicate that the 20th century was one of the wettest of the past 500 years in the eastern US (Pederson et al., 2014), and lake-level records suggest it was one of the wettest in the Holocene (Newby et al., 2014); how such results compare with other available data remains unclear, however. Here we conduct a systematic review, assessment, and comparison of paleotemperature and paleohydrological proxies from the NE US for the last 3000 years. Regional temperature reconstructions are consistent with the long-term cooling trend (1000 BCE–1700 CE) evident in hemispheric-scale reconstructions, but hydroclimate reconstructions reveal new information, including an abrupt transition from wet to dry conditions around 550–750 CE. NE US paleo data suggest that conditions during the Medieval Climate Anomaly were warmer and drier than during the Little Ice Age, and drier than today. There is some evidence for an acceleration over the past century of a longer-term wetting trend in the NE US, and coupled with the abrupt shift from a cooling trend to a warming trend from increased greenhouse gases, may have wide-ranging implications for species distributions, ecosystem dynamics, and extreme weather events. More work is needed to gather paleoclimate data in the NE US, make inter-proxy comparisons, and improve estimates of uncertainty in the reconstructions.

High-Resolution Mg/Ca Ratios in a Coralline Red Alga as a Proxy for Bering Sea Temperature Variations and Teleconnections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halfar, J.; Steffen, H.; Kronz, A.; Steneck, R. S.; Adey, W.; Lebednik, P. A.

2009-05-01

We present the first continuous high-resolution record of Mg/Ca variations within an encrusting coralline red alga of the species Clathromorphum nereostratum from Amchitka Island, Aleutian Islands. Mg/Ca ratios of individual growth increments were analyzed by measuring a single point electron microprobe transect yielding a resolution of 15 samples/year on average, generating a continuous record from 1830 to 1967 of algal Mg/Ca variations. Results show that Mg/Ca ratios in the high-Mg calcite skeleton display pronounced annual cyclicity and archive late spring to late fall sea surface temperature (SST) corresponding to the main season of algal growth. Mg/Ca values correlate well to local SST (ERSSTJun-Nov, 1902-1967; r = 0.73 for 5-year mean), as well as to an air temperature record from the same region. Our data correlate well to a shorter Mg/Ca record from a second site, corroborating the ability of the alga to reliably record regional environmental signals. In addition, Mg/Ca ratios relate well to a 29-year stable oxygen isotope time series measured on the same sample, which provides additional support for the use of Mg as a paleotemperature proxy in coralline red algae, that is, unlike stable oxygen isotopes, not influenced by salinity fluctuations. High spatial correlation to large-scale SST variability in the North Pacific is observed, with patterns of strongest correlation following the direction of major oceanographic features (i.e., the signature of the Alaska Current and the Alaskan Stream), which play a key role in the exchange of water masses between the North Pacific and the Bering Sea through Aleutian Island passages. The time series further displays significant teleconnections with the signature of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in the northeast Pacific and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

Culturing of the first 37:4 predominant lacustrine haptophyte: Geochemical, biochemical, and genetic implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toney, Jaime L.; Theroux, Susanna; Andersen, Robert A.; Coleman, Annette; Amaral-Zettler, Linda; Huang, Yongsong

2012-02-01

Long chain alkenones (LCAs) are potential biomarkers for quantitative paleotemperature reconstructions from lacustrine environments. However, progress in this area has been hindered, because the conditions necessary for the growth of haptophytes responsible for alkenone distributions in lake sediments: the predominance of C 37:4 LCA are not known. Here we report the first enrichment culturing of a novel haptophyte phylotype (Hap-A) from Lake George, ND that produces predominantly C 37:4-LCA. Hap-A was enriched from its resting phase collected from deep sediments rather than from water column samples. In contrast, enrichments from near surface water yielded a different haptophyte phylotype (Hap-B), closely related to Chrysotila lamellosa and Pseudoisochrysis paradoxa, which does not display C 37:4-LCA predominance (similar enrichments have been reported previously). The LCA profile in sediments resembles that of enrichments containing Hap-A, suggesting that Hap-A is the dominant alkenone producer of the sedimentary LCAs. In enrichments, increased lighting appeared to be crucial for triggering alkenone production. Both U37K and U38K indices show a promising, positive relationship with temperature for Hap-A in enrichments, but the offset from the environmental calibration suggests that other factors (e.g., the growth stage or nutrients) may influence the absolute U37K value. Based on 18S rRNA gene analyses, several lakes from the Northern Great Plains, as well as Pyramid Lake, NV and Tso Ur, Tibetan Plateau, China contain the same two haptophyte phylotypes. Analysis of surface sediment from the Great Plains lakes show the Hap-A-type LCA distribution, whereas Pyramid and Tso Ur show the Hap-B type distribution. Waters of the Great Plain lakes are dominated by sulfate ions, whereas those Pyramid and Tso Ur are dominated by carbonate ions, suggesting that the sulfate to carbonate ratio may be a determining factor for the dominance of the Hap-A and Hap-B phylotypes in natural settings.

Fish like it Hot? The response of ichthyolith accumulation to changing climates of the Paleogene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibert, E. C.; Zill, M. E.; Bryant, R. M.; Graves, L. G.; Norris, R. D.

2014-12-01

It has been hypothesized that the production of fish in the water column is related to the amount of primary production in the surface waters. Most future Earth scenarios suggest that as the climate warms, increased surface ocean stratification will decrease nutrient availability and therefore net primary productivity and fish production. Here we calculate accumulation rates of ichthyoliths (microfossil fish teeth and shark dermal scales) throughout the Paleogene and find that ichthyolith accumulation is inversely related to hypothesized changes in primary productivity, but is positively related to ocean temperature. At DSDP Site 596 in the South Pacific, and ODP Site 1258 from the equatorial Atlantic, accumulation of fish fossils increase 6-10 fold from the relatively cool Paleocene into the warm Early Eocene Climate Optimum. In contrast, cooling and increased biosilica deposition at the Eocene/Oligocene (E/O) Boundary suggests that the marine ecosystem switched to a highly productive diatom-dominated ocean, which should favor short, efficient food chains and increased fish production. However, we find that at both Pacific DSDP Site 596 and Atlantic DSDP Site 522, fish accumulation drops by about 50% across the E/O. Indeed, this relation between ichthyolith accumulation and δ18O-estimated paleotemperature is also seen in the Oligocene, at North Pacific ODP Site 886, where warming in the middle Oligocene is mirrored by an increase in ichthyolith accumulation. It appears that ichthyolith accumulation rate may not be purely an effect of total primary production in the water column but rather, may reflect a fundamental response in fish physiology or ecosystem efficiency to warmer water. It has been documented that respiration is faster and more efficient in warm waters, and this may help generate more efficient food web links that compensate for any decrease in primary productivity caused by global warming. Indeed, it appears that fish seem to thrive as the temperature goes up.

Branched GDGT-based paleotemperature reconstruction of the last 30,000 years in humid monsoon region of Southeast China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, M.

2017-12-01

The use of bacterial branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) to reconstruct mean annual air temperatures (MAATs) and environmental pH from soils has sparked significant interest in the terrestrial paleoclimate community. However, the reconstruction of these climate proxies from peat bogs is rare in monsoonal regions of the East Asia. This research was carried out on a core from the Shuizhuyang (SZY) peat bog located in Fujian Province. Branched GDGT (brGDGT) indexes were used for reconstructing the paleoclimate of the last 30 cal ka. The aim was to evaluate quantitatively the MAAT and pH values since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the subtropical zone of China. Results show that the CBT-MBT'-derived MAAT at MIS 3 is about 15.6 °C on average, which is followed by a significant fall at the LGM (11.7-12.1 °C). The temperature difference between the LGM and the present-day value is as high as 5.8 °C. The synchronous variation of biomarker and pollen proxies indicates that replacement of subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests by coldtolerant, deciduous broadleaved forests was driven by the significant drop in air temperature. Our results also indicate that the Younger Dryas event lasted from about 12.9 to about 11.3 cal ka, and cooling event at 3.2 cal ka in the late Holocene was detected, showing the sensitivity of peat bogs to rapid cooling. Our pH reconstructions indicate that the pH of the bog rose during Heinrich 1 and Bølling-Allerød periods, probably due to low precipitation, and were lowest in the Holocene thermal maximum between 8 ka and 2.5 ka, probably due to higher precipitation. The decoupling of reconstructed MAAT and pH during particularly deglaciation and YD periods supports the hypothesis that the variations in temperature and precipitation are not always synchronous.

Seasonal variations of alkenones and UK37 in the Chesapeake Bay water column

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mercer, J.L.; Zhao, M.; Colman, Steven M.

2005-01-01

Alkenone unsaturation indices (UK37 and U K???37) have long been used as proxies for surface water temperature in the open ocean. Recent studies have suggested that in other marine environments, variables other than temperature may affect both the production of alkenones and the values of the indices. Here, we present the results of a reconnaissance field study in which alkenones were extracted from particulate matter filtered from the water column in Chesapeake Bay during 2000 and 2001. A multivariate analysis shows a strong positive correlation between UK37 (and UK???37) values and temperature, and a significant negative correlation between UK37 (and UK???37) values and nitrate concentrations. However, temperature and nitrate concentrations also co-vary significantly. The temperature vs. UK37 relationships (UK37=0.018 (T)-0.162, R2=0.84, UK???37=0.013 (T)-0.04, R2=0.80) have lower slopes than the open-ocean equations of Prahl et al. [1988. Further evaluation of long-chain alkenones as indicators of paleoceanographic conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52, 2303-2310] and Mu??ller et al. [1998. Calibration of the alkenone paleotemperature index UK???37 based on core-tops from the eastern South Atlantic and the global ocean (60??N-60??S). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62, 1757-1772], but are similar to the relationships found in controlled studies with elevated nutrient levels and higher nitrate:phosphate (N:P) ratios. This implies that high nutrient levels in Chesapeake Bay have either lowered the UK37 vs. temperature slope, or nutrient levels are the main controller of the U K37 index. In addition, particularly high abundances (>5% of total C37 alkenones) of the tetra-unsaturated ketone, C37:4, were found when water temperatures reached 25??C or higher, thus posing further questions about the controls on alkenone production as well as the biochemical roles of alkenones. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in Eastern Equatorial Pacific Thermocline Structure across the Last Deglaciation: Evidence from the Carnegie Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glaubke, R.; Schmidt, M. W.; Warner, L.; Hertzberg, J. E.; Marcantonio, F.; Bianchi, T. S.

2017-12-01

The eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) is an important climatological region given its influence in the modulation of the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The current climatic mean state of the EEP is characterized by cool sea surface temperatures (SST) and a strong, shallow thermocline. Nevertheless, there remains significant uncertainty about past changes in tropical Pacific climate and how ENSO variability relates to the millennial-scale climate events of the last deglaciation. Here, we will present 21 kyrs of Mg/Ca paleotemperature data from the surface-dwelling foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber and the thermocline-dwelling foraminifera Neogloboquadrina dutertrei collected from piston core MV1014-02-17JC (00° 10.83'S, 85° 52.00'W; 2846 m depth) on the Carnegie Ridge. Initial results reveal a 1.3°C warming of the surface ocean from the early-Holocene until 6 kyrs, a trend present in other EEP SST reconstructions (Pena et al., 2008; Timmerman et al., 2014; Lea et al., 2000). The surface ocean subsequently cools from 6 kyrs and reaches present-day temperatures by 3.5 kyrs. The subsurface reveals a nearly monotonic cooling of 1.8°C from 10.8 kyrs to the present day, which suggest a gradual shoaling of the thermocline across the Holocene. Furthermore, an increase in the vertical temperature gradient occurs from the late- to mid-Holocene, with the sharpest temperature difference centered at 6 kyrs, coincident with the mid-Holocene peak in SSTs. Taken together, these data suggest a gradual shoaling of the thermocline across the Holocene, with the variations in SST primarily governing the intensity of the vertical temperature gradient. Future work includes extending this record back to the last glacial maximum (LGM) to assess tropical Pacific mean state change across the abrupt climate events that characterized the last deglaciation.

Using tetraether lipids archived in North Sea Basin sediments to extract North Western European Pliocene continental air temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dearing Crampton-Flood, Emily; Peterse, Francien; Munsterman, Dirk; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.

2018-05-01

The Pliocene is often regarded as a suitable analogue for future climate, due to an overall warmer climate (2-3 °C) coupled with atmospheric CO2 concentrations largely similar to present values (∼400 ppmv). Numerous Pliocene sea surface temperature (SST) records are available, however, little is known about climate in the terrestrial realm. Here we generated a Pliocene continental temperature record for Northwestern Europe based on branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (brGDGT) membrane lipids stored in a marine sedimentary record from the western Netherlands. The total organic carbon (TOC) content of the sediments and its stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13Corg) indicate a strong transition from primarily marine derived organic matter (OM) during the Pliocene, to predominantly terrestrially derived OM after the transition into the Pleistocene. This trend is supported by the ratio of branched and isoprenoid tetraethers (BIT index). The marine-terrestrial transition indicates a likely change in brGDGT sources in the core, which may complicate the applicability of the brGDGT paleotemperature proxy in this setting. Currently, the application of the brGDGT-based paleothermometer on coastal marine sediments has been hampered by a marine overprint. Here, we propose a method to disentangle terrestrial and marine sources based on the degree of cyclization of tetramethylated brGDGTs (#rings) using a linear mixing model based on the global soil calibration set and a newly developed coastal marine temperature transfer function. Application of this method on our brGDGT record resulted in a 'corrected' terrestrial temperature record (MATterr). This latter record indicates that continental temperatures were ∼12-14 °C during the Early Pliocene, and 10.5-12 °C during the Mid Pliocene, confirming other Pliocene pollen based terrestrial temperature estimates from Northern and Central Europe. Furthermore, two colder (Δ 5-7 °C) periods in the Pliocene MATterr record show that the influence of Pliocene glacials reached well into NW Europe.

Holocene soil pH changes and East Asian summer monsoon evolution derived from loess brGDGTs in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Y.; Sun, Q.; Zhao, H.

2017-12-01

GDGTs-based proxies have been used successfully to reconstruct paleo-temperature from loess-paleosol sequences during the past few years. However, the pH variations of loess sediments derived from GDGTs covering the geological history remain poorly constrained. Here we present two pH records spanning the last 12 ka (1ka=1000years) based on the modified cyclization ratio index (CBT') of the branched GDGTs using regional CBT'-pH empirical relationship from two well-dated loess-paleosol sections (YWY14 and SHD09) in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The results indicate that a slightly alkaline condition occurred during 12 8.5 ka with pH values ranging from 6.98 to 7.24, then CBT'-derived pH decreased from 8.5 to 6.5 ka with values from 7.19 to 6.49 and gradually increased thereafter. The reconstructed pH values from topmost samples can be well compared with instrumental pH values of the surrounding surface soil. The lowest intervals of CBT'-derived pH values during the mid-Holocene in our records are consistent with the results of highest tree pollen percentage from the adjacent lake sediments and regional weakest aeolian activities, which reveals that the moisture maximum during that period, but conflicted with previous results of the wettest early-Holocene inferred from speleothem or ostracod shell oxygen isotope (δ18O) values. Taking together, we conclude that Holocene humidity evolution (wettest middle Holocene) in response to the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) changes exerts important control on pH variations of loess deposits in northeastern Tibetan Plateau. CBT'-derived pH variations can be potentially used as an indicator of EASM evolution reconstructions. In addition, we argue that speleothem or ostracod shell δ18O records are essentially a signal of the isotopic composition of precipitations rather than EASM intensity.

Increased Amazon freshwater discharge during late Heinrich Stadial 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crivellari, Stefano; Chiessi, Cristiano Mazur; Kuhnert, Henning; Häggi, Christoph; da Costa Portilho-Ramos, Rodrigo; Zeng, Jing-Ying; Zhang, Yancheng; Schefuß, Enno; Mollenhauer, Gesine; Hefter, Jens; Alexandre, Felipe; Sampaio, Gilvan; Mulitza, Stefan

2018-02-01

The temporal succession of changes in Amazonian hydroclimate during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) (ca. 18-14.7 cal ka BP) is currently poorly resolved. Here we present HS1 records based on isotope, inorganic and organic geochemistry from a marine sediment core influenced by the Amazon River discharge. Our records offer a detailed reconstruction of the changes in Amazonian hydroclimate during HS1, integrated over the basin. We reconstructed surface water hydrography using stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) and Mg/Ca-derived paleotemperatures from the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber, as well as salinity changes based on stable hydrogen isotope (δD) of palmitic acid. We also analyzed branched and isoprenoid tetraether concentrations, and compared them to existing bulk sediment ln(Fe/Ca) data and vegetation reconstruction based on stable carbon isotopes from n-alkanes, in order to understand the relationship between continental precipitation, vegetation and sediment production. Our results indicate a two-phased HS1 (HS1a and HS1b). During HS1a (18-16.9 cal ka BP), a first sudden increase of sea surface temperatures (SST) in the western equatorial Atlantic correlated with the slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the associated southern hemisphere warming phase of the bipolar seesaw. This phase was also characterized by an increased delivery of terrestrial material. During HS1b (16.9-14.8 cal ka BP), a decrease in terrestrial input was, however, associated with a marked decline of seawater δ18O and palmitic acid δD. Both isotopic proxies independently indicate a drop in sea surface salinity (SSS). A number of records under the influence of the North Brazil Current, in contrast, indicate increases in SST and SSS resulting from a weakened AMOC during HS1. Our records thus suggest that the expected increase in SSS due to the AMOC slowdown was overridden by a two-phased positive precipitation anomaly in Amazonian hydroclimate.

Diagenetic evidence for an epigenetic origin of the Courtbrown Zn-Pb deposit, Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Christopher P.; Wallace, Malcolm W.

2001-08-01

Mineralisation at the Courtbrown deposit in south-western Ireland is concentrated in the basal section of the Chadian Waulsortian Limestone, immediately above the Courceyan Ballysteen Limestone. Two episodes of sulphide deposition have been identified: an early stage of minor pyrite precipitation, and a later base-metal-rich mineralisation event. Sphalerite, galena and pyrite of the later mineralisation event occur predominantly as replacement phases along stylolites, dissolution seams, and within the micritic matrix of the host limestone. These sulphide minerals also occur as cements within late stage fractures. The following diagenetic phases are present in the Waulsortian and Ballysteen Limestones in the Courtbrown area (from oldest to youngest): non-luminescent synsedimentary calcite cements, non-luminescent equant calcite cements, bright luminescent calcite cement, dull luminescent calcite cement, planar dolomite cement and replacement dolomite (regional dolomite), saddle dolomite cement, and fibrous dull luminescent calcite cement filling pressure-shadows around the sulphide minerals. Homogenisation temperatures for primary fluid inclusions within dull luminescent calcite cements (precipitated penecontemporaneously with base-metal mineralisation) range from 160 to 200 °C, with a mode at 170-180 °C. These values are unlikely to be representative of mineralisation temperatures as the fluid inclusions may have been significantly affected by heating and/or deformation during late burial (maximum paleotemperatures from Ro and CAI data around 310 °C). The observed paragenetic sequence indicates that mineralisation is completely epigenetic. As the earliest mineralisation is hosted by macro-stylolites, the sequence must have obtained a minimum burial depth of around 800 m prior to the onset of mineralisation. A burial depth of 800 m would correspond to an approximate early Chadian age for the Courtbrown area. Pressure-shadows around sphalerite further indicate that mineralisation preceded the major phase of Variscan deformation. Therefore, the base-metal mineralisation at Courtbrown is epigenetic, and the age of mineralisation is in the range of 350 to 307 Ma.

Paleotemperatures derived from the EPICA Dome-C core based on isotopic diffusion in the firn pack.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gkinis, V.; Johnsen, S. J.; Vinther, B.; Sheldon, S.; Ritz, C.; Masson-Delmotte, V.

2009-04-01

Water isotope ratios as measured from ice core samples have been used as a proxy for past temperatures. Based i.a. on a Rayleigh fractionation process they record the cloud temperature during snow formation. However, changes in the temperature and humidity of the vapor source can also affect the isotopic signal of the polar precipitation, thus inducing isotopic artifacts. Furthermore, for the case of the Antarctic ice cap, temperature inversions frequently occur during snow formation. As a result, the cloud temperature as recorded by the water isotopes can differ significantly from the temperature at the surface. After the deposition of snow and until pore close off, a diffusive process occurs in the pore space of the firn pack, mixing water vapor from different layers and smoothing the isotopic profiles. The smoothing depends only on the resulting diffusion length. This process is temperature dependent and it presents a slightly different rate between the two isotopic species of water, H218O and HD16O. This is because the fractionation factors as defined for these two isotopic species have a different dependence on temperature. In this study we present a temperature reconstruction based on the different diffusion rates of H218O and HD16O water molecules in firn. The advantage of such an approach is that the temperatures estimated represent the actual conditions in the firn stack. As a result, we can surpass the artifacts that can possibly disrupt the use of the classical technique. We will present temperature estimations as extracted from two high resolution (2.5 cm) data sets, from the EPICA Dome C deep core focused on the Holoene Climatic Optimum and the Last Glacial Maximum and compare them with results obtained with the classical slope method as well as constrains imposed by the measured temperature profile. We will also address the problems of spectral power estimation for determining the diffusion lengths.

Testing the Role of Microbial Ecology, Redox-Mediated Deep Water Production and Hypersalinity on TEX86: Lipids and 16s Sequences from Archaea and Bacteria in the Water Column and Sediments of Orca Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, C.; Romero, I.; Ellis, G.; Goddard, E.; Krishnan, S.; Nigro, L. M.; Super, J. R.; Zhang, Y.; Zhuang, G.; Hollander, D. J.; Pagani, M.

2014-12-01

Mesophilic marine archaea and bacteria are known to substantially contribute to the oceanic microbial biomass and play critical roles in global carbon, nitrogen and nutrient cycles. The Orca Basin, a 2400 meter deep bathymetric depression on the continental slope of the north-central Gulf of Mexico, is an ideal environment to examine how redox-dependent biochemical processes control the input and cycling of bacterial and archaea-derived lipid compounds from formation in near-surface water, through secondary recycling processes operating at the redox-transition in the water column, to sedimentary diagenetic processes operating in oxic to anoxic zones within the basin. The lowermost 180 meters of the Orca Basin is characterized by an anoxic, hypersaline brine that is separated from the overlying oxic seawater by a well-defined redox sequence associated with a systematic increasing in salinity from 35 - 250‰. While surface water conditions are viewed as normal marine with a seasonally productive water column, the sub-oxic to anoxic transition zones within the deep-water column and the sediment spans over 200 m allowing the unique opportunity for discrete sampling of resident organisms and lipids. Here we present 16s rRNA sequence data of Bacteria and Archaea collected parallel to GDGT lipid profiles and in situ environmental measurements from the sediment and overlying water column in the intermediate zone of the basin, where movements of chemical transition zones are preserved. We evaluated GDGTs and corresponding taxa across the surface water, chlorophyll maximum, thermocline, and the deep redox boundary, including oxygenation, denitrification, manganese, iron and sulfate reduction zones, to determine if GDGTs are being produced under these conditions and how surface-derived GDGT lipids and the TEX86 signal may be altered. The results have implications for the application of the TEX86 paleotemperature proxy.

New Environmentalconditions Responsible for the amount of mg Incorporated in Biogenic Carbonates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuddas, P.; Cherchi, A.; DeGiudici, G. B.; Buosi, C.

2012-12-01

The composition of carbonate minerals formed in past and present oceans is assumed to be significantly controlled by temperature and seawater composition. Several kinetic laboratory investigations have suggested that the temperature is kinetically responsible for the amount of Mg incorporated in both abiotic and biogenic calcites and that variation of kinetic reaction mechanism resulting from the temperature changes are correlated with the variable amount of Mg incorporated in calcites. These results explain why in present-day marine carbonates low-Mg calcite cements are mainly associated with cool water while high-Mg carbonates are dominantly found in warm-water environments. An apparent inverse relationship between the global average paleo-temperature and the Mg/Ca ratio is however observed in the past formed marine carbonate. This apparent contradiction has been interpreted as resulting from a possible changing in the relative seawater geochemical cycles of these cations. Recent monitoring of costal areas in presence of heavy metals and CO2 released from industrial polluted area reveals the presence of porcelanaceous miliolids infested by microscopic boring microflora (cyanobacteria, algae and fungi). Here, benthonic foraminifera have Mg/Ca molar ratio by one order of magnitude higher when compared to the average value of the same genus living under uncontaminated environments. A similar behaviour has been found for Zn, Cd and Pb. In these contaminated environments, temperature and average major seawater composition remain constant, while PCO2 partial pressure (estimated by pH and alkalinity using the ion pairing model) is 3-5 times higher than the average for the open sea nearby. Geochemical models predicts that CO2 increase is affecting carbonate saturation state of surface water in the twenty-first century indicating that calcareous organisms may have difficulty calcifying leading to production of weaker skeletons and greater vulnerability to erosion. The properties of biogenic carbonate reservoirs are affected not only by the CO2 increase but also by metal dispersion process contributing to global CO2 change via a complex ecological process.

CRETACEOUS CLIMATE SENSITIVITY STUDY USING DINOSAUR & PLANT PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, A.; Main, D. J.; Noto, C. R.; Moore, T. L.; Scotese, C.

2009-12-01

The Early Cretaceous was characterized by cool poles and moderate global temperatures (~16° C). During the mid and late Cretaceous, long-term global warming (~20° - 22° C) was driven by increasing levels of CO2, rising sea level (lowering albedo) and the continuing breakup of Pangea. Paleoclimatic reconstructions for four time intervals during the Cretaceous: Middle Campanian (80 Ma), Cenomanian/Turonian (90 Ma), Early Albian (110 Ma) and Barremian-Hauterivian (130Ma) are presented here. These paleoclimate simulations were prepared using the Fast Ocean and Atmosphere Model (FOAM). The simulated results show the pattern of the pole-to-Equator temperature gradients, rainfall, surface run-off, the location of major rivers and deltas. In order to investigate the effect of potential dispersal routes on paleobiogeographic patterns, a time-slice series of maps from Early - Late Cretaceous were produced showing plots of dinosaur and plant fossil distributions. These Maps were created utilizing: 1) plant fossil localities from the GEON and Paleobiology (PBDB) databases; and 2) dinosaur fossil localities from an updated version of the Dinosauria (Weishampel, 2004) database. These results are compared to two different types of datasets, 1) Paleotemperature database for the Cretaceous and 2) locality data obtained from GEON, PBDB and Dinosauria database. Global latitudinal mean temperatures from both the model and the paelotemperature database were plotted on a series of latitudinal graphs along with the distributions of fossil plants and dinosaurs. It was found that most dinosaur localities through the Cretaceous tend to cluster within specific climate belts, or envelopes. Also, these Cretaceous maps show variance in biogeographic zonation of both plants and dinosaurs that is commensurate with reconstructed climate patterns and geography. These data are particularly useful for understanding the response of late Mesozoic ecosystems to geographic and climatic conditions that differed markedly from the present. Studies of past biotas and their changes may elucidate the role of climatic and geographic factors in driving changes in species distributions, ecosystem organization, and evolutionary dynamics over time.

Burial history of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks interpreted from vitrinite reflectance, northern Green River basin, Wyoming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dickinson, W.W.; Law, B.E.

1985-05-01

The burial history of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks in the northern Green River basin is difficult to reconstruct for three reasons: (1) most of these rocks do not crop out, (2) there are few stratigraphic markers in the subsurface, and (3) regional uplift beginning during the Pliocene caused erosion that removed most upper Tertiary rocks. To understand better the burial and thermal history of the basin, published vitrinite reflectance (R/sub o/) data from three wells were compared to TTI (time-temperature index) maturation units calculated from Lopatin reconstructions. For each well, burial reconstructions were made as follows. Maximum depth ofmore » burial was first estimated by stratigraphic and structural evidence and by extrapolation to a paleosurface intercept of R/sub o/ = 0.2%. This burial was completed by early Oligocene (35 Ma), after which there was no net deposition. The present geothermal gradient in each well as used because there is no geologic evidence for elevated paleotemperature gradients. Using these reconstructions, calculated TTI units agreed with measured R/sub o/ values when minor adjustments were made to the estimated burial depths. Reconstructed maximum burials were deeper than present by 2500-3000 ft (762-914 m) in the Pacific Creek area, by 4000-4500 ft (1219-1372 m) in the Pinedale area, and by 0-1000 ft (0-305 m) in the Merna area. However, at Pinedale geologic evidence can only account for about 3000 ft (914 m) of additional burial. This discrepancy is explained by isoreflectance lines, which parallel the Pinedale anticline and indicate that approximately 2000 ft (610 m) of structural relief occurred after maximum burial. In other parts of the basin, isoreflectance lines also reveal significant structural deformation after maximum burial during early Oligocene to early Pliocene time.« less

The influence of the synoptic regime on stable water isotopes in precipitation at Dome C, East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlosser, Elisabeth; Dittmann, Anna; Stenni, Barbara; Powers, Jordan G.; Manning, Kevin W.; Masson-Delmotte, Valérie; Valt, Mauro; Cagnati, Anselmo; Grigioni, Paolo; Scarchilli, Claudio

2017-10-01

The correct derivation of paleotemperatures from ice cores requires exact knowledge of all processes involved before and after the deposition of snow and the subsequent formation of ice. At the Antarctic deep ice core drilling site Dome C, a unique data set of daily precipitation amount, type, and stable water isotope ratios is available that enables us to study in detail atmospheric processes that influence the stable water isotope ratio of precipitation. Meteorological data from both automatic weather station and a mesoscale atmospheric model were used to investigate how different atmospheric flow patterns determine the precipitation parameters. A classification of synoptic situations that cause precipitation at Dome C was established and, together with back-trajectory calculations, was utilized to estimate moisture source areas. With the resulting source area conditions (wind speed, sea surface temperature, and relative humidity) as input, the precipitation stable isotopic composition was modeled using the so-called Mixed Cloud Isotope Model (MCIM). The model generally underestimates the depletion of 18O in precipitation, which was not improved by using condensation temperature rather than inversion temperature. Contrary to the assumption widely used in ice core studies, a more northern moisture source does not necessarily mean stronger isotopic fractionation. This is due to the fact that snowfall events at Dome C are often associated with warm air advection due to amplification of planetary waves, which considerably increases the site temperature and thus reduces the temperature difference between source area and deposition site. In addition, no correlation was found between relative humidity at the moisture source and the deuterium excess in precipitation. The significant difference in the isotopic signal of hoarfrost and diamond dust was shown to disappear after removal of seasonality. This study confirms the results of an earlier study carried out at Dome Fuji with a shorter data set using the same methods.

Alpine extensional detachment tectonics in the Grande Kabylie metamorphic core complex of the Maghrebides (northern Algeria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saadallah, A.; Caby, R.

1996-12-01

The Maghrebides are part of the peri-Mediterranean Alpine orogen. They expose in their inner zone inliers of high-grade crystalline rocks surrounded by Oligo-Miocene and younger Miocene cover. Detailed mapping coupled with structural and petrological investigations in the Grande Kabylie massif, and the reinterpretation of the available geochronological data, allow us to refute the traditional concept of rigid behaviour of this massif during Alpine events. We show that the dome geometry, the kinematic and metamorphic evolutions and the age pattern are typical of metamorphic core complexes exhumed by extension. A major low-angle detachment fault defined by mylonites and by younger cataclasites has been traced in the massif. The upper unit encompasses pre-Permian phyllites with Variscan {40Ar }/{39Ar } cooling ages, capped by unconformable Mesozoic to Tertiary cover of the Calcareous Range, both mainly affected by extensive Tertiary brittle deformation and normal faulting. The lower unit exposes in two half-domes a continuous tectonic pile, 6-8 km thick, of amphibolite facies rocks and orthogneisses affected by syndashmetamorphic ductile deformation, devoid of retrogression. The regular increase of paleotemperature downward and the {40Ar }/{39Ar } plateau ages around 80 Ma suggest that the high-temperature foliation and associated WNW-directed shear under a high geothermal gradient relate to extensional tectonics developed during Mesozoic lithospheric thinning of the Variscan south European margin. To the north, the Sidi Alli Bou Nab massif exposes another crustal section affected throughout by WNW-directed extensional shear during {HP }/{HT } syndashmetamorphic thinning and with overall {40Ar }/{39Ar } plateau ages of 25 Ma. The Eocene oblique collisional event responsible for crustal thickening was totally overprinted by this new extensional regime, synchronous with the beginning of the opening of the Western Mediterranean oceanic basin. This was also coeval with south-directed thrusting of foreland nappes to the south. Post-Miocene tectonic events cause significant overprinting.

Isotope effects in the evaporation of water: a status report of the Craig-Gordon model.

PubMed

Horita, Juske; Rozanski, Kazimierz; Cohen, Shabtai

2008-03-01

The Craig-Gordon model (C-G model) [H. Craig, L.I. Gordon. Deuterium and oxygen 18 variations in the ocean and the marine atmosphere. In Stable Isotopes in Oceanographic Studies and Paleotemperatures, E. Tongiorgi (Ed.), pp. 9-130, Laboratorio di Geologia Nucleare, Pisa (1965).] has been synonymous with the isotope effects associated with the evaporation of water from surface waters, soils, and vegetations, which in turn constitutes a critical component of the global water cycle. On the occasion of the four decades of its successful applications to isotope geochemistry and hydrology, an attempt is made to: (a) examine its physical background within the framework of modern evaporation models, (b) evaluate our current knowledge of the environmental parameters of the C-G model, and (c) comment on a general strategy for the use of these parameters in field applications. Despite its simplistic representation of evaporation processes at the water-air interface, the C-G model appears to be adequate to provide the isotopic composition of the evaporation flux. This is largely due to its nature for representing isotopic compositions (a ratio of two fluxes of different isotopic water molecules) under the same environmental conditions. Among many environmental parameters that are included in the C-G model, accurate description and calculations are still problematic of the kinetic isotope effects that occur in a diffusion-dominated thin layer of air next to the water-air interface. In field applications, it is of importance to accurately evaluate several environmental parameters, particularly the relative humidity and isotopic compositions of the 'free-atmosphere', for a system under investigation over a given time-scale of interest (e.g., hourly to daily to seasonally). With a growing interest in the studies of water cycles of different spatial and temporal scales, including paleoclimate and water resource studies, the importance and utility of the C-G model is also likely to grow in the future.

Arctic Temperature and Moisture Variability Associated with the Pliocene M2 Glacial Event from Lake El'gygytgyn, NE Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salacup, J. M.; Castañeda, I. S.; Brigham-Grette, J.

2014-12-01

The early Late Pliocene (3.6-3.0 Ma) is the last time atmospheric CO2 concentrations equaled today's values (~400 ppm). Despite this, and the warmer than modern climate it fostered, this period experienced an intense global glaciation during marine isotope stage (MIS) M2 (~3.3 Ma). Constraints imposed by the estimated sea level drop associated with this event suggest ice growth was not isolated to Antarctica, as had previously been the case, but that ice grew in high northern latitudes as well. M2 is unique during the Pliocene and is likely the first attempt of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to grow into those experienced during Pleistocene ice ages. However, the effects of MIS M2, and any attendant Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, on Arctic terrestrial temperature and hydrology are not well understood. Here we present and compare results from the biomarker-based MBT/CBT paleotemperature proxy with δDleaf wax results, sensitive to both temperature hydrology, from Lake El'gygytgyn (NE Russia) in an attempt to isolate and characterize variability in both air temperature and moisture source/availability. We compare our results with more coarsely resolved preexisting pollen-based temperature and moisture reconstructions. Our temperature reconstruction is, as far as we know, the highest resolution terrestrial record of this dramatic global cooling event. It implies a ~6°C cooling circa 3.29 Ma was accomplished in two steps before a rebound of ~7°C into the start of the mid-Pliocene Warm Period. Removal of the temperature effect from M2 δDleaf wax profiles using our MBT/CBT results provide insight into changes in local hydrology during this event that are compared with pollen-based estimates of minimum, maximum, and mean annual precipitation in order to discuss changes in amount and seasonality of moisture delivery to Lake El'gygytgyn (NE Russia) during the expansion of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.

Dependence of the cyclization of branched tetraethers (CBT) on soil moisture in the Chinese Loess Plateau and the adjacent areas: implications for palaeorainfall reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, H.; Liu, W.; Zhang, C. L.

2014-06-01

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (bGDGTs) have been show promising for continental paleotemperature studies in loess-paleosol sequences (LPSs). Thus far, however, little is known about the effect of soil moisture on their distributions on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). In this study, the relationships between environmental variables and the cyclization of bGDGTs (the so called CBT index) were investigated in a comprehensive set of surface soils in the CLP and its adjacent arid/semi-arid areas. We find that CBT correlates best with soil water content (SWC) or mean annual precipitation (MAP) for the total sample set. Particularly for the CLP soils, there is a significant positive relationship between CBT and MAP (CBT = -0.0021 · MAP + 1.7, n = 37, R2 = 0.87; MAP range: 210-680 mm). This indicates that CBT is mainly controlled by soil moisture in the alkalescent soils (pH > 7) in arid/semi-arid regions, where it is not sensitive to soil pH. Therefore, we suggest that CBT can potentially be used as a palaeorainfall proxy on the CLP. According to the preliminary CBT-MAP relationship for modern CLP soils, palaeorainfall history was reconstructed from three LPSs (Yuanbao, Lantian, and Mangshan) with published bGDGT data spanning the past 70 ka. The CBT-derived MAP records of the three sites consistently show precession-driven variations resembling the speleothem δ18O monsoon record, and are also in general accord with the fluctuations of the respective magnetic susceptibility (MS) record, supporting CBT as a reasonable proxy for palaeorainfall reconstruction in LPS studies. Moreover, the comparison of CBT-derived MAP and bGDGT-derived temperature may enable us to further assess the relative timing and magnitude of hydrological and thermal changes on the CLP, independent of chronology.

Evidence of moisture control on the methylation of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in semi-arid and arid soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dang, Xinyue; Yang, Huan; Naafs, B. David A.; Pancost, Richard D.; Xie, Shucheng

2016-09-01

The distribution of bacterial branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) is influenced by growth temperature and pH. This results in the widespread application of the brGDGT-based MBT(‧)/CBT proxy (MBT - methylation of branched tetraethers, CBT - cyclization of branched tetraethers) in terrestrial paleo-environmental reconstructions. Recently, it was shown that the amount of precipitation could also have an impact on CBT, as well as the abundance of brGDGTs relative to that of archaeal isoprenoidal (iso)GDGTs (Ri/b) and the absolute abundance of brGDGTs, potentially complicating the use of MBT/CBT as paleothermometer. However, the full influence of hydrology, and in particular soil water content (SWC), on GDGT distributions remains unclear. Here we investigated variations in the GDGT distribution across a SWC gradient (0-61%) around Qinghai Lake in the Tibetan Plateau, an arid to semiarid region in China. Our results demonstrate that SWC affects the brGDGT distribution. In particular, we show that SWC has a clear impact on the degree of methylation of C6-methylated brGDGTs, whereas C5-methylated brGDGTs are more impacted by temperature. This results in a combined SWC and temperature control on MBT‧. In this context we propose a diagnostic parameter, the IR6ME (relative abundance of C6-methylated GDGTs) index, to evaluate the applicability of brGDGT-based paleotemperature reconstructions. Using the global dataset, expanded with our own data, MBT‧ has a significant correlation with mean annual air temperature when IR6ME < 0.5, allowing for the use of MBT‧/CBT as temperature proxy. However, MBT‧ has a significant correlation with mean annual precipitation (i.e., a substantial reflection of SWC impact) when IR6ME > 0.5, implying that MBT‧ may respond to hydrological change in these regions and can be used as a proxy for MAP.

Geochemical Ecology of a High Latitude Coral: Plesiastrea versipora a new Paleo-Environmental Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgess, S. N.; McCulloch, M. M.; Ward, T.

2005-12-01

Corals growing in high latitude waters in Southern Australia are considered to be sensitive to changes in climate, including seasonal fluctuations in sea surface temperature. The annual nature of density bands of Plesiastrea versipora were verified using U/Th ages derived from multi-collector ICP-MS analyses and the resulting extension rates varied from an average of 1.2 mm yr -1 to 9 mm yr -1 for different colonies ranging in age from 120 - 300 years, located within the same reef. High resolution laser-ablation ICP-MS analyses of established paleo-temperature proxies including B/Ca, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and U/Ca were obtained from several cores of P. versipora from Gulf St Vincent (34.5°S) and Spencer Gulf (35°S), South Australia. Elemental compositions were compared to in situ sea surface temperature (SST) and satellite (IGOSS) records, and demonstrate significant covariance between Ba/Ca and temperature. Barium may not have been recognised as a temperature proxy in previous studies due to the smaller temperature range for lower latitude environments (~ 5°C versus 12°C for this study) and other factors contributing to the Ba signal such as terrestrially-derived or upwelled sources. Other trace elements analysed gave an indication of both the nutrient availability (P and Mn) and terrestrially derived pollutants (V, Y, Mo, Sn and Pb) correlating strongly with luminescent bands. Several of the stronger luminescent bands coincide temporally with known oil spills at a nearby port refinery and research is ongoing to determine if this is the point source of pollution. These data taken together suggest that P. versipora can provide valuable paleoclimate information in high-latitude environments, recording large seasonal variation in both temperature and productivity regimes with high fidelity and may also be employed to reconstruct anthropogenic activity.

Genetic Diversity of Globally Dispersed Lacustrine Group I Haptophytes: Implications for Quantitative Temperature Reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, N.; Longo, W. M.; Amaral-Zettler, L. A.; Huang, Y.

2017-12-01

There are significant uncertainties surrounding the forcings that drive terrestrial temperature changes on local and regional scales. Quantitative temperature reconstructions from terrestrial sites, such as lakes, help to unravel the fundamental processes that drive changes in temperature on different temporal and spatial scales. Recent studies at Brown University show that distinct alkenones, long chain ketones produced by haptophytes, are found in many freshwater, alkaline lakes in the Northern Hemisphere, highlighting these systems as targets for quantitative continental temperature reconstructions. These freshwater alkenones are produced by the Group I haptophyte phylotype and are characterized by a distinct signature: the presence of isomeric tri-unsaturated ketones and absence of alkenoates. There are currently no cultured representatives of the "Group I" haptophytes, hence they are only known based on their rRNA gene signatures. Here we present robust evidence that Northern Hemispheric freshwater, alkaline lakes with the characteristic "Group I" alkenone signature all host the same clade of Isochrysidales haptophytes. We employed next generation DNA amplicon sequencing to target haptophyte specific hypervariable regions of the large and small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene from 13 different lakes from three continents (i.e., North America, Europe, and Asia). Combined with previously published sequences, our genetic data show that the Group I haptophyte is genetically diverse on a regional and global scale, and even within the same lake. We present two case studies from a suite of five lakes in Alaska and three in Iceland to assess the impact of various environmental factors affecting Group I diversity and alkenone production. Despite the genetic diversity in this group, the overall ketone signature is conserved. Based on global surface sediment samples and in situ Alaskan lake calibrations, alkenones produced by different operational taxonomic units of the Group I haptophytes appear to display consistent responses to temperature changes, and thus can be used for paleotemperature reconstructions with a universally defined calibration.

Using Clumped Isotopes to Investigate the Causes of Pluvial Conditions in the Southeastern Basin and Range during the Last Deglaciation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowler, A.; Lora, J. M.; Mitchell, J.; Risi, C.; Lee, H. I.; Tripati, A.

2015-12-01

The last deglacial interval (~19-11 ka) was marked by major perturbations to Earth's climate coupled with rising atmospheric temperatures and CO2 concentrations, reaching near-modern levels by the early Holocene. Several discharges of freshwater into the North Atlantic caused by melting and collapse of continental ice sheets affected ocean circulation and sea-surface temperatures, triggering abrupt changes in terrestrial climate worldwide. While the timing and amount of associated temperature changes have been quantified from ice core records at high latitudes, corresponding information from lower latitudes is comparatively low and concentrated along coastlines, at high elevations, and in tropical and mesic regions. This is problematic for efforts to improve the reliability of long-term climate forecasts, reliant on models lacking sufficient validation from paleoclimate reconstructions for interior drylands that comprise nearly half of Earth's land surface. Evidence for past hydrologic changes in arid regions comes from ancient lake-shoreline deposits in internally drained basins, allowing quantitative comparison of the recorded effective moisture increases. However, the utility of these records depends on our relatively limited ability to deconvolve the contributions of temperature and precipitation to these changes. Here we explore the possible role of the summer monsoon in causing deglacial-age highstands in the southern Basin and Range. We employ clumped isotope analysis to generate paleotemperature and surface-water d18O estimates from carbonates in fossil shoreline and wetland deposits for comparison to output from PMIP3 coupled climate models and the model ensemble. Additionally, we present higher resolution output from LMDZ, the atmosphere-only component of the IPSL coupled model, employing LGM boundary conditions along with a hosing experiment designed to simulate Heinrich 1. For all simulations, we present analysis of changes in moisture transport, precipitation, evaporation, and resulting water isotopes.

Alkenone-based reconstructions reveal four-phase Holocene temperature evolution for High Arctic Svalbard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Bilt, Willem G. M.; D'Andrea, William J.; Bakke, Jostein; Balascio, Nicholas L.; Werner, Johannes P.; Gjerde, Marthe; Bradley, Raymond S.

2018-03-01

Situated at the crossroads of major oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns, the Arctic is a key component of Earth's climate system. Compounded by sea-ice feedbacks, even modest shifts in the region's heat budget drive large climate responses. This is highlighted by the observed amplified response of the Arctic to global warming. Assessing the imprint and signature of underlying forcing mechanisms require paleoclimate records, allowing us to expand our knowledge beyond the short instrumental period and contextualize ongoing warming. However, such datasets are scarce and sparse in the Arctic, limiting our ability to address these issues. Here, we present two quantitative Holocene-length paleotemperature records from the High Arctic Svalbard archipelago, situated in the climatically sensitive Arctic North Atlantic. Temperature estimates are based on U37K unsaturation ratios from sediment cores of two lakes. Our data reveal a dynamic Holocene temperature evolution, with reconstructed summer lake water temperatures spanning a range of ∼6-8 °C, and characterized by four phases. The Early Holocene was marked by an early onset (∼10.5 ka cal. BP) of insolation-driven Hypsithermal conditions, likely compounded by strengthening oceanic heat transport. This warm interval was interrupted by cooling between ∼10.5-8.3 ka cal. BP that we attribute to cooling effects from the melting Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. Temperatures declined throughout the Middle Holocene, following a gradual trend that was accentuated by two cooling steps between ∼7.8-7 ka cal. BP and around ∼4.4-4.3 ka cal. BP. These transitions coincide with a strengthening influence of Arctic water and sea-ice in the adjacent Fram Strait. During the Late Holocene (past 4 ka), temperature change decoupled from the still-declining insolation, and fluctuated around comparatively cold mean conditions. By showing that Holocene Svalbard temperatures were governed by an alternation of forcings, this study improves our understanding of Arctic climate dynamics.

Carrying capacity, carnivoran richness and hominin survival in Europe.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Jesús; Mateos, Ana

2018-05-01

Carrying capacity, the maximum biomass that an ecosystem can sustain over the long term, strongly influences several ecological processes and it is also one of the main determinants of biodiversity. Here, we estimate the carrying capacity (CC) of the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene ecosystems of Europe, using equations describing the relationship between CC and climatic variables observed in the present, as well as maps of inferred paleotemperature and paleoprecipitation. Maps of paleoclimate values were interpolated from the composite benthic stable oxygen isotope ratios and a transfer function was used to estimate ungulate carrying capacity (CC U ) from the interpolated mean annual temperature and annual precipitation values. Carnivoran carrying capacity was subsequently estimated from ungulate carrying capacity and the effect of CC on the carnivoran faunas was analyzed in 12 paleocommunities from Southern Europe. Our results show that carnivoran species richness is strongly related to ungulate carrying capacity in recent ecosystems, but the late Early Pleistocene paleocommunities from Southern Europe included much richer carnivore guilds than would be expected for a recent community with a similar ungulate carrying capacity. Thus, those late Early Pleistocene ecosystems supported a high number of carnivoran species, but the carnivoran biomass they could support was relatively low. Consequently, carnivorans occurred at low densities in Southern Europe compared to the recent African savanna ecosystems, but likely also compared to coeval East African ecosystems. Consequently, the first Homo populations that arrived in Europe at the end of the late Early Pleistocene found mammal communities consisting of a low number of prey species, which accounted for a moderate herbivore biomass, as well as a diverse but not very abundant carnivore guild. This relatively low carnivoran density implies that the hominin-carnivore encounter rate was lower in the European ecosystems than in the coeval East African environments, suggesting that an opportunistic omnivorous hominin would have benefited from a reduced interference from the carnivore guild. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detrital illite crystals identified from crystallite thickness measurements in siliciclastic sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Aldega, L.; Eberl, D.D.

2005-01-01

Illite crystals in siliciclastic sediments are heterogeneous assemblages of detrital material coming from various source rocks and, at paleotemperatures >70 ??C, of superimposed diagenetic modification in the parent sediment. We distinguished the relative proportions of 2M1 detrital illite and possible diagenetic 1Md + 1M illite by a combined analysis of crystal-size distribution and illite polytype quantification. We found that the proportions of 1Md + 1M and 2M1 illite could be determined from crystallite thickness measurements (BWA method, using the MudMaster program) by unmixing measured crystallite thickness distributions using theoretical and calculated log-normal and/or asymptotic distributions. The end-member components that we used to unmix the measured distributions were three asymptotic-shaped distributions (assumed to be the diagenetic component of the mixture, the 1Md + 1M polytypes) calculated using the Galoper program (Phase A was simulated using 500 crystals per cycle of nucleation and growth, Phase B = 333/cycle, and Phase C = 250/ cycle), and one theoretical log-normal distribution (Phase D, assumed to approximate the detrital 2M1 component of the mixture). In addition, quantitative polytype analysis was carried out using the RockJock software for comparison. The two techniques gave comparable results (r2 = 0.93), which indicates that the unmixing method permits one to calculate the proportion of illite polytypes and, therefore, the proportion of 2M1 detrital illite, from crystallite thickness measurements. The overall illite crystallite thicknesses in the samples were found to be a function of the relative proportions of thick 2M1 and thin 1Md + 1M illite. The percentage of illite layers in I-S mixed layers correlates with the mean crystallite thickness of the 1Md + 1M polytypes, indicating that these polytypes, rather than the 2M1 polytype, participate in I-S mixed layering.

Hide and go seek with temperature signals of Northeastern US Tree Species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, M. R.; Pederson, N.; Bishop, D. A.; Pearl, J. K.; Anchukaitis, K. J.

2017-12-01

Improving reconstructions of past climate is vital in providing long-term context for regional climate change. There have been only two published reconstructions of past temperatures in the northeastern U.S. (NEUS) since the 1980s, one based on Picea rubens, and one out in 2017 based upon Chamaecyparis thyoides (Atlantic white cedar; AWC). Because increased species diversity generally improves dendrohydroclimatic reconstructions and both Picea rubens and AWC have limitations as paleoproxies due to land-use and air pollution, we conducted a series of tests to ask, "Does species diversity improve reconstructions of temperature history in the northeastern United States?" The first two tests were performed on AWC and then a network of AWC and Picea rubens. Subsequent tests added groups of species or genera from a network of 230 tree-ring chronologies beginning with those having the strongest relation between warming temperatures and increased growth. PC1 of the AWC test represented 40% of the variance and showed a significant positive relation with winter temperature (r = 0.38). As additional species were included, the "winter temperature PC" accounted for less of the overall variance, ranging from 26% of the variance in test 2 to 5% by test 5. AWC is swamped by the hydroclimatic signal that dominates our network. Populations of species such as Fagus grandifolia, Fraxinus nigra, Juniperus virginiana, Liriodendron tulipifera, Pinus rigida, and Pinus strobus from our network loaded strongest with AWC on the winter temperature PC. Including multiple species accounted for almost 20% more variance in the winter temperature record than AWC alone. Although drought is a dominating influence of tree growth in this region, our results suggest that winter temperatures are recorded within NEUS tree rings. Increasing the species diversity of tree proxies has the potential for improving reconstruction of paleotemperatures in regions lacking latitudinal or altitudinal tree lines, such as those found in the NEUS.

The δ13C record of Maastrichtian-Paleocene oil shales from Jordan - Stratigraphic and environmental implications for an epicontinental setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beik, Ibtisam; Gómez, Victor Giraldo; Podlaha, Olaf G.; Mutterlose, Jörg

2018-07-01

Organic matter (OM) rich marls were deposited in several intrashelf basins in Jordan (e.g. Yarmouk Basin, Lajjun Basin, Azraq-Hamza Basin, Jafr Basin, Eshidiyya Basin) on the southeastern Tethyan margin during the Maastrichtian to middle Eocene. Factors like surface water productivity fueled by upwelling and sea level changes affected their deposition. Potential effects of climatic changes have not been determined yet. We present the first stable carbon and oxygen isotope records of Maastrichtian-Danian oil shales from the Azraq-Hamza and Jafr Basins in south- and central-east Jordan. The δ13Ccarb curves were time-calibrated based on calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy. Eight notable excursions were identified in the Jordanian Maastrichtian sections. These were correlated with the documented Maastrichtian δ13Ccarb events in the (sub) tropical sections of Italy and the western Pacific: the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary Events 4 and 5 (CMBE-4, CMBE-5), the Middle Maastrichtian Events 1 to 3 (MME-1 to MME-3) and the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary Events 1 to 3 (KPgE-1 to KPgE-3). Signs of the Latest Danian Event (LDE) were recognized as well. Total organic carbon (TOC) data exhibit a complex relationship with the δ13Ccarb proxy record. The δ13Ccarb signals are repeatedly dampened due to the OM oxidation and subsequent 12C release. The effect of short term climate changes is observed, but is not always straight forward. Long term climate changes had indirect effects on bottom water oxygenation and OM preservation via sea level changes. The δ18Ocarb data from both sections reveal minor temperature changes in the Maastrichtian. Slight warming is observed in the MME interval. A potential increase of the paleotemperature is reported from the Azraq-Hamza section occurring in the latest Maastrichtian to earliest Danian.

The Biological Nature of Geochemical Proxies: algal symbionts affect coral skeletal chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owens, K.; Cohen, A. L.; Shimizu, N.

2001-12-01

The strontium-calcium ratio (Sr/Ca) of reef coral skeleton is an important ocean temperature proxy that has been used to address some particularly controversial climate change issues. However, the paleothermometer has sometimes proven unreliable and there are indications that the temperature-dependence of Sr/Ca in coral aragonite is linked to the photosynthetic activity of algal symbionts (zooxanthellae) in coral tissue. We examined the effect of algal symbiosis on skeletal chemistry using Astrangia danae, a small colonial temperate scleractinian that occurs naturally with and without zooxanthellae. Live symbiotic (deep brown) and asymbiotic (white) colonies of similar size were collected in Woods Hole where water temperatures fluctuate seasonally between -2oC and 23oC. We used a microbeam technique (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) and a 30 micron diameter sampling beam to construct high-resolution Sr/Ca profiles, 2500 microns long, down the growth axes of the outer calical (thecal) walls. Profiles generated from co-occuring symbiotic and asymbiotic colonies are remarkably different despite their exposure to identical water temperatures. Symbiotic coral Sr/Ca displays four large-amplitude annual cycles with high values in the winter, low values in the summer and a temperature dependence similar to that of tropical reef corals. By comparison, Sr/Ca profiles constructed from asymbiotic coral skeleton display little variability over the same time period. Asymbiont Sr/Ca is relatively insensitive to the enormous temperature changes experienced over the year; the temperature dependence is similar to that of nighttime skeletal deposits in tropical reef corals and non-biological aragonite precipitates. We propose that the large variations in skeletal Sr/Ca observed in all symbiont-hosting coral species are not related to SST variability per se but are driven primarily by large seasonal variations in skeletal calcification rate associated with symbiont photosynthesis. Our model provides a framework for understanding the role of biology in determining coral skeletal chemistry and an explanation for anomalous Sr/Ca-based paleotemperature derivations.

Reconstructing paleo-precipitation amounts using a terrestrial hydrologic model: Lake Titicaca and the Salar de Uyuni, Peru and Bolivia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunnery, J. A.; Baker, P. A.; Coe, M. T.; Fritz, S. C.

2010-12-01

The Peruvian/Bolivian Altiplano has provided many information-rich records bearing on the history of the South American summer monsoon (SASM), a large-scale circulation system that is responsible for much of the precipitation over the Amazon basin and the southern tropics and subtropics. Examples of these paleoclimate time series include long, drill core records from Lake Titicaca (extending back to ca. 400 Ka, Fritz et al., 2007), the long drill core record from Salar de Uyuni (> 250 Ka, Baker et al., 2001; Fritz et al., 2004), paleo-lake level records from the Salar de Uyuni (e.g. Bills et al., 2004; Placzek et al, 2006); drill core records from the Rio Desaguadero valley (Rigsby et al., 2003), and ice core records from Quelccaya, Illimani, and Sajama (Thompson et al., 2000; Ramirez et al., 2003). Several previous studies using energy and water balance models have been applied to these records in attempts to provide quantitative constraints on paleo-temperature and paleo-precipitation (e.g. Kessler, 1984; Hastenrath and Kutzbach, 1985; Cross et al, 2001; Rowe and Dunbar, 2004; Arnold, 2002; Blodgett et al., 1997). For example, Blodgett et al. concluded that high paleolake stands in the Bolivian Altiplano, dated at ca. 16,000 cal. Yr BP (Bills et al., 1994) required precipitation 20% higher than modern at temperatures 5°C colder than modern. However, their model did not take into account the major overflow from Lake Titicaca. Using the THMB hydrologic model, we show that overflow from Lake Titicaca is necessary to produce and sustain large lakes in the Salar de Uyuni basin. This hydrological connection (via the Rio Desaguadero) between the northern and southern Altiplano likely was only established about 60,000 years ago. Prior to that, there were no sustained, large and deep paleolakes on the southern Altiplano. Rather, drill core evidence indicates a very long sequence of shallow, hypersaline lakes and playas.

High Arctic paleoenvironmental and Paleoclimatic changes in the Mid-Cretaceous

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrle, Jens; Schröder-Adams, Claudia; Selby, David; Du Vivier, Alice; Flögel, Sascha; McAnena, Alison; Davis, William; Pugh, Adam; Galloway, Jennifer; Hofmann, Peter; Wagner, Thomas

2014-05-01

Although major progress in Cretaceous (145-66 Ma) paleoclimate and paleoceanography has been made during the last decades (e.g., Hay, 2008, 2011; Föllmi, 2012 and references therein), our knowledge of high latitudinal environmental change remains largely unknown compared to low- and mid-latitude marine and terrestrial environments. Drilling the Arctic Ocean remains challenging and expensive, whereas the Sverdrup Basin provides excellent exposures on land. To fully understand the climate and paleoceanographic dynamics of the warm, equable greenhouse world of the Cretaceous Period it is important to determine polar paleotemperatures and to study paleoceanographic changes in a well-established and continuous bio- and chemostratigraphic context. Exceptional exposures of Cretaceous sediments on the central to southern part of Axel Heiberg Island at a Cretaceous paleolatitude of about 71°N (Tarduno et al., 1998) provide a unique window on the Cretaceous Arctic paleoenvironment and climate history (Schröder-Adams et al., 2014). Here we present high-resolution records combining sedimentological studies, U-Pb zircon geochronology, marine organic carbon isotopes and initial 187Os/188Os data, TEX86-derived sea-surface temperatures (SST) and climate modelling, that constrain the timing and magnitude of major Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs) and climate events constructed from a ~1.8 km sedimentary succession exposed on Axel Heiberg and Ellef Ringnens islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The first high latitude application of initial 187Os/188Os data are agreeable with global profiles (Du Vivier et al., 2014) indicating the widespread magmatic pulse of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (LIP) at the onset of OAE2 but also record the emplacement of local High Arctic LIP prior to the OAE2 in the Sverdrup Basin. Initial SST data suggest a slightly lower meridional temperature gradient during the Middle/Late Albian compared to present and a similar to the present one during the OAE2 period which shades a new light on temperature gradients during different climate states of the Cretaceous. In contrast, to the Late Cenomanian to Early Turonian the distinct occurrence of several widespread glendonite beds in the Late Aptian to Early Albian support cool bottom waters of about 0°C in the Arctic Sverdrup Basin, consistent with much lower TEX86-SST ~28°C, McAnena et al., 2013) and bottom water temperatures (6°C, Huber et al., 2011) in the low latitude North Atlantic. This supports the global character of the proposed Late Aptian cold snap (Kemper, 1987; Herrle & Mutterlose, 2003; Mutterlose et al. 2009; McAnena et al. 2013) and perhaps a northern hemisphere high-latitude intermediate bottom water source. References Du Vivier, A.C.D., Selby, D., Sageman, B.B., Jarvis, I., Gröcke, D.R., Voigt, S., 2014. Marine 187Os/188Os isotope stratigraphy reveals the interaction of volcanism and ocean circulation during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. EPSL 389, 23-33. Föllmi, K.B., 2012. Early Cretaceous life, climate and anoxia. Cretaceous Research 35, 230-257. Hay, W.W., 2008. Evolving ideas about the Cretaceous climate and ocean circulation. Cretaceous Research 29, 725-753. Hay, W.W., 2011. Can humans force a return to a "Cretaceous" climate? Sedimentary Geology 235, 5-26. Herrle, J.O. , Mutterlose, J., 2003. Calcareous nannofossils from the Aptian - early Albian of SE France: Paleoecological and biostratigraphic implications. Cretaceous Research 24, 1-22. Huber, B.T., MacLeod, K.G., Gröcke, D.R., Kucera, M., 2011. Paleotemperature and paleosalinity inferences and chemostratigraphy across the Aptian/Albian boundary in the subtropical North Atlantic. Paleoceanography 26, PA4221 doi:10.1029/2011PA002178. McAnena, A., Flögel, S., Hofmann, P., Herrle, J.O., Griesand, A., Pross, J., Talbot, H.M., Rethemeyer, J., Wallmann, K., Wagner, T., 2013. Atlantic cooling associated with a marine biotic crisis during the mid-Cretaceous period. Nature Geoscience 6, 558-561. Schröder-Adams, C.J., Herrle, J.O., Embry, A., Haggart, J.W., Galloway, J.M., Pugh, A.T., Harwood, D.M., 2014. Aptian to Santonian foraminiferal biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental change in the Sverdrup Basin as revealed at Glacier Fiord, Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. (in press). Tarduno, J.A., Brinkman, D. B., Renne, P. R., Cottrell, R. D., Scher, H., Castillo, P., 1998. Evidence for Extreme Climatic Warmth from Late Cretaceous Arctic Vertebrates. Science 282, 2241-2244.

Sr/Ca ratios in cold-water corals - a 'low-resolution' temperature archive?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rüggeberg, Andres; Riethdorf, Jan-Rainer; Raddatz, Jacek; López Correa, Matthias; Montagna, Paolo; Dullo, Wolf-Christian; Freiwald, André

2010-05-01

One of the basic data to understand global change and past global changes is the measurement and the reconstruction of temperature of marine water masses. E.g. seawater temperature controls the density of seawater and in combination with salinity is the major driving force for the oceans circulation system. Geochemical investigations on cold-water corals Lophelia pertusa and Desmophyllum cristagalli indicated the potential of these organisms as high-resolution archives of environmental parameters from intermediate and deeper water masses (Adkins and Boyle 1997). Some studies tried to use cold-water corals as a high-resolution archive of temperature and salinity (Smith et al. 2000, 2002; Blamart et al. 2005; Lutringer et al. 2005). However, the fractionation of stable isotopes (delta18O and delta13C) and element ratios (Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, U/Ca) are strongly influenced by vital effects (Shirai et al. 2005; Cohen et al. 2006), and difficult to interpret. Nevertheless, ongoing studies indicate the potential of a predominant temperature dependent fractionation of distinct isotopes and elements (e.g. Li/Ca, Montagna et al. 2008; U/Ca, Mg/Ca, delta18O, Lòpez Correa et al. 2008; delta88/86Sr, Rüggeberg et al. 2008). Within the frame of DFG-Project TRISTAN and Paläo-TRISTAN (Du 129/37-2 and 37-3) we investigated live-collected specimens of cold-water coral L. pertusa from all along the European continental margin (Northern and mid Norwegian shelves, Skagerrak, Rockall and Porcupine Bank, Galicia Bank, Gulf of Cadiz, Mediterranean Sea). These coral samples grew in waters characterized by temperatures between 6°C and 14°C. Electron Microprobe investigations along the growth direction of individual coral polyps were applied to determine the relationship between the incorporation of distinct elements (Sr, Ca, Mg, S). Cohen et al. (2006) showed for L. pertusa from the Kosterfjord, Skagerrak, that ~25% of the coral's Sr/Ca ratio is related to temperature, while 75% are influenced by the calcification rate of the organism. However, the Sr/Ca-temperature relation of our L. pertusa specimens suggest, that mean values are more reliable for temperature reconstruction along a larger temperature range than local high-resolution investigations. Additionally, our results plot on same line of Sr/Ca-temperature relationship like tropical corals indicating a similar behaviour of element incorporation during calcification. References: Adkins JF, Boyle EA (1997) Changing atmospheric ∆14C and the record of deep water paleoventilation ages. Paleoceanography 12:337-344 Blamart D, Rollion-Bard C, Cuif J-P, Juillet-Leclerc A, Lutringer A, Weering Tv, Henriet J-P (2005) C and O isotopes in a deep-sea coral (Lophelia pertusa) related to skeletal microstructure. In: Freiwald A, Roberts JM (eds) Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, p 1005-1020 Cohen AL, Gaetani GA, Lundälv T, Corliss BH, George RY (2006) Compositional variability in a cold-water scleractinian, Lophelia pertusa: New insights into vital effects. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 7:Q12004, doi:12010.11029/12006GC001354 López Correa M, Montagna P, Rüggeberg A, McCulloch M, Taviani M, Freiwald A (2008) Trace elements and stable isotopes in recent North Atlantic Lophelia pertusa along a latitudal gradient and from fossil Mediterranean sites. ASLO 2008 Summer Meeting, St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, 08.06.-13.06.2008, p. 47 Lutringer A, Blamart D, Frank N, Labeyrie L (2005) Paleotemperatures from deep-sea corals: scale effects. In: Freiwald A, Roberts JM (eds) Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, p 1081-1096 Montagna P, López-Correa M, Rüggeberg A, McCulloch M, Rodolfo-Metalpa R, Dullo W-C, Ferrier-Pagès C, Freiwald A, Henderson G, Mazzoli C, Russo S, Silenzi S, Taviani M (2008) Coral Li/Ca in micro-structural domains as a temperature proxy. Goldschmidt Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Rüggeberg A, Fietzke J, Liebetrau V, Eisenhauer A, Dullo W-C, Freiwald A (2008) Stable strontium isotopes (delta88/86Sr) in cold-water corals — A new proxy for reconstruction of intermediate ocean water temperatures. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 269:569-574 Shirai K, Kusakabe M, Nakai S, Ishii T, Watanabe T, Hiyagon H, Sano Y (2005) Deep-sea coral geochemistry: Implication for the vital effect. Chemical Geology 224:212-222 Smith JE, Schwarcz HP, Risk MJ (2002) Patterns of isotopic disequilibria in azooxanhtellate coral skeletons. Hydrobiologia 471:111-115 Smith JE, Schwarcz HP, Risk MJ, McConnaughey TA, Keller N (2000) Paleotemperatures from deep-sea corals: Overcoming 'vital effects'. Palaios 15:25-32

High latitude meteoric δ18O compositions: Paleosol siderite in the Middle Cretaceous Nanushuk Formation, North Slope, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ufnar, David F.; Ludvigson, Greg A.; Gonzalez, Luis A.; Brenner, Richard L.; Witzke, Brian J.

2004-01-01

Siderite-bearing pedogenic horizons of the Nanushuk Formation of the North Slope, Alaska, provide a critical high paleolatitude oxygen isotopic proxy record of paleoprecipitation, supplying important empirical data needed for paleoclimatic reconstructions and models of "greenhouse-world" precipitation rates. Siderite ??18O values were determined from four paleosol horizons in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPR-A) Grandstand # 1 Core, and the values range between -17.6??? and -14.3??? Peedee belemnite (PDB) with standard deviations generally less than 0.6??? within individual horizons. The ??13C values are much more variable, ranging from -4.6??? to +10.8??? PDB. A covariant ??18O versus ??13C trend in one horizon probably resulted from mixing between modified marine and meteoric phreatic fluids during siderite precipitation. Groundwater values calculated from siderite oxygen isotopic values and paleobotanical temperature estimates range from -23.0??? to -19.5??? standard mean ocean water (SMOW). Minor element analyses show that the siderites are impure, having enrichments in Ca, Mg, Mn, and Sr. Minor element substitutions and Mg/Fe and Mg/ (Ca + Mg) ratios also suggest the influence of marine fluids upon siderite precipitation. The pedogenic horizons are characterized by gleyed colors, rare root traces, abundant siderite, abundant organic matter, rare clay and silty clay coatings and infillings, some preservation of primary sedimentary stratification, and a lack of ferruginous oxides and mottles. The pedogenic features suggest that these were poorly drained, reducing, hydromorphic soils that developed in coal-bearing delta plain facies and are similar to modern Inceptisols. Model-derived estimates of precipitation rates for the Late Albian of the North Slope, Alaska (485-626 mm/yr), are consistent with precipitation rates necessary to maintain modern peat-forming environments. This information reinforces the mutual consistency between empirical paleotemperature estimates and isotope mass balance models of the hydrologic cycle and can be used in future global circulation modeling (GCM) experiments of "greenhouse-world" climates to constrain high latitude precipitation rates in simulations of ancient worlds with decreased equator-to-pole temperature gradients. ?? 2004 Geological Society of America.

Studying the Relative Strengths of Environmental Factors that Influence Echinoderm Body Size Trends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Low, A.; Randhawa, S.; Heim, N. A.; Payne, J.

2013-12-01

Body size is often a useful metric in observing how a clade responds to environmental changes. Previous research has uncovered how environmental factors such as carbon dioxide and oxygen levels influence body size evolution. However, we wanted to look into how these natural factors interact and which factors seem to have a stronger relative influence on echinoderm body size. We analyzed carbon dioxide levels, a proxy for paleotemperature, oxygen levels, and sea level. Our research process involved measuring and calculating the volume of Phanerozoic echinoderm fossils recorded in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, plotting their mean volumes over various natural factors, and using statistical tools such as correlation tests and the PaleoTS statistical analysis software to compare the relative strengths of these factors. Furthermore, we divided our data into the following three subsets to uncover more specific relationships: 1) A set that included all data of the phylum Echinodermata 2) A set that focused on the two classes with the most recorded data, Echinoidea and Crinoidea 3) A set that focused on the crinoid specimens that originated in the Paleozoic and in the post-Paleozoic. In the first subset, echinoderms had the strongest correlation with carbon dioxide, a proxy for temperature, and possessed a weaker correlation with oxygen. In the second subset, we discovered that the echinoid data also possessed a strong correlation with carbon dioxide and a weaker correlation with oxygen. For crinoids, we found that the class as a whole showed no strong correlation with any measured environmental factors. However, when we divided the crinoids based on age, we found that both Paleozoic and post-Paleozoic crinoids individually correlated strongly with sea level. However, some uncertainty with this correlation arose as the comparison of the environmental correlate models suggested that an unbiased random walk was the best fit for the data. This stands as a sharp contrast to the strong evidence provided by the appropriate graphs and correlation tests that indicate strong, dominant relationships between body size and environmental factors. Thus, though further research is necessary to settle such uncertainty, we were able to identify, observe, and compare the diversity in body size responses to environmental factors within echinoderms.

Noble gases, stable isotopes, and radiocarbon as tracers of flow in the Dakota aquifer, Colorado and Kansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, J.F.; Davisson, M.L.; Hudson, G.B.; Macfarlane, P.A.

1998-01-01

A suite of chemical and isotope tracers (dissolved noble gases, stable isotopes of water, radiocarbon, and CI) have been analyzed along a flow path in the Dakota aquifer system to determine likely recharge sources, ground water residence times, and the extent of mixing between local and intermediate flow systems, presumably caused by large well screens. Three water types were distinguished with the tracers, each having a very different history. Two of the water types were found in south-eastern Colorado where the Dakota is poorly confined. The tracer data suggest that the first group recharged locally during the last few thousand years and the second group was composed of ground water that recharged earlier during a cooler climate, presumably during the last glacial period (LGP) and mixed aged water. The paleotemperature record archived in this groundwater system indicates that south-eastern Colorado was about 5??C cooler during the LGP than during the late Holocene. Similar temperature changes derived from dissolved noble gases in other aquifer systems have been reported earlier for the south-western United States. The third water type was located down gradient of the first two in the confined Dakota in western and central Kansas. Groundwater residence time of this water mass is on the order of 104-105 yrs and its recharge location is near the Colorado and Kansas border down gradient of the other water types. The study shows the importance of using multiple tracers when investigating ground water systems.A suite of chemical and isotope tracers (dissolved noble gases, stable isotopes of water, radiocarbon, and CL) were analyzed along a flow path in the Dakota aquifer system to determine likely recharge sources, ground water residence times, and the extent of mixing between local and intermediate flow systems. Three water types were distinguished with the tracers, each having a very different history. Two of the water types were located in south-eastern Colorado where the Dakota is poorly confined. The third water type was located down gradient of the first two in the confined Dakota in western and central Kansas.

Holocene Temperature Reconstructions from Arctic Lakes based on Alkenone Paleothermometry and Non-Destructive Scanning Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Andrea, W. J.; Balascio, N. L.; Bradley, R. S.; Bakke, J.; Gjerde, M.; Kaufman, D. S.; Briner, J. P.; von Gunten, L.

2014-12-01

Generating continuous, accurate and quantitative Holocene temperature estimates from the Arctic is an ongoing challenge. In many Arctic regions, tree ring-based approaches cannot be used and lake sediments provide the most valuable repositories for extracting paleotemperature information. Advances in lacustrine alkenone paleothermometry now allow for quantitative reconstruction of lake-water temperature based on the UK37 values of sedimentary alkenones. In addition, a recent study demonstrated the efficacy of non-destructive scanning reflectance spectroscopy in the visible range (VIS-RS) for high-resolution quantitative temperature reconstruction from arctic lake sediments1. In this presentation, I will report a new UK37-based temperature reconstruction and a scanning VIS-RS record (using the RABD660;670 index as a measure of sedimentary chlorin content) from Kulusuk Lake in southeastern Greenland (65.6°N, 37.1°W). The UK37 record reveals a ~3°C increase in summer lake water temperatures between ~10ka and ~7ka followed by sustained warmth until ~4ka and a gradual (~3°C) cooling until ~400 yr BP. The strong correlation between UK37 and RABD660;670 measured in the same sediment core provides further evidence that in arctic lakes where temperature regulates primary productivity, and thereby sedimentary chlorin content, these proxies can be combined to develop high-resolution quantitative temperature records. The Holocene temperature history of Kulusuk Lake determined using this approach corresponds to changes in the size of the glaciers adjacent to the lake, as inferred from sediment minerogenic properties measured with scanning XRF. Glaciers retreated during early Holocene warming, likely disappeared during the period of mid-Holocene warmth, and advanced after 4ka. I will also discuss new UK37 and RABD660;670 reconstructions from northwestern Svalbard and the central Brooks Range of Alaska within the framework of published regional temperature reconstructions and model simulations of Holocene temperature around the Arctic. 1. von Gunten, L., D'Andrea, W.J., Bradley, R.S. and Huang, Y., 2012, Proxy-to-proxy calibration: Increasing the temporal resolution of quantitative climate reconstructions. Scientific Reports, v. 2, 609. doi: 10:1038/srep00609.

Mg/Ca Ratios in Coralline Red Algae as Temperature Proxies for Reconstructing Labrador Current Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamboa, G.; Hetzinger, S.; Halfar, J.; Zack, T.; Kunz, B.; Adey, W.

2009-05-01

Marine ecosystems and fishery productivity in the Northwestern Atlantic have been considerably affected by regional climate and oceanographic changes. Fluctuations of North Atlantic marine climate have been linked in part to a dominant pattern of atmospheric circulation known as the North Atlantic Oscillation, which has a strong influence on transport variability of the Labrador Current (LC). The cold LC originates in the Labrador Sea and flows southbound along the Eastern Canadian coastline causing an important cooling effect on marine waters off the Canadian Atlantic provinces. Although interdecadal and interannual variability of sea surface temperatures (SST) in the LC system have been documented, a long-term pattern has not been identified. In order to better understand the observed ecosystem changes and their relationship with climate variability in the Northwestern Atlantic, a century-scale reconstruction of spatial and temporal variations of the LC is needed. This, however, requires reliable long-term and high-resolution SST records, which are not available from short instrumental observations. Here we present the first century-scale SST reconstructions from the Northwest Atlantic using long-lived coralline red algae. Coralline red algae have a high-Mg calcite skeleton, live in shallow water worldwide and develop annual growth bands. It has previously been demonstrated that subannual resolution SSTs can be obtained from coralline red algal Mg/Ca ratios, a commonly used paleotemperature proxy. Specimens of the long-lived coralline red algae Clathromorphum compactum were collected alive in August 2008 along a latitudinal transect spanning the southern extent of LC flow in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. This collection is supplemented with specimens from the same region collected in the 1960's. In order to reconstruct spatial and temporal patterns of the LC, selected samples of C. compactum were analyzed for Mg/Ca using Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Mg/Ca ratios range from 0.048 to 0.138 (measured in weight %) and relate to water temperatures of -1 to 16°C. Age models were established by comparing annual growth increments (average increment width 350 microns/year) with Mg/Ca cycles. This yielded subannually-resolved Mg/Ca-based SST reconstructions spanning the past century.

Influence of temperature, pH, and salinity on membrane lipid composition and TEX86 of marine planktonic thaumarchaeal isolates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elling, Felix J.; Könneke, Martin; Mußmann, Marc; Greve, Andreas; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe

2015-12-01

Marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea of the phylum Thaumarchaeota are a cosmopolitan group of microorganisms representing a major fraction of the picoplankton in the ocean. The cytoplasmic membranes of Thaumarchaeota consist predominantly of intact polar isoprenoid glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids, which may be used as biomarkers for living Thaumarchaeota. Fossil thaumarchaeal GDGT core lipids accumulate in marine sediments and serve as the basis for geochemical proxies such as the TEX86 paleothermometer. Here, we demonstrate that the responses of membrane lipid compositions and resulting TEX86 values to growth temperature strongly diverge in three closely related thaumarchaeal pure cultures, i.e., Nitrosopumilus maritimus and two novel strains isolated from South Atlantic surface water, although the inventories of intact polar lipids and core lipids were overall similar in the three strains. N. maritimus and its closely related strain NAOA6 showed linear relationships of TEX86 and growth temperature but no correlation of TEX86 and temperature was observed in the more distantly related strain NAOA2. In contrast, the weighted average number of cycloalkyl moieties (ring index) was linearly correlated with growth temperature in all strains. This disparate relationship of TEX86 to growth temperature among closely related Thaumarchaeota suggests that the ring index but not the TEX86 ratio represents a universal response to growth temperature in marine planktonic Thaumarchaeota. Furthermore, the distinct TEX86-temperature relationships in the cultivated strains indicate that environmental GDGT signals may include an ecological component, which has important implications for ocean temperature reconstructions using the TEX86 proxy. In contrast, different growth medium salinities in the range 27-51‰ tested for N. maritimus showed no systematic effect on intact polar GDGT composition and TEX86. Similarly, N. maritimus showed only small changes in intact polar GDGT composition and TEX86 when grown at different medium pH in the range 7.3-7.9. Overall, our pure culture studies suggest that the TEX86 paleotemperature proxy is not solely dependent on growth temperature, but may amalgamate physiological, environmental, and ecological factors.

Environmental controls on the 2H/1H values of terrestrial leaf waxes in the eastern Canadian Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shanahan, Timothy M.; Hughen, Konrad A.; Ampel, Linda; Sauer, Peter E.; Fornace, Kyrstin

2013-10-01

The hydrogen isotope composition of plant waxes preserved in lacustrine sediments is a potentially valuable tool for reconstructing paleoenvironmental changes in the Arctic. However, in contrast to the mid- and low-latitudes, significantly less effort has been directed towards understanding the factors controlling D/H fractionation in high latitude plant waxes and the impact of these processes on the interpretation of sedimentary leaf wax δD records. To better understand these processes, we examined the D/H ratios of long chain fatty acids in lake surface sediments spanning a temperature and precipitation gradient on Baffin Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic. D/H ratios of plant waxes increase with increasing temperature and aridity, with values ranging from -240‰ to -160‰ over the study area. Apparent fractionation factors between n-alkanoic acids in Arctic lake sediments and precipitation(εFA-ppt) are less negative than those of mid-latitude lakes and modern plants by 25‰ to 65‰, consistent with n-alkane data from modern Arctic plants (Yang et al., 2011). Furthermore, εFA-ppt values from Arctic lakes become systematically more positive with increasing evaporation, in contrast to mid-latitude sites, which show little to no change in fractionation with aridity. These data are consistent with enhanced water loss and isotope fractionation at higher latitude in the Arctic summer, when continuous sunlight supports increased daily photosynthesis. The dominant control on δDFA variations on Baffin Island is temperature. However, changing εFA-ppt result in steeper δDFA-temperature relationships than observed for modern precipitation. The application of this δDFA-based paleotemperature calibration to existing δDFA records from Baffin Island produces much more realistic changes in late Holocene temperature and highlights the importance of these effects in influencing the interpretation of Arctic δDFA records. A better understanding of the controls on hydrogen isotope fractionation in high latitude leaf waxes will be essential to the proper interpretation of isotope records from sedimentary plant waxes in the Arctic.

Burial and thermal history simulation of the Abu Rudeis-Sidri oil field, Gulf of Suez-Egypt: A 1D basin modeling study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awadalla, Ahmed; Hegab, Omar A.; Ahmed, Mohammed A.; Hassan, Saad

2018-02-01

An integrated 1D model on seven wells has been performed to simulate the multi-tectonic phases and multiple thermal regimes in the Abu Rudeis-Sidri oilfield. Concordance between measured and calculated present-day temperatures is achieved with present-day heat flows in the range of 42-55 mW/m2. Reconstruction of the thermal and burial histories provides information on the paleotemperature profiles, the timing of thermal activation as well as the effect of the Oligo-Miocene rifting phases and its associated magmatic activity. The burial histories show the pre-rift subsidence was progressive but modest, whereas the syn-rift was more rapid (contemporaneous with the main rifting phases and basin formation). Finally, the early post-rift thermal subsidence was slow to moderate in contrast to the late post-rift thermal subsidence which was moderate to rapid. The simulated paleo heat flow illustrates a steady state for the pre-rift phase and non-steady state (transient) for syn-rift and postrift phases. Three geothermal regimes are recognized, each of which is associated with a specific geological domain. 1) A lower geothermal regime reflects the impact of stable tectonics (pre-rift). 2) The higher temperature distribution reflects the syn-rift high depositional rate as well as the impact of stretching and thinning (rifting phases) of the lithosphere. 3) A local higher geothermal pulse owing to the magmatic activity during the Oligo-Miocene time (ARM-1 and Sidri-7 wells). Paleoheat flow values of 100mW/m2 (Oligo-Miocene rifting phase) increased to 120mW/m2 (Miocene rifting phase) and lesser magnitude of 80mW/m2 (Mio- Pliocene reactivation phase) have been specified. These affected the thermal regime and temperature distribution by causing perturbations in subsurface temperatures. A decline in the background value of 60mW/m2 owing to conductive cooling has been assigned. The blanketing effect caused by low thermal conductivity of the basin-fill sediments has been simulated as well.

The relationship between humans and climate across the North Atlantic: what can lacustrine biomarkers tell us?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Wet, G.; Castañeda, I. S.; Bradley, R. S.; Small, G.; Barrasso, T.

2016-12-01

While climate change has been implicated in the colonization/population dynamics of the North Atlantic region, researchers in many cases are forced to compare archaeological data with distant paleoclimate records, making these linkages tenuous. Our research utilizes novel organic biomarkers in lacustrine sediments to produce paired paleoclimate and human occupancy reconstructions to better address questions surrounding human migration and climate change. Here we present preliminary results from two prominent locations in the history of the European colonization of the North Atlantic. The first, carried out on the Norse "Eastern Settlement" in Southern Greenland, attempts to answer the long-standing question of whether climate change caused the demise of the colony in the 1400s C.E. Second, we use similar techniques to search for evidence of the first peopling of the Faroe Islands, a highly debated topic. The use of lacustrine biomarkers allows for numerous aspects of both paleoclimate and human presence in a catchment to be reconstructed. We reconstruct paleotemperatures using branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) and alkenones (the UK37 Index), when present. Additionally, will analyze the difference in the hydrogen isotopic composition of long and short-chain plant leaf waxes as a proxy for lake water balance. Human occupancy in the region is investigated using fecal sterols and stanols, primarily created by the breakdown of cholesterol. Some of these compounds, such as coprostanol (the dominant sterol in human waste), provide strong evidence of human settlements and have been identified in some of our lake records. Our preliminary results suggest that temperatures were increasing in SW Greenland during the period when the Norse are thought to have died out, potentially challenging the long-standing view of climate deterioration being the primary cause of their demise. Primary productivity biomarkers from lake Eidisvatnet, in the Faroe Islands, suggests humans may have been present and influencing the landscape hundreds of years earlier than previously thought. Overall, our work highlights the potential application of lacustrine biomarkers to answer longstanding questions about the relationship of humans and climate back through time.

Fossil Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) as Paleothermometers in the African Tropics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eggermont, H.; Heiri, O.; Russell, J.; Vuille, M.; Audenaert, L.; Klaassen, G.; Verschuren, D.

2008-12-01

Reconstruction of Africa's temperature history from natural climate archives such as lake sediments is essential to amend the current scarcity of information on natural tropical climate and ecosystem variability. Chironomids are well-established paleothermometers in north-temperate/boreal regions, but their potential in tropical lakes has never before been assessed. We surveyed sub-fossil chironomid assemblages in surface sediments from 65 lakes and permanent pools in southwestern Uganda and central/southern Kenya, spanning elevations between 489 and 4575 m asl. Using various subsets of lakes and corresponding Surface-Water Temperatures (SWTemp) and Mean Annual Air Temperatures (MATemp), we developed a series of inference models for quantitative paleotemperature reconstruction. Models using both low-, mid- and high-elevation sites suffer to some extent from the small number of samples between 2500 and 3500 m asl, and from the presence of ecologically distinct but morphologically indistinguishable taxa. Models confined to mountain sites produce poorer error statistics, but are less prone to the biogeographical and taxonomic complexities associated with long climatic gradients. Overall, error statistics compare favourably with those of inference models developed for temperate regions, indicating that fossil assemblages of African Chironomidae can be valuable indicators of past temperature change. We subsequently used these models to evaluate whether high-elevation lakes in the Rwenzori Mountains (>3000 m asl) have been impacted by climate warming in recent centuries by comparing temperatures inferred from chironomid assemblages in modern sediments with those derived from chironomid assemblages in sediments deposited within or briefly after the Little Ice Age (1270-1850 AD). Depending on the model used, between 44 and 63% of the 16 lakes studied indicate significantly warmer temperatures in recent times (corresponding with an average MATemp rise of 0.88 ° C, and average SWTemp rise of 1.33 ° C), while all but one of the other lakes show temperature changes that are statistically insignificant. We conclude that chironomid communities in Rwenzori lakes adequately record past temperature changes, with potential for evaluating the impacts of past air temperature variation on the long-term dynamics of the Rwenzori glaciers.

Archaea in aquaria: Investigating the role of environmental influences on TEX86 in long-term culture experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, C.; Pagani, M.

2016-12-01

The TEX86 paleotemperature proxy has experienced a recent rise in application, due in part to its capacity to estimate temperatures above 30°C, and to the ubiquity of the archaeal membrane lipids that comprise it. Studies comparing environmental influences and archaeal lipids - specifically core glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) - offer insights into non-temperature influences on TEX86. Here we present environmental measurements and lipid distributions from >200 long-running aquarium systems using source water from North American coastal sites ranging in latitude from 60.12ºN to 24.56ºN. The influence of 32 environmental variables (depth, pH, etc.) was evaluated in the entire dataset, as well as in a subset that limited the influence of community structure. Based on multiple correlation analyses we demonstrate that temperature is the central factor influencing the distribution of core GDGTs in aquarium tanks, with the possible exception of GDGT-1, for which dissolved oxygen concentration is equivocally significant when GDGT-4 is included in the calculation of relative abundances. Temperature was found to have the most significant relationship with TEX86, with neither oxygen concentration nor water density making comparable contributions. Salinity, pH, and community structure have emerged as important, but less significant secondary influences of TEX86. Low salinity (<15 PSU) was consistently associated with TEX86 values that substantially overestimate tank temperature. The presence and abundance of MG-II Euryarchaeota, when considered, do not appear to significantly change the TEX86-temperature relationship. In addition, Illumina MiSeq 16S rDNA sequencing was used to assess whether archaeal communities differed along a spectrum of TEX86 values and environmental conditions. This technique allowed for the assessment of a taxonomically constrained subset of samples (n=54) where the archaeal tank populations were >98% sequences recognized as associated with the genus Nitrosopumilus (cultured ammonia oxidizers). In this dataset the relative abundance of GDGT-0 provided a better estimate of temperature than TEX86, and unusually high nitrite concentrations strongly correlated with underestimates of TEX86-based temperature relative to measured water temperature.

Extending Molecular Signatures of Climatic and Environmental Change to the Mesozoic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brassell, S. C.

2007-12-01

The distributions, abundances and isotopic compositions of molecular constituents in sediments depend on their source organisms and the combination of environmental and climatic parameters that constrain or control their biosynthesis. Many such relationships are well documented and understood, thereby providing proxies of proven utility in paleoclimatic reconstructions. Thus, the temperature dependence in the extent of unsaturation in alkenones derived from prymnesiophyte algae, and in the proportion of ring structures in glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) synthesized by crenarchaeota enables determination of sea surface paleotemperatures from sedimentary records. This molecular approach presumes temporal uniformity in the controlling factors on biosynthesis of these lipids, and their survival in the geological record, notwithstanding the challenge of establishing ancient calibrations for such proxies. Thus, alkenone records from marine sediments document cooling at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary but cannot assess changes in ocean temperatures during the Cretaceous, unlike GDGTs, which record fluctuations in ocean temperatures during the Early Cretaceous, and even survive in Jurassic strata. Other molecular measures offer less precise, yet informative, indications of climate. For example, the occurrence of sterol ethers in Valanginian sediments from the mid-Pacific suggests some cooling at that time, since these compounds are only known to occur elsewhere in cold waters or upwelling systems. Molecular compositions can also attest to levels of oxygenation in marine systems. In particular, the occurrence of 13C-depleted isorenieratane indicates the presence of photosynthetic green sulfur bacteria, and therefore anoxic conditions, albeit perhaps short-lived. Intermittent occurrences of isorenieratane often alternate with the appearance of 2-methylhopanoids, which provide separate distinct evidence for variations in oxygenation, linked to circumstances where low d15N values confirm an important role for N2-fixing cyanobacteria. In warm marine environments filamentous non-heterocystous cyanobacteria are the dominant N2-fixing organisms, and heterocystous species are excluded. Yet unicellular cyanobacteria within this latter group, wherein biosynthesis of 2-methylhopanoids is prevalent, are favored by low oxygenation levels. Thus, variations in the proportions of isorenieratane and 2-methylhopanoids observed within Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events suggest that bacterial populations varied in response to oxygenation levels during these episodes of carbon cycle perturbation.

Mississippian Barnett Shale, Fort Worth basin, north-central Texas: Gas-shale play with multi-trillion cubic foot potential

USGS Publications Warehouse

Montgomery, S.L.; Jarvie, D.M.; Bowker, K.A.; Pollastro, R.M.

2005-01-01

The Mississippian Barnett Shale serves as source, seal, and reservoir to a world-class unconventional natural-gas accumulation in the Fort Worth basin of north-central Texas. The formation is a lithologically complex interval of low permeability that requires artificial stimulation to produce. At present, production is mainly confined to a limited portion of the northern basin where the Barnett Shale is relatively thick (>300 ft; >92 m), organic rich (present-day total organic carbon > 3.0%), thermally mature (vitrinite reflectance > 1.1%), and enclosed by dense limestone units able to contain induced fractures. The most actively drilled area is Newark East field, currently the largest gas field in Texas. Newark East is 400 mi2 (1036 km2) in extent, with more than 2340 producing wells and about 2.7 tcf of booked gas reserves. Cumulative gas production from Barnett Shale wells through 2003 was about 0.8 tcf. Wells in Newark East field typically produce from depths of 7500 ft (2285 m) at rates ranging from 0.5 to more than 4 mmcf/day. Estimated ultimate recoveries per well range from 0.75 to as high as 7.0 bcf. Efforts to extend the current Barnett play beyond the field limits have encountered several challenges, including westward and northward increases in oil saturation and the absence of lithologic barriers to induced fracture growth. Patterns of oil and gas occurrence in the Barnett, in conjunction with maturation and burial-history data, indicate a complex, multiphased thermal evolution, with episodic expulsion of hydrocarbons and secondary cracking of primary oils to gas in portions of the basin where paleotemperatures were especially elevated. These and other data imply a large-potential Barnett resource for the basin as a whole (possibly > 200 tcf gas in place). Recent assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests a mean volume of 26.2 tcf of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas in the central Fort Worth basin. Recovery of a significant portion of this undiscovered resource will require continued improvements in geoscientific characterization and approaches to stimulation of the Barnett reservoirs. Copyright ?? 2005. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Equilibrium Line Altitude fluctuations at HualcaHualca volcano (southern Peru).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcalá, Jesus; Palacios, David; Juan Zamorano, Jose

2015-04-01

Interest in Andean glaciers has substantially increased during the last decades, due to its high sensitivity to climate fluctuations. In this sense, Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) is a reliable indicator of climate variability that has been frequently used to reconstruct palaeoenvironmental conditions at different temporal and spatial scales. However, the number of sites with ELA reconstructions is still insufficient to determine patterns in tropical climate or estimations of atmospheric cooling since the Last Glacial Maximum. The main purpose of this study is to contribute in resolving tropical climate evolution through ELA calculations on HualcaHualca (15° 43' S; 71° 52' W; 6,025 masl), a large andesitic stratovolcano located in the south-western Peruvian Andes approximately 70 km north-west of Arequipa. We applied Terminus Headwall Altitude Ratio (THAR) with 0.2; 0.4; 0.5; 0.57 ratios, Accumulation Area Ratio (AAR) and Accumulation Area Balance Ratio (AABR) methods in four valleys of HualcaHualca volcano: Huayuray (north side), Pujro Huayjo (southwest side), Mollebaya (east side) and Mucurca (west side). To estimate ELA depression, we calculated the difference between the ELA on 1955 with its position in the Maximum Glacier Extent (MGE), Tardiglacial phases, little Ice Age (LIA) and 2000. Paleotemperature reconstructions derived from vertical temperature gradient 6.5° C / 1 km, based on GODDARD global observation system considered the most appropriate model for arid Andes. During MGE, the ELA was located between 5,005 (AABR) and 5,215 (AAR 0.67) masl. But in 1955, ELA rose to 5,685 (AABR) - 5,775 (AAR 0.67) masl. The ELA depression between those two phases is 560 - 680 m that implies a temperature decrease of 3.5° - 4.4° C. The experimental process based in the use and contrast of different ELA reconstruction techniques applied in this study suggests that THAR (0.57), AAR (0.67) or AABR are the most consistent procedures for HualcaHualca glaciers, while THAR with ratios 0.2; 0.4 and 0.5 tend to underestimate it's position. Research funded by Cryocrisis project (CGL2012-35858), Government of Spain.

Extreme warming, photic zone euxinia and sea level rise during the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum on the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain; connecting marginal marine biotic signals, nutrient cycling and ocean deoxygenation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sluijs, A.; van Roij, L.; Harrington, G. J.; Schouten, S.; Sessa, J. A.; LeVay, L. J.; Reichart, G.-J.; Slomp, C. P.

2013-12-01

The Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma) was a ~200 kyr episode of global warming, associated with massive injections of 13C-depleted carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. Although climate change during the PETM is relatively well constrained, effects on marine oxygen and nutrient cycling remain largely unclear. We identify the PETM in a sediment core from the US margin of the Gulf of Mexico. Biomarker-based paleotemperature proxies (MBT/CBT and TEX86) indicate that continental air and sea surface temperatures warmed from 27-29 °C to ~35 °C, although variations in the relative abundances of terrestrial and marine biomarkers may have influenced the record. Vegetation changes as recorded from pollen assemblages supports profound warming. Lithology, relative abundances of terrestrial vs. marine palynomorphs as well as dinoflagellate cyst and biomarker assemblages indicate sea level rise during the PETM, consistent with previously recognized eustatic rise. The recognition of a maximum flooding surface during the PETM changes regional sequence stratigraphic interpretations, which allows us to exclude the previously posed hypothesis that a nearby fossil found in PETM-deposits represents the first North American primate. Within the PETM we record the biomarker isorenieratane, diagnostic of euxinic photic zone conditions. A global data compilation indicates that deoxygenation occurred in large regions of the global ocean in response to warming, hydrological change, and carbon cycle feedbacks, particularly along continental margins, analogous to modern trends. Seafloor deoxygenation and widespread anoxia likely caused phosphorus regeneration from suboxic and anoxic sediments. We argue that this fuelled shelf eutrophication, as widely recorded from microfossil studies, increasing organic carbon burial along continental margins as a negative feedback to carbon input and global warming. If properly quantified with future work, the PETM offers the opportunity to assess the biogeochemical effects of enhanced phosphorus regeneration, as well as the time-scales on which this feedback operates in view of modern and future ocean deoxygenation.

Characterising the transport and preservation of microbial tetraether membrane lipids in Karst Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jex, C.; Blyth, A. J.; Baker, A.; Mcdonald, J. A.; Woltering, M.; Khan, S. J.

2013-12-01

Stalagmites have the potential to preserve organic biomarkers, proxies for changes in surface climate. Of particular interest is a class of microbial-derived lipids, the glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraetheral (GDGT) lipids, which have been identified in cave deposits (Yang et al. 2011). Speleothem GDGT composition has been demonstrated to correlate with surface air temperature using the achaea derived isoprenoid ';(i)GDGT' index of TEX86 and the bacteria derived branched ';(b)GDGT' index of MBT/CBT of modern speleothem samples (Blyth & Schouten, 2013), indicating considerable potential for paleo-temperature reconstructions. These studies have suggested two competing sources for GDGTs in karst systems: 1) A soil derived microbial signal dominated by bGDGTs and 2) An in situ signal dominated by iGDGTs, representative of achaea existing within the cave or overlying bedrock, which dominates the speleothem signal. These findings are yet to be thoroughly tested by characterising the seasonal and spatial nature of GDGTs within caves to establish their sources and transport pathways within these complex fractured rock systems. We address this by presenting the preliminary results of a monitoring study of GDGTs within a single cave system, in South East Australia. Harrie Wood cave in Kosciusko national park is a high altitude, semi-arid site, dominated by discrete infiltration events throughout the year. Above the cave there are thin soils consisting of loose shallow scree, steep slopes and sparse shrub vegetation. We present data obtained from waters and soils immediately above and within Harrie Wood as well as in situ collection of GDGTs formed on filter papers left inside the cave throughout the year. A second cave within the same system provides contrasting surface conditions: thick red clays of moderate to no slope and Eucalypt dominated forest. As such these caves provide ideal test sites to characterise the variability in GDGT signals that may be a result of non-temperature related factors, including varying inputs (groundwater vs. in situ growth) or site specific hydrological conditions. Blyth, A.J., Schouten, S., 2013. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 109, 312-328. Yang, H. et al. 2011. Organic Geochemistry 42, 108-115.

Clumped Isotope Values from the Doushantuo Formation of South China: Evaluation of Hydrothermal Influence, Disequilibria and Diagenetic Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, I. S.; Zhu, M.; Lu, M.; Bristow, T.; Bonifacie, M.; Tripati, A.

2015-12-01

The Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation (635 - 551 Ma) of southern China is a phosphate-dolostone-black shale sequence following the Marinoan "Snowball Earth" episode that represents an important period in Earth history. It contains abundant phosphate-preserved microfossils, and extremely low carbon isotope values in the cap dolostone unit that have been interpreted to reflect formation in a methane seep environment [1]. Previous clumped isotope analysis of 13C-depleted carbonate veins from the basal Doushantuo samples have been interpreted to reflect hydrothermally-derived thermogenic methane oxidation [2], however recent work on modern and ancient cold seep samples suggests clumped isotope signatures in these environments are influenced by disequilibria effects [3] and are vulnerable to post-depositional diagenesis via internal reordering at temperatures exceeding ~ 100 - 120 ˚C [4]. Here we present initial data from the cap-carbonates overlying the Nantuo diamictite. Our analysis includes a variety of micro-facies from the cap-carbonate including pure calcite and micrite, with a range of carbonate carbon isotopic values. Data presented here will be used to attempt to determine if the samples exhibit disequilibria effects such as those observed in modern cold seep environments, as well as to evaluate the role of hydrothermal activity in the Doushantuo Formation. [1] Jiang, G., Kennedy, M.J., Christie-Blick, N., 2003. Stable isotope evidence for methane seeps in Neoproterozoic postglacial cap carbonates. Nature 426, 822-826. [2] Bristow, T.F., Bonifacie, M., Derkowski, A., Eiler, J.M., Grotzinger, J.P., 2011. A hydrothermal origin for isotopically anomalous cap dolostone cements from south China. Nature 474, 68-72. [3] Loyd, S., Sample, J.C., Orphan, V.J., Marlow, J., Eagle, R., Tripati, A.K., 2012. Clumped isotope analyses of cold seep carbonates: Insights into formation environment and mechanisms. Abstract B51G-0639 presented at 2012 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 3-7 Dec. [4] Henkes, G.A., Passey, B.H., Grossman, E.L., Shenton, B.J., Pérez-Huerta, A., Yancey, E.L., 2014. Temperature limits for preservation of primary calcite clumped isotope paleotemperatures. Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta 139, 362-382.

Stable carbon isotope ratios of archaeal GDGTs in the marine water column and surface sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, A.; Hurley, S.; Close, H. G.; Jasper, C. E.

2016-12-01

Archaeal glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids are ubiquitous throughout the marine environment and are preserved in sediments and sedimentary rocks on million-year timescales. Variations in the number of ring-containing GDGT isomers in sediments correlate with differences in overlying sea surface temperatures, a relationship formalized in the TEX86 paleotemperature proxy. Ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarchaeota are believed to be the major sources of these GDGTs, implying that the greatest production and export of GDGTs from the water column should be associated with the maximum expression of ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes and maximum number of thaumarchaeal cells, both of which occur in the subsurface NO2- maximum near a depth of ca. 80-250 m. To examine the relationship between production and export of GDGTs from the water column, we measured the concentrations and δ13C values of GDGTs in suspended particulate matter (SPM) of the western South Atlantic Ocean and compared them to values from pure thaumarchaeal cultures and from available sediment core-tops from other locations. Thaumarchaeota are believed to fix the majority of their carbon directly from dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). However, both the SPM and core-top δ13C values in some cases are moderately more 13C-depleted than would be predicted based on the 13C content of local DIC and the previously-published biosynthetic isotope fractionation (ɛ). This indicates that the average metabolism of the planktonic archaeal community either is mixotrophic (≥ 25% organic carbon assimilation) or that the published ɛ value for the model organism Nitrosopumilus maritimus may not be representative of the total autotrophic community. In addition to this offset, δ13C values of GDGTs in SPM inversely mirror DIC profiles, with lowest values in the nitrite maximum and higher values in the deeper water column, similar to the overall trends for bulk SPM. Finally, while individual GDGTs in SPM samples have similar δ13C values, in many sediments measured to date, the isotopic composition of individual GDGTs differs. This implies that multiple sources of GDGTs are required to explain core-top 13C distributions, especially on continental margins.

Paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic records through Marine Isotope Stage 19 at the Chiba composite section, central Japan: A key reference for the Early-Middle Pleistocene Subseries boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suganuma, Yusuke; Haneda, Yuki; Kameo, Koji; Kubota, Yoshimi; Hayashi, Hiroki; Itaki, Takuya; Okuda, Masaaki; Head, Martin, J.; Sugaya, Manami; Nakazato, Hiroomi; Igarashi, Atsuo; Shikoku, Kizuku; Hongo, Misao; Watanabe, Masami; Satoguchi, Yasufumi; Takeshita, Yoshihiro; Nishida, Naohisa; Izumi, Kentaro; Kawamura, Kenji; Kawamata, Moto; Okuno, Jun'ichi; Yoshida, Takeshi; Ogitsu, Itaru; Yabusaki, Hisashi; Okada, Makoto

2018-07-01

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19 is an important analogue for the present interglacial because of its similar orbital configuration, especially the phasing of the obliquity maximum to precession minimum. However, sedimentary records suitable for capturing both terrestrial and marine environmental changes are limited, and thus the climatic forcing mechanisms for MIS 19 are still largely unknown. The Chiba composite section, east-central Japanese archipelago, is a continuous and expanded marine sedimentary succession well suited to capture terrestrial and marine environmental changes through MIS 19. In this study, a detailed oxygen isotope chronology is established from late MIS 20 to early MIS 18, supported by a U-Pb zircon age and the presence of the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary. New pollen, marine microfossil, and planktonic foraminiferal δ18O and Mg/Ca paleotemperature records reveal the complex interplay of climatic influences. Our pollen data suggest that the duration of full interglacial conditions during MIS 19 extends from 785.0 to 775.1 ka (9.9 kyr), which offers an important natural baseline in predicting the duration of the present interglacial. A Younger Dryas-type cooling event is present during Termination IX, suggesting that such events are linked to this orbital configuration. Millennial- to multi-millennial-scale variations in our δ18O and Mg/Ca records imply that the Subarctic Front fluctuated in the northwestern Pacific Ocean during late MIS 19, probably in response to East Asian winter monsoon variability. The climatic setting at this time appears to be related to less severe summer insolation minima at 65˚N and/or high winter insolation at 50˚N. Our records do not support a recently hypothesized direct coupling between variations in the geomagnetic field intensity and global/regional climate change. Our highly resolved paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic records, coupled with a well-defined Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (772.9 ka; duration 1.9 kyr), establish the Chiba composite section as an exceptional climatic and chronological reference section for the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary.

Effects of growth phase on the membrane lipid composition of the thaumarchaeon Nitrosopumilus maritimus and their implications for archaeal lipid distributions in the marine environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elling, Felix J.; Könneke, Martin; Lipp, Julius S.; Becker, Kevin W.; Gagen, Emma J.; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe

2014-09-01

The characteristic glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether membrane lipids (GDGTs) of marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are widely used as biomarkers for studying their occurrence and distribution in marine environments and for reconstructing past sea surface temperatures using the TEX86 index. Despite an increasing use of GDGT biomarkers in microbial ecology and paleoceanography, the physiological and environmental factors influencing lipid composition in AOA, in particular the cyclization of GDGTs, remain unconstrained. We investigated the effect of metabolic state on the composition of intact polar and core lipids and the resulting TEX86 paleothermometer in pure cultures of the marine AOA Nitrosopumilus maritimus as a function of growth phase. The cellular lipid content ranged from 0.9 to 1.9 fg cell-1 and increased during growth but was lower in the stationary phases, indicating changes in average cell size in response to metabolic status. The relative abundances of monoglycosidic GDGTs increased from 27% in early growth phase to 60% in late stationary phase, while monohydroxylated GDGTs increased only slightly. The proportions of characteristic hexose-phosphohexose GDGTs were up to 7-fold higher during growth than in stationary phase, suggesting that they are valuable biomarkers for the metabolically active fraction of AOA assemblages in the environment. Methoxy archaeol was identified as novel, genuine archaeal lipid of yet unknown function; it is one of the most abundant single compounds in the lipidome of N. maritimus. TEX86 values of individual intact GDGTs and total GDGTs differed substantially, were generally lower during early and late growth phases than in stationary phase, and did not reflect growth temperature. Consequently, our results strongly suggest that biosynthesis is at least partially responsible for the systematic offsets in TEX86 values between different intact polar GDGT classes observed previously in environmental samples. Nevertheless, differences in degradation rates of intact polar GDGTs may influence the TEX86 index because the intact polar lipid precursors differ for individual core GDGTs and moreover their relative abundances change with growth stage, which may result in distinct release rates of core GDGTs from their polar precursors. Overall, our findings stress the need to accurately describe the factors influencing GDGT cyclization in thaumarchaea and thus paleotemperature reconstructions.

Preliminary magnetostratigraphy and environmental magnetism of the Lower Cretaceous from the Italian Dolomites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savian, J. F.; Jovane, L.; Florindo, F.; Lukeneder, A.

2011-12-01

The Lower Cretaceous (~146 to 100 Ma) represents an enigmatic time interval for paleoclimatic, paleogeography and paleomagnetic evolution of the Earth's history. The climatic changes include global oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), biotic changes, global excursions of carbon and strontium isotopes, rises in eustatic sea level and paleotemperature. Paleoceanography was marked by a rapid rate of ocean spreading in the Atlantic. The opening of the Atlantic Ocean was wide enough to allow significant circulation of masses of waters across the equator. This period is furthermore important for the oceanographic events occurring at the base of the Aptian (Selli Level). This period also present one of the most intriguing geomagnetic events: the long normal Cretaceous superchron, lasted for almost 40 million years. We study here the lower Cretaceous deposits of the Puez section in the Dolomites (northern Italy) which represents a continuous section during this period. The samples collected represent marine sedimentary materials of the Biancone and Puez formations. The Puez section consists essentially of green-grey to red limestones and calcareous marls. We present preliminary results of integrated magnetostratigraphic analysis, including a detailed lithostratigraphy and environmental magnetism. We recognize magnetic behavior that are relative to normal polarity (the normal Cretaceous superchron), with a short reverse interval that might represent the M-1r event. We also recognize a series of normal and reverse polarities (below the normal Cretaceous superchron) which can be referred to the magnetozones M1/M5. The environmental magnetic data consists of magnetic susceptibility (χ), natural remanent magnetization (NRM), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) at 900 mT and backfield isothermal remanent magnetization (BIRM) at 100 mT and 300 mT. Derived parameters, such as S-ratio (S300=BIRM300/IRM900) and hard isothermal remanent magnetization (HIRM=[IRM900+BIRM300]/2), both were used to investigate the magnetic coercivity of the magnetic carriers. The integrated records indicate that the magnetic mineral assemblage is dominated by low-coercivity minerals, probably magnetite and/or low-titanium titanomagnetite for the upper part of the section. There is a mixture of low and high-coercivity materials in the lower part of the section sections, probably magnetite and hematite. The new magnetostratigraphy allows to constrain the age of the sediments and the environmental magnetism provide information that will be helpful to understand the sedimentation processes.

Mapping South American Summer Monsoon Changes during Heinrich Event 1 and the LGM: Insights from New Paleolake Records from the Central Andes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C. Y.; McGee, D.; Quade, J.

2015-12-01

Cave stalagmite records show strong evidence of abrupt changes in summer monsoons during Heinrich events, but we lack rigorous constraints on the amount of wetting or drying occurring in monsoon regions. Studies on shoreline deposits of closed-basin lakes can establish quantitative bounds on water balance changes through mapping-based estimates of lake volume variations. We present new dating constraints on lake level variations in Agua Caliente I and Laguna Loyoques, two closed-basin, high-altitude paleolakes on the Altiplano-Puna plateau of the Central Andes (23.1°S, 67.4°W, 4250 masl). Because this area receives >70% of its total annual precipitation during austral summer, the region is ideally suited to capture a pure response to changes in the South American summer monsoon (SASM). The plateau is home to several small (<40 km2) lakes surrounded by well-preserved paleoshorelines that indicate past wetter conditions. Agua Caliente I is unique, having multiple shorelines encrusted with biologically-mediated calcium carbonate "tufa" deposits. Initial U-Th dating of these massive shoreline tufas reveals that these deposits are dateable to within ±50 to 300 years due to high U concentrations and low initial Th content (as indicated by high 230Th/232Th). Our U-Th dates show that Agua Caliente I was greater in lake surface area during two periods: 17.5-14.5 kyrs BP, coincident with Heinrich Event 1 (HE1), and 24-23 kyrs BP, roughly coincident with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). At these times, Agua Caliente I also overflowed into a neighboring lake basin (Loyoques) through an 8-km long southeast-trending stream channel. Thus, during HE1 and the LGM, the lake was ~9 times larger in surface area relative to modern. Hydrologic modeling constrained by paleotemperature estimates is used to provide bounds for these past precipitation changes. We also tentatively explore physical mechanisms linking Heinrich events and the regional hydroclimate by comparing freshwater hosing experiments and transient climate simulations. Our results in Agua Caliente I and Laguna Loyoques act as a proof of concept, and lend us confidence in expanding our U-Th work to other shoreline tufas in the surrounding region to produce a more detailed, spatiotemporal record of water balance changes in South America.

Significance of nodule formation for the interpretation of matrix micrite C and O isotope ratios in Upper Jurassic Ammonitico Rosso limestones (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coimbra, R.; Immenhauser, A.; Olóriz, F.

2009-04-01

Three Ammonitico Rosso (AR) sections from the Betic Cordillera in SE Spain were analysed to obtain stable isotope records and access paleoenvironmental information. The study area corresponded to a Late Jurassic distal epioceanic setting and is characterized by the occurrence of more or less calcareous AR horizons ranging from greyish to redish colour. The carbonate materials under scope where retrieved from the Cardador, Salcedo and Cañada del Hornillo sections and consist on matrix micrite, carbonate cements and skeletals and were analysed for their carbon and oxygen isotope signature. At least one bulk sample per ammonite biozone was retrieved under a strict biochronostratigraphic control. The degree of diagenetic imprint was acessed by cathodoluminiscence analysis and carbonate ultrastructure was analysed by scanning electron microscope. Micrite matrix showed dull luminiscence, revealing a low degree of diagenetic overprint, as oposite to carbonate cements and skekeltal materials, that presented bright orange luminiscence. The identification of coccoliths and filaments under SEM attested for the good degree of preservation of the carbonate ultrastructure. The carbon isotope chemostratigraphy resembles the known trends for Jurassic northern Tethyan margins and absolute values (from 1.1 to 3.3 permil) are within the range usually reported for well preserved material. Oxygen isotopes of matrix micrite samples present higher values than those expected for Upper Jurassic materials (ranging from -0.3 to 0.9 permil for the Cardador and Salcedo sections and from -2.1 to 0.4 permil at the Cañada del Hornillo section), whilts commonly well preserved low-Mg calcite skeletal materials, such as belemenite rostra present lower values than matrix micrite, acompanied by a very bright orange luminiscence. In contrast to what is usually reported, matrix micrite presents values closer to what would be the original isotopic composition and skeletal material is more affected by latter diagenesis. In this context, paleoenvironmental considerations are available, and the oxygen curve is interpreted as reasonable approximation of seawater paleo-temperatures and relative depth. Very early marine nodule formation is thought to be determinant for the high isotope values found at these locations. It is proposed that early diagenetic nodule formation preserved near-seawater isotopic signals and inhibited subsequent diagenetic overprint as revealed by several proxies retrieved from intra-nodule samples.

Pleistocene tropical Pacific temperature sensitivity to radiative greenhouse gas forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyck, K. A.; Ravelo, A. C.

2011-12-01

How high will Earth's global average surface temperature ultimately rise as greenhouse gas concentrations increase in the future? One way to tackle this question is to compare contemporaneous temperature and greenhouse gas concentration data from paleoclimate records, while considering that other radiative forcing mechanisms (e.g. changes in the amount and distribution of incoming solar radiation associated with changes in the Earth's orbital configuration) also contribute to surface temperature change. Since the sensitivity of surface temperature varies with location and latitude, here we choose a central location representative of the west Pacific warm pool, far from upwelling regions or surface temperature gradients in order to minimize climate feedbacks associated with high-latitude regions or oceanic dynamics. The 'steady-state' or long-term temperature change associated with greenhouse gas radiative forcing is often labeled as equilibrium (or 'Earth system') climate sensitivity to the doubling of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration. Climate models suggest that Earth system sensitivity does not change dramatically over times when CO2 was lower or higher than the modern atmospheric value. Thus, in our investigation of the changes in tropical SST, from the glacial to interglacial states when greenhouse gas forcing nearly doubled, we use Late Pleistocene paleoclimate records to constrain earth system sensitivity for the tropics. Here we use Mg/Ca-paleothermometry using the foraminifera G. ruber from ODP Site 871 from the past 500 kyr in the western Pacific warm pool to estimate tropical Pacific equilibrium climate sensitivity to a doubling of greenhouse gas concentrations to be ~4°C. This tropical SST sensitivity to greenhouse gas forcing is ~1-2°C higher than that predicted by climate models of past glacial periods or future warming for the tropical Pacific. Equatorial Pacific SST sensitivity may be higher than predicted by models for a number of reasons. First, models may not be adequately representing long-term deep ocean feedbacks. Second, models may incorrectly parameterize tropical cloud (or other short-term) feedback processes. Lastly, either paleo-temperature or radiative forcing may have been incorrectly estimated (e.g. through calibration of paleoclimate evidence for temperature change). Since theory suggests that surface temperature in the high latitudes is more sensitive to radiative forcing changes than surface temperature in the tropics, the results of this study also imply that globally averaged Earth system sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations may be higher than most climate models predict.

Cretaceous–Cenozoic burial and exhumation history of the Chukchi shelf, offshore Arctic Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Craddock, William H.; Houseknecht, David W.

2016-01-01

Apatite fission track (AFT) and vitrinite reflectance data from five exploration wells and three seafloor cores illuminate the thermal history of the underexplored United States Chukchi shelf. On the northeastern shelf, Triassic strata in the Chevron 1 Diamond well record apatite annealing followed by cooling, possibly during the Triassic to Middle Jurassic, which is a thermal history likely related to Canada Basin rifting. Jurassic strata exhumed in the hanging wall of the frontal Herald Arch thrust fault record a history of probable Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous structural burial in the Chukotka fold and thrust belt, followed by rapid exhumation to near-surface temperatures at 104 ± 30 Ma. This history of contractional tectonism is in good agreement with inherited fission track ages in low-thermal-maturity, Cretaceous–Cenozoic strata in the Chukchi foreland, providing complementary evidence for the timing of exhumation and suggesting a source-to-sink relationship. In the central Chukchi foreland, inverse modeling of reset AFT samples from the Shell 1 Klondike and Shell 1 Crackerjack wells reveals several tens of degrees of cooling from maximum paleo-temperatures, with maximum heating permissible at any time from about 100 to 50 Ma, and cooling persisting to as recent as 30 Ma. Similar histories are compatible with partially reset AFT samples from other Chukchi wells (Shell 1 Popcorn, Shell 1 Burger, and Chevron 1 Diamond) and are probable in light of regional geologic evidence. Given geologic context provided by regional seismic reflection data, we interpret these inverse models to reveal a Late Cretaceous episode of cyclical burial and erosion across the central Chukchi shelf, possibly partially overprinted by Cenozoic cooling related to decreasing surface temperatures. Regionally, we interpret this kinematic history to be reflective of moderate, transpressional deformation of the Chukchi shelf during the final phases of contractional tectonism in the Chukotkan orogen (lasting until ∼70 Ma), followed by renewed subsidence of the Chukchi shelf in the latest Cretaceous and Cenozoic. This history maintained modest thermal maturities at the base of the Brookian sequence across the Chukchi shelf, because large sediment volumes bypassed to adjacent depocenters. Therefore, the Chukchi shelf appears to be an area with the potential for widespread preservation of petroleum systems in the oil window.

Reconstructing Holocene temperature and salinity variations in the western Baltic Sea region: a multi-proxy comparison from the Little Belt (IODP Expedition 347, Site M0059)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotthoff, Ulrich; Groeneveld, Jeroen; Ash, Jeanine L.; Fanget, Anne-Sophie; Quintana Krupinski, Nadine; Peyron, Odile; Stepanova, Anna; Warnock, Jonathan; Van Helmond, Niels A. G. M.; Passey, Benjamin H.; Rønø Clausen, Ole; Bennike, Ole; Andrén, Elinor; Granoszewski, Wojciech; Andrén, Thomas; Filipsson, Helena L.; Seidenkrantz, Marit-Solveig; Slomp, Caroline P.; Bauersachs, Thorsten

2017-12-01

Sediment records recovered from the Baltic Sea during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 347 provide a unique opportunity to study paleoenvironmental and climate change in central and northern Europe. Such studies contribute to a better understanding of how environmental parameters change in continental shelf seas and enclosed basins. Here we present a multi-proxy-based reconstruction of paleotemperature (both marine and terrestrial), paleosalinity, and paleoecosystem changes from the Little Belt (Site M0059) over the past ˜ 8000 years and evaluate the applicability of inorganic- and organic-based proxies in this particular setting. All salinity proxies (diatoms, aquatic palynomorphs, ostracods, diol index) show that lacustrine conditions occurred in the Little Belt until ˜ 7400 cal yr BP. A connection to the Kattegat at this time can thus be excluded, but a direct connection to the Baltic Proper may have existed. The transition to the brackish-marine conditions of the Littorina Sea stage (more saline and warmer) occurred within ˜ 200 years when the connection to the Kattegat became established after ˜ 7400 cal yr BP. The different salinity proxies used here generally show similar trends in relative changes in salinity, but often do not allow quantitative estimates of salinity. The reconstruction of water temperatures is associated with particularly large uncertainties and variations in absolute values by up to 8 °C for bottom waters and up to 16 °C for surface waters. Concerning the reconstruction of temperature using foraminiferal Mg  /  Ca ratios, contamination by authigenic coatings in the deeper intervals may have led to an overestimation of temperatures. Differences in results based on the lipid paleothermometers (long chain diol index and TEXL86) can partly be explained by the application of modern-day proxy calibrations to intervals that experienced significant changes in depositional settings: in the case of our study, the change from freshwater to marine conditions. Our study shows that particular caution has to be taken when applying and interpreting proxies in coastal environments and marginal seas, where water mass conditions can experience more rapid and larger changes than in open ocean settings. Approaches using a multitude of independent proxies may thus allow a more robust paleoenvironmental assessment.

The influence of diet on the δ 13C of shell carbon in the pulmonate snail Helix aspersa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stott, Lowell D.

2002-02-01

The influence of diet and atmospheric CO 2 on the carbon isotope composition of shell aragonite and shell-bound organic carbon in the pulmonate snail Helix aspersa raised in the laboratory was investigated. Three separate groups of snails were raised on romaine lettuce (C3 plant, δ 13C=-25.8‰), corn (C4 plant, δ 13C=-10.5‰), and sour orange ( 12C-enriched C3 plant, δ 13C=-39.1‰). The isotopic composition of body tissues closely tracked the isotopic composition of the snail diet as demonstrated previously. However, the isotopic composition of the acid insoluble organic matrix extracted from the aragonite shells does not track diet in all groups. In snails that were fed corn the isotopic composition of the organic matrix was more negative than the body by as much as 5‰ whereas the matrix was approximately 1‰ heavier than the body tissues in snails fed a diet of C3 plant material. These results indicate that isotopic composition of the organic matrix carbon cannot be used as an isotopic substrate for paleodietary reconstructions without first determining the source of the carbon and any associated fractionations. The isotopic composition of the shell aragonite is offset from the body tissues by 12.3‰ in each of the culture groups. This offset was not influenced by the consumption of carbonate and is not attributable to the diffusion of atmospheric CO 2 into the hemolymph. The carbon isotopic composition of shell aragonite is best explained in terms of equilibrium fractionations associated with exchange between metabolic CO 2 and HCO 3 in the hemolymph and the fractionation associated with carbonate precipitation. These results differ from previous studies, based primarily on samples collected in the field, that have suggested atmospheric carbon dioxide contributes significantly to the shell δ 13C. The culture results indicate that the δ 13C of aragonite is a good recorder of the isotopic composition of the snail body tissue, and therefore a better recorder of diet than is the insoluble shell organic carbon. Because the systematic fractionation of carbon isotopes within the snail is temperature dependent, the δ 13C of the shell could provide an independent technique for estimating paleotemperature changes.

Flowstone compositions as indicators of centennial fluctuations of hydrological balance in Central Europe during the late Holocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demény, Attila; Kern, Zoltán; Molnár, Mihály; Czuppon, György; Leél-Őssy, Szabolcs; Surányi, Gergely; Gilli, Adrian

2017-04-01

Flowstones formed from springs in the Baradla and Béke Caves, North-east Hungary were drilled at several locations, and their sites were monitored for temperature, CO2 level in cave air, water and carbonate compositions for three years. The monitoring results suggest that the carbonate precipitated close to equilibrium with the local water. The non-systematic distribution of stable isotope and chemical compositions along sections on the surfaces of flowstone occurrences indicate irregular formation and the possibility of hiatuses within the flowstones' edifices. Approximately 40 cm long drill cores were extracted from the „Nagy-tufa" flowstone of the Béke Cave (BNT-2 core) and the Havasok flowstone of the Baradla Cave. U-Th dating efforts resulted in very large age uncertainties for the BNT-2 core, owing to detrital Th contamination. Therefore, in addition to the U-Th dating, AMS radiocarbon analyses were conducted to establish reliable age-depth models. The raw 14C ages were corrected for the dead carbon fraction (dfc) using radiocarbon results obtained for samples that yielded also accurate U-Th ages. Calibration and age-depth modeling have been performed using the OxCal v4.2.4. software. The data prove that the flowstones in the studied caves were formed contemporarily, covering the last 4 ka with two major hiatuses around 3.5 and 1 ka BP. Inclusion-hosted water contents, stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of carbonate, and hydrogen isotope composition of inclusion-hosted water as well as Si contents were determined for the two cores and compared with regional paleoclimate records for the period of 3.5 to 1 ka BP. The water contents, δ13Ccarb values and Si contents show correspondence with paleoprecipitation proxies from Central Europe to western Anatolia, while the paleotemperature estimates obtained using the δDwater values were in agreement with temperature reconstructions derived from paleobiological proxies from nearby lake sediments. The inferred paleohumidity variations agree also with water level changes of Lake Balaton (Western Hungary) assumed on the base of settlement migrations revealed by archeological excavations. These correlations indicate that the flowstone data provide valuable information about the regional water balance fluctuations for the late Holocene. The study was financed by the Hungarian Research Fund (OTKA NK 101664).

A cool eastern Pacific Ocean at the close of the Last Interglacial complex

USGS Publications Warehouse

Muhs, D.R.; Simmons, K.R.; Kennedy, G.L.; Ludwig, K. R.; Groves, L.T.

2006-01-01

New high-precision thermal ionization mass-spectrometric (TIMS) U-series ages of solitary corals (Balanophyllia elegans) from several marine terrace localities along the California and southern Oregon coasts date to the ???80,000 yr BP high stand of sea, correlative with marine isotope substage 5a, late in the last interglacial complex. Ages of multiple corals from localities north of Point An??o Nuevo (central California) and San Nicolas Island (southern California) suggest that this high sea stand could have lasted at least 8000 yr, from ???84,000 to ???76,000 yr BP. These ages overlap with those from marine deposits on tectonically stable Bermuda and tectonically emergent Barbados. Higher-elevation terraces at two California localities, in the Palos Verdes Hills and on San Nicolas Island, have corals with ages that range mostly from ???121,000 to ???116,000 yr BP, correlative with marine isotope substage 5e. These ages are similar to those reported for other terraces in southern California but are younger than some ages reported from Hawaii, Barbados and the Bahamas. Marine terrace faunas are excellent proxies for nearshore marine paleotemperatures during past high sea stands. Terraces on the Palos Verdes Hills and San Nicolas Island dated to the ???120,000 yr BP high sea stand have dominantly zoogeographically "neutral" species in exposed coastal localities, indicating nearshore waters similar to those of today. In contrast, ???80,000 yr BP, exposed coastal localities typically have molluscan faunas characterized by numerous extralimital northern species and a lack of extralimital southern species. These fossil assemblages are indicative of nearshore water temperatures that were cooler than modern temperatures at ???80,000 yr BP. Waters at least as warm as today's at ???120,000 yr BP and cooler than present at ???80,000 yr BP are in excellent agreement with marine alkenone records and coastal vegetation records derived from pollen data, from both southern and northern California. Decreased insolation or increased upwelling seem inadequate to explain the cool waters off the Pacific Coast from southern Oregon to southern California at ???80,000 yr BP. We propose that a stronger California Current (or at least one with a greater component of subarctic waters) may explain cooler-than-modern coastal waters during the ???80,000 yr BP high sea stand. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global map of lithosphere thermal thickness on a 1 deg x 1 deg grid - digitally available

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artemieva, Irina

2014-05-01

This presentation reports a 1 deg ×1 deg global thermal model for the continental lithosphere (TC1). The model is digitally available from the author's web-site: www.lithosphere.info. Geotherms for continental terranes of different ages (early Archean to present) are constrained by reliable data on borehole heat flow measurements (Artemieva and Mooney, 2001), checked with the original publications for data quality, and corrected for paleo-temperature effects where needed. These data are supplemented by cratonic geotherms based on xenolith data. Since heat flow measurements cover not more than half of the continents, the remaining areas (ca. 60% of the continents) are filled by the statistical numbers derived from the thermal model constrained by borehole data. Continental geotherms are statistically analyzed as a function of age and are used to estimate lithospheric temperatures in continental regions with no or low quality heat flow data. This analysis requires knowledge of lithosphere age globally. A compilation of tectono-thermal ages of lithospheric terranes on a 1 deg × 1 deg grid forms the basis for the statistical analysis. It shows that, statistically, lithospheric thermal thickness z (in km) depends on tectono-thermal age t (in Ma) as: z=0.04t+93.6. This relationship formed the basis for a global thermal model of the continental lithosphere (TC1). Statistical analysis of continental geotherms also reveals that this relationship holds for the Archean cratons in general, but not in detail. Particularly, thick (more than 250 km) lithosphere is restricted solely to young Archean terranes (3.0-2.6 Ga), while in old Archean cratons (3.6-3.0 Ga) lithospheric roots do not extend deeper than 200-220 km. The TC1 model is presented by a set of maps, which show significant thermal heterogeneity within continental upper mantle. The strongest lateral temperature variations (as large as 800 deg C) are typical of the shallow mantle (depth less than 100 km). A map of the depth to a 600 deg C isotherm in continental upper mantle is presented as a proxy to the elastic thickness of the cratonic lithosphere, in which flexural rigidity is dominated by olivine rheology of the mantle. The TC1 model of the lithosphere thickness is used to calculate the growth and preservation rates of the lithosphere since the Archean.

Lead-Lag relationships? Asynchrounous and Abrupt Shifts in Atmospheric Circulation, Temperature, and Vegetation during the 8.2 ka Event in the Eastern Mediterranean at Tenaghi Philippon, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niedermeyer, E. M.; Mulch, A.; Pross, J.

2017-12-01

The "8.2 ka event" has been an abrupt and prominent climate perturbation during the Holocene, and is characterized by an episode of generally colder and dryer conditions in the Northern Hemisphere realm. However, evidence to what extent this event has had an impact on climate in the Mediterranean region is ambiguous, in particular with respect to rainfall, temperature and vegetation change on land. Here we present a new, high-resolution record (ø 15 years during the event) of paleotemperatures from the Tenaghi Philippon peat deposit, Eastern Macedonia, Greece, using the MBT'/CBT index based on brGDGTs (branched Glycerol-Dialkyl-Glycerol-Tetraethers). Our data show fairly stable temperatures before the event, which is initiated at 8.1 ka by an abrupt and continuous cooling during the first 35 years of the event. After a short, 10-year episode of minimum temperatures, the event is ended by a similarly abrupt and continuous warming within 38 years. Comparison of our record with a previous study of the stable hydrogen isotopic composition of higher-plant waxes (δDwax) on the same core1 shows that changes in temperature occurred simultaneously with shifts in atmospherics moisture sources (Mediterranean vs Atlantic). Interestingly, further comparison of our data with a previous palynological study of the same core2 reveals that changes in vegetation associated with the 8.2 ka event precede shifts in hydrology and temperature by 100 years. This suggests either pronounced changes in seasonality of temperature and rainfall after the onset of the 8.2 ka event, i.e. at the peak of the event, or that changes in local atmospheric circulation (moisture sources) and temperature where not the initial trigger of changes in vegetation. References: Pross, J., Kotthoff, U., Müller, U.C., Peyron, O., Dormoy, I., Schmiedl, G., Kalaitzidis, S. and Smith, A.M. (2009): Massive perturbation in terrestrial ecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean region associated with the 8.2 kyr B.P. climatic event. Geology 37, 887-890. Schemmel, F., Niedermeyer, E.M., Schwab, V.F., Gleixner, G., Pross, J. and Mulch, A. (2016): Plant wax δD values record changing Eastern Mediterranean atmospheric circulation patterns during the 8.2 kyr B.P. climatic event. Quaternary Science Reviews 133, 96-107.

Warming, euxinia and sea level rise during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum on the Gulf Coastal Plain: implications for ocean oxygenation and nutrient cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sluijs, A.; van Roij, L.; Harrington, G. J.; Schouten, S.; Sessa, J. A.; LeVay, L. J.; Reichart, G.-J.; Slomp, C. P.

2014-07-01

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~ 56 Ma) was a ~ 200 kyr episode of global warming, associated with massive injections of 13C-depleted carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. Although climate change during the PETM is relatively well constrained, effects on marine oxygen concentrations and nutrient cycling remain largely unclear. We identify the PETM in a sediment core from the US margin of the Gulf of Mexico. Biomarker-based paleotemperature proxies (methylation of branched tetraether-cyclization of branched tetraether (MBT-CBT) and TEX86) indicate that continental air and sea surface temperatures warmed from 27-29 to ~ 35 °C, although variations in the relative abundances of terrestrial and marine biomarkers may have influenced these estimates. Vegetation changes, as recorded from pollen assemblages, support this warming. The PETM is bracketed by two unconformities. It overlies Paleocene silt- and mudstones and is rich in angular (thus in situ produced; autochthonous) glauconite grains, which indicate sedimentary condensation. A drop in the relative abundance of terrestrial organic matter and changes in the dinoflagellate cyst assemblages suggest that rising sea level shifted the deposition of terrigenous material landward. This is consistent with previous findings of eustatic sea level rise during the PETM. Regionally, the attribution of the glauconite-rich unit to the PETM implicates the dating of a primate fossil, argued to represent the oldest North American specimen on record. The biomarker isorenieratene within the PETM indicates that euxinic photic zone conditions developed, likely seasonally, along the Gulf Coastal Plain. A global data compilation indicates that O2 concentrations dropped in all ocean basins in response to warming, hydrological change, and carbon cycle feedbacks. This culminated in (seasonal) anoxia along many continental margins, analogous to modern trends. Seafloor deoxygenation and widespread (seasonal) anoxia likely caused phosphorus regeneration from suboxic and anoxic sediments. We argue that this fueled shelf eutrophication, as widely recorded from microfossil studies, increasing organic carbon burial along many continental margins as a negative feedback to carbon input and global warming. If properly quantified with future work, the PETM offers the opportunity to assess the biogeochemical effects of enhanced phosphorus regeneration, as well as the timescales on which this feedback operates in view of modern and future ocean deoxygenation.

Isotopic (δ18O, δD and deuterium excess) records from the TALDICE ice core (East Antarctica) (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stenni, B.; Buiron, D.; Masson-Delmotte, V.; Bonazza, M.; Braida, M.; Chappellaz, J.; Frezzotti, M.; Falourd, S.; Minster, B.; Selmo, E.

2010-12-01

Paleotemperature reconstructions from Antarctic ice cores rely mainly on δD and δ18O records and the main key factors controlling the observed distribution of δD and δ18O in Antarctic surface snow are mainly related to the condensation temperature of the precipitation and the origin of moisture. The deuterium excess, d = δD - 8*δ18O, contains information about climate conditions prevailing in the source regions of precipitation and can be used as an integrated tracer of past hydrological cycle changes. In the framework of the TALos Dome Ice CorE (TALDICE) project, a deep ice core (1620 m) has been drilled at Talos Dome, a peripheral dome of East Antarctica facing the Ross Sea, about 550 km north of Taylor Dome and 1100 km East from the EPICA Dome C drilling site. The TALDICE coring site (159°11'E 72°49'S; 2315 m; T -41°C; www.taldice.org) is located near the dome summit and is characterised by an annual snow accumulation rate of 80 mm water equivalent. Backtrajectory analyses suggest that Talos Dome is mainly influenced by air masses arriving both from the Pacific (Ross Sea) and Indian Ocean sectors. A preliminary dating based on an ice flow model and an inverse method suggests for the upper 1580 m an age of about 300,000 years BP. The full TALDICE δ18O record obtained from the bag samples as well as δD and deuterium excess data are presented here. The δ18O and δD measurements were carried out in Italy and France on a continuous basis of 1 m. These new records will be compared to the ones obtained from the EDC ice core as well as with other East Antarctic ice core records. In particular, we will focus on the whole isotopic profiles, in good agreement with other inland deep ice cores, and on the last deglaciation, showing climatic changes at Talos Dome in phase with the Antarctic plateau and suggesting that the bipolar see saw with Greenland temperature is also valid for this new coastal site facing the Ross Sea sector.

Magnesium isotope fractionation in biogenic and abiogenic carbonates: implications for paleoenvironmental proxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saenger, Casey; Wang, Zhengrong

2014-04-01

Geochemical variations in marine biogenic carbonates that are preserved in the geological record serve as proxies of past environmental change. However, interpreting most proxies is complicated by biologically-mediated vital effects, highlighting the need to develop new tools for reconstructing paleoenvironmental change. Recently, magnesium (Mg) isotope variability in carbonates has been explored extensively to determine its utility as a paleoenvironmental proxy. We review the results of these works, which have yielded valuable information on the factors affecting Mg isotope fractionation between carbonates and solution (Δ26Mgcarb-sol) in biogenic and abiogenic carbonate minerals. Strong evidence exists for a mineralogical control on Δ26Mgcarb-sol, with the negative offset from 0‰ following the sequence aragonite < dolomite < magnesite < calcite. Abiogenic carbonates precipitated from solutions with relatively high Mg/Ca ratios (>˜3 mol/mol) and saturation states (Ω >˜3) that are similar to seawater suggest that Δ26Mgcarb-sol has a temperature dependence of ˜0.01‰ °C-1 and is insensitive to precipitation rate. In contrast, a significant precipitation rate dependence is observed in calcites precipitated from solutions with relatively low Mg/Ca ratios (<˜3 mol/mol) and saturation states (Ω <˜3). This difference likely reflects varying mineral growth mechanisms and we discuss the degree to which Δ26Mgcarb-sol may be affected by factors such as fluid inclusions, amorphous calcium carbonate precursors, ion attachment/detachment kinetics, surface entrapment and Mg speciation. High-Mg calcite organisms, which likely precipitate from relatively unmodified seawater, also exhibit a temperature dependence of ˜0.01‰ °C-1, albeit sometimes with a systematic offset toward smaller fractionations. In contrast, strong vital effects in low-Mg calcite organisms, which exclude Mg from their calcifying fluids, lead to Δ26Mgcarb-sol values that exhibit no clear temperature dependence and are offset from abiogenic experiments. The majority of biogenic aragonites have Δ26Mgcarb-sol values that are slightly more positive than those in abiogenic experiments, but bivalves and one sclerosponge species can exhibit significantly larger fractionations. Although vital effects and analytical uncertainties will limit Δ26Mgcarb-sol paleotemperature reconstructions to anomalies of at least ±10 °C, Mg isotope variability in biogenic carbonates may be a useful proxy for the Mg isotope composition of seawater, which reflects continental weathering, dolomitization and hydrothermal activity.

Evaluation of clumped isotope paleotemperatures across carbon isotope excursions from lacustrine strata of the Aptian Xiagou Formation, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suarez, M. B.; Gonzalez, L. A.; Ludvigson, G. A.; You, H.

2014-12-01

Carbon cycle perturbations associated with Ocean Anoxic Event 1a have been implicated in global climate and environmental changes in the Early Aptian, in particular evidence for high sea surface temperatures (SST) and carbonate platform drowning. Records of environmental changes in the terrestrial realm remain sparse. This study provides additional data on clumped isotope derived temperatures (T(Δ47)) from lacustrine carbonates of the Xiagou Formation, Gansu Province, China. In addition, Vitrinite reflectance and the Rock-Eval parameter Tmax were used to evaluate the potential for 13C-18O bonds in the carbonates to have experienced reordering. Clumped isotope derived temperatures range from 28.8 °C to 45.9°C. Vitrinite reflectance values range from 0.67 to 0.72 and Tmax ranges from 429 °C to 443 °C. The warmest temperature, derived from a very fine-grained calcareous sandstone, is at the upper limit of known modern Earth surface temperatures, and prompts concern that the T(Δ47) may be shifted to warmer temperatures as a result of burial diagenesis. Vitrinite reflectance and Tmax values indicate the samples have reached early maturity for oil generation (oil window from 60 °C to 150°C), so may have reached the lower end of temperatures for bond reordering to have occurred (~100 °C for ~100 million years). Despite this, the T(Δ47) are consistent with summer temperatures in a warm Cretaceous. In addition, temperature variations are similar to TEX86 records, especially from SST of the tropical Pacific. Two temperature increases and decreases occur, with the first peak in temperature occurring at the negative carbon isotope excursion (C3) associated with the initiation of the Selli Event (OAE1a). This study provides evidence that climate variations occurring during the Selli Event were experienced in terrestrial environments, and provides maximum summer temperatures for this part of the Asian continent during the Cretaceous. While it was intended that thermal maturity parameters such as vitrinite reflectance and Tmax would help to rule out alteration due to burial diagenesis, the results are somewhat ambiguous. More rigorous data will be needed in future studies to screen clumped isotope samples for burial diagenesis.

Coupling δ18O values of rodent tooth and mollusc shell carbonates: a new approach to reconstructing Pleistocene palaeotemperatures?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peneycad, Elizabeth; Candy, Ian; Schreve, Danielle

2017-04-01

The ratio of stable oxygen isotopes in fossil rodent teeth (δ18Ort) can potentially provide valuable quantitative information about terrestrial palaeoclimate conditions. Grimes et al. (2004) suggested that δ18Ort could be usefully combined with the δ18O values of coeval biominerals, e.g. mollusc shells (δ18Oms), to estimate past summer temperatures during the Quaternary period. Nevertheless, until now, the application of this approach to Quaternary palaeoclimate reconstruction has remained unexplored. In addition, the success of this approach is dependent upon the establishment of a statistically robust relationship between δ18Ort and the δ18O of meteoric water (δ18Omw) in the modern environment. However, such a relationship is yet to be quantified in relation to rodent tooth carbonate. Here, we present the preliminary results of 2 studies investigating the validity of δ18Ort as a climate proxy. Firstly, isotope analyses were undertaken on modern vole (Microtus agrestis) teeth from 3 locations across the UK. The results of these analyses reveal a significant linear correlation between the mean δ18Ort and the mean δ18Omw. These findings therefore demonstrate that a quantifiable relationship exists between δ18Ort and δ18Omw, highlighting the potential of δ18Ort as an accurate recorder of local climatic conditions. This modern relationship was subsequently applied to the reconstruction of past δ18Omw values for two Pleistocene interglacial sites in the UK. The δ18Omw values were calculated using δ18Ort, and then combined with δ18Oms values derived from coeval fossil gastropod assemblages in order to estimate mean summer palaeotemperatures. The results of these calculations are in close agreement with multi-proxy temperature reconstructions derived from the same deposits. This suggests that coupling the δ18O values of rodent tooth and mollusc shell carbonates offers great potential as an approach to quantifying summer palaeotemperatures in Europe, particularly for carbonate-rich sites at which alternative temperature proxies may be unavailable. References: Grimes, S.T., Mattey, D.P., Collinson, M.E. & Hooker, J.J. (2004) Using mammal tooth phosphate with freshwater carbonate and phosphate palaeoproxies to obtain mean paleotemperatures. Quaternary Science Reviews, 23, pp.967-976.

Widespread occurrence of distinct alkenones from Group I haptophytes in freshwater lakes: Implications for paleotemperature and paleoenvironmental reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longo, William M.; Huang, Yongsong; Yao, Yuan; Zhao, Jiaju; Giblin, Anne E.; Wang, Xian; Zech, Roland; Haberzettl, Torsten; Jardillier, Ludwig; Toney, Jaime; Liu, Zhonghui; Krivonogov, Sergey; Kolpakova, Marina; Chu, Guoqiang; D'Andrea, William J.; Harada, Naomi; Nagashima, Kana; Sato, Miyako; Yonenobu, Hitoshi; Yamada, Kazuyoshi; Gotanda, Katsuya; Shinozuka, Yoshitsugu

2018-06-01

Alkenones are C35-C42 polyunsaturated ketone lipids that are commonly employed to reconstruct changes in sea surface temperature. However, their use in coastal seas and saline lakes can be hindered by species-mixing effects. We recently hypothesized that freshwater lakes are immune to species-mixing effects because they appear to exclusively host Group I haptophyte algae, which produce a distinct distribution of alkenones with a relatively consistent response of alkenone unsaturation to temperature. To evaluate this hypothesis and explore the geographic extent of Group I haptophytes, we analyzed alkenones in sediment and suspended particulate matter samples from lakes distributed throughout the mid- and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (n = 30). Our results indicate that Group I-type alkenone distributions are widespread in freshwater lakes from a range of different climates (mean annual air temperature range: -17.3-10.9 °C; mean annual precipitation range: 125-1657 mm yr-1; latitude range: 40-81°N), and are commonly found in neutral to basic lakes (pH > 7.0), including volcanic lakes and lakes with mafic bedrock. We show that these freshwater lakes do not feature alkenone distributions characteristic of Group II lacustrine haptophytes, providing support for the hypothesis that freshwater lakes are immune to species-mixing effects. In lakes that underwent temporal shifts in salinity, we observed mixed Group I/II alkenone distributions and the alkenone contributions from each group could be quantified with the RIK37 index. Additionally, we observed significant correlations of alkenone unsaturation (U37K) with seasonal and mean annual air temperature with this expanded freshwater lakes dataset, with the strongest correlation occurring during the spring transitional season (U37K = 0.029 * T - 0.49; r2 = 0.60; p < 0.0001). We present new sediment trap data from two lakes in northern Alaska (Toolik Lake, 68.632°N, 149.602°W; Lake E5, 68.643°N, 149.458°W) that demonstrate the highest sedimentary fluxes of alkenones in the spring transitional season, concurrent with the period of lake ice melt and isothermal mixing. Together, these data provide a framework for evaluating lacustrine alkenone distributions and utilizing alkenone unsaturation as a lake temperature proxy.

Misrepresentations of Sargasso Sea temperatures by Arthur B. Robinson et al.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Keigwin, Lloyd; Boslough, Mark Bruce Elrick

2010-10-01

Keigwin (Science 274:1504-1508, 1996) reconstructed the sea surface temperature (SST) record in the northern Sargasso Sea to document natural climate variability in recent millennia. The annual average SST proxy used {delta}{sup 18}O in planktonic foraminifera in a radiocarbon-dated 1990 Bermuda Rise box core. Keigwin's Fig. 4B (K4B) shows a 50-year-averaged time series along with four decades of SST measurements from Station S near Bermuda, demonstrating that the Sargasso Sea is now at its warmest in more than 400 years, and well above the most recent box-core temperature. Taken together, Station S and paleo-temperatures suggest there was an acceleration of warmingmore » in the 20th century, though this was not an explicit conclusion of the paper. Keigwin concluded that anthropogenic warming may be superposed on a natural warming trend. In an unpublished paper circulated with the anti-Kyoto 'Oregon Petition,' Robinson et al. ('Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide,' 1998) reproduced K4B but (1) omitted Station S data, (2) incorrectly stated that the time series ended in 1975, (3) conflated Sargasso Sea data with global temperature, and (4) falsely claimed that Keigwin showed global temperatures 'are still a little below the average for the past 3,000 years.' Keigwin's Fig. 2 showed that {delta}{sup 18}O has increased over the past 6000 years, so SSTs calculated from those data would have a long term decrease. Thus, it is inappropriate to compare present-day SST to a long term mean unless the trend is removed. Slight variations of Robinson et al. (1998) have been repeatedly published with different author rotations. Various mislabeled, improperly-drawn, and distorted versions of K4B have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, in weblogs, and even as an editorial cartoon-all supporting baseless claims that current temperatures are lower than the long-term mean, and traceable to Robinson's misrepresentation with Station S data removed. In 2007, Robinson added a fictitious 2006 temperature that is significantly lower than the measured data. This doctored version of K4B with fabricated data was reprinted in a 2008 Heartland Institute advocacy report, 'Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate.'« less

Biomarker signatures in sediment cores of Lake Urmia (NW Iran): Potential implications for paleo-climate and paleo-environment reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haghipour, Negar; Eglinton, Timothy Ian; McIntyre, Cameron; Darvishi Khatooni, Javad; Hunziker, Daniela; Mohammadi, Ali

2015-04-01

Lake Urmia, in northwest Iran, is the largest saline lake in the Middle East with a surface area of ~ 5000km2. Historical documents indicate its existence since at least 2000 years BC, and palynological investigation of a 100 m-long core suggest it contains a sedimentary record spanning the last 200 ka. Despite this potential as an archive of paleo-climate and paleo-environmental information, to date there has been no molecular organic geochemical investigation or precise dating of these sediments. As part of an exploratory study, we have analyzed material from 3 recently collected 8 m-long cores from the eastern, western and middle part of the lake, with the aim of gaining insight in to past depositional and environmental conditions from biomarker signatures preserved in Lake Urmia sediments. The main objectives are to 1) constrain major source(s) of organic matter and gain insights into carbon cycle and depositional processes from bulk isotopic (δ13Corg, 14Corg) and molecular information, 2) determine the applicability of molecular proxies (TEX86 index derived from glyceroldialkylglycerol tetraethers, GDGTs, and unsaturation index UK37 based on long chain alkenones) for paleo-temperature reconstruction and 3) reconstruct the paleo- vegetation and hydrology from compound-specific stable isotopes (δ13C and δD of n-alkanes). In select samples examined from the three cores, we find the hydrocarbon fractions are dominated by long-chain n-alkanes, with n-C29 and C31 as the dominant homologues in most of the samples. Based on the n-alkane distribution, we distinguish two main types; Type 1 mainly includes the samples deeper than ca 4 m (CPI= 10.2, ACL= 30), characteristic of a terrestrial higher plant source; Type 2 comprises mainly shallower samples (CPI =1.5, ACL = 27.3) which may suggest an increased contribution of aquatic plants. Preliminary GDGT analyses indicate low BIT values for most samples, which suggest little input of soil-derived branched-GDGTs. The fact that Urmia Lake is big and little affected by in situ production of iso-GDGTs from methanogenic Euryarchaeota makes the measured TEX86 proxy reliable. The potential for Uk37 index-based temperature reconstruction also appears feasible since the alkenone concentrations in most of the samples are sufficient. We will present these preliminary data together, compound-specific stable isotope with initial 14C results on bulk sediments.

Discussion on the Regional Paleotemperature Evolution since the Late Pleistocene in the Loess Plateau with GDGT as an Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yingchun, S.

2017-12-01

It is an effective way to understand the modern climate and predict the future climate trend by using the geological substitute indicators to reconstruct the past climate. In recent years, scientists have begun to apply Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) to reconstruct paleoclimate and many proxies about ancient air temperature based on GDGTs have been proposed, even the empirical formulas used for China have also been established. In this paper, five loess-paleosol sequences spanning the Late Pleistocene from the Loess Plateau have been used to examine the effectiveness of the formulas as well as to discuss the regional evolution of the ancient temperature of the plateau. The results are as follows: (1) The relative content of iGDGT is higher than that of bGDGT in all Loess sections, and that of each compound follows relatively fixed regularity. Seen from the geographical distribution, the relative content of GDGT in southernmost sections is the highest, which in the northernmost is the smallest. (2) In the last interglacial period, from the northern part to the southern part of the Loess Plateau, the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) of northern Jingbian was 14°, central Luochuan was up to 15°, and southern Weinan was nearly 18°. And at the end of the last glacial period the temperature, where LC and WN located, dropped to 13.5°. Along the east-west direction of the Plateau, in the last interglacial period, the MAAT of western Qin'an secion was 13°, and that of central Baoji and eastern Weinan was about 18°. To the end of the last glacial period, the MAAT decreased to the lowest, Weinan 13.5°, Baoji 14.5°, while Qin'an 10.8°. (3)In contrast to the magnetic susceptibility index, the curves of GDGT MAAT have great similarity with the magnetic susceptibility curve, but it is obvious that there are phase differences between them. That may be indicating that the temperature rise was before the onset of the East-Asian summer monsoon in the Plateau. Although the formula has been adjusted for China, the temperatures from GDGTs are relatively higher, which is consistent with the views of some researchers. Therefore, some researchers assumed that the GDGTs temperature should represent the average summer temperature. Hence, the interpretation still requires more research sections and scientific indicators for verification.

Living microbial ecosystems within the active zone of catagenesis: Implications for feeding the deep biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horsfield, B.; Schenk, H. J.; Zink, K.; Ondrak, R.; Dieckmann, V.; Kallmeyer, J.; Mangelsdorf, K.; di Primio, R.; Wilkes, H.; Parkes, R. J.; Fry, J.; Cragg, B.

2006-06-01

Earth's largest reactive carbon pool, marine sedimentary organic matter, becomes increasingly recalcitrant during burial, making it almost inaccessible as a substrate for microorganisms, and thereby limiting metabolic activity in the deep biosphere. Because elevated temperature acting over geological time leads to the massive thermal breakdown of the organic matter into volatiles, including petroleum, the question arises whether microorganisms can directly utilize these maturation products as a substrate. While migrated thermogenic fluids are known to sustain microbial consortia in shallow sediments, an in situ coupling of abiotic generation and microbial utilization has not been demonstrated. Here we show, using a combination of basin modelling, kinetic modelling, geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry, that microorganisms inhabit the active generation zone in the Nankai Trough, offshore Japan. Three sites from ODP Leg 190 have been evaluated, namely 1173, 1174 and 1177, drilled in nearly undeformed Quaternary and Tertiary sedimentary sequences seaward of the Nankai Trough itself. Paleotemperatures were reconstructed based on subsidence profiles, compaction modelling, present-day heat flow, downhole temperature measurements and organic maturity parameters. Today's heat flow distribution can be considered mainly conductive, and is extremely high in places, reaching 180 mW/m 2. The kinetic parameters describing total hydrocarbon generation, determined by laboratory pyrolysis experiments, were utilized by the model in order to predict the timing of generation in time and space. The model predicts that the onset of present day generation lies between 300 and 500 m below sea floor (5100-5300 m below mean sea level), depending on well location. In the case of Site 1174, 5-10% conversion has taken place by a present day temperature of ca. 85 °C. Predictions were largely validated by on-site hydrocarbon gas measurements. Viable organisms in the same depth range have been proven using 14C-radiolabelled substrates for methanogenesis, bacterial cell counts and intact phospholipids. Altogether, these results point to an overlap of abiotic thermal degradation reactions going on in the same part of the sedimentary column as where a deep biosphere exists. The organic matter preserved in Nankai Trough sediments is of the type that generates putative feedstocks for microbial activity, namely oxygenated compounds and hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the rates of thermal degradation calculated from the kinetic model closely resemble rates of respiration and electron donor consumption independently measured in other deep biosphere environments. We deduce that abiotically driven degradation reactions have provided substrates for microbial activity in deep sediments at this convergent continental margin.

Temperature variations in the southern Great Lakes during the last deglaciation: Comparison between pollen and GDGT proxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watson, Benjamin I.; Williams, John W.; Russell, James M.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Shane, Linda; Lowell, Thomas V.

2018-02-01

Our understanding of deglacial climate history in the southern Great Lakes region of the United States is primarily based upon fossil pollen data, with few independent and multi-proxy climate reconstructions. Here we introduce a new, well-dated fossil pollen record from Stotzel-Leis, OH, and a new deglacial temperature record based on branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) at Silver Lake, OH. We compare these new data to previously published records and to a regional stack of pollen-based temperature reconstructions from Stotzel-Leis, Silver Lake, and three other well-dated sites. The new and previously published pollen records at Stotzel-Leis are similar, but our new age model brings vegetation events into closer alignment with known climatic events such as the Younger Dryas (YD). brGDGT-inferred temperatures correlate strongly with pollen-based regional temperature reconstructions, with the strongest correlation obtained for a global soil-based brGDGT calibration (r2 = 0.88), lending confidence to the deglacial reconstructions and the use of brGDGT and regional pollen stacks as paleotemperature proxies in eastern North America. However, individual pollen records show large differences in timing, rates, and amplitudes of inferred temperature change, indicating caution with paleoclimatic inferences based on single-site pollen records. From 16.0 to 10.0ka, both proxies indicate that regional temperatures rose by ∼10 °C, roughly double the ∼5 °C estimates for the Northern Hemisphere reported in prior syntheses. Change-point analysis of the pollen stack shows accelerated warming at 14.0 ± 1.2ka, cooling at 12.6 ± 0.4ka, and warming from 11.6 ± 0.5ka into the Holocene. The timing of Bølling-Allerød (B-A) warming and YD onset in our records lag by ∼300-500 years those reported in syntheses of temperature records from the northern mid-latitudes. This discrepancy is too large to be attributed to uncertainties in radiocarbon dating, and correlation between pollen and brGDGT temperature reconstructions rules out vegetation lags as a cause. However, the YD termination appears synchronous among the brGDGT record, regional pollen stack, and Northern Hemisphere stack. The cause of the larger and lagged temperature changes in the southern Great Lakes relative to Northern Hemisphere averages remains unclear, but may be due to the effects of continentality and ice sheet extent on regional climate evolution.

Stable carbon and oxygen isotope signatures in molluscan shells under ocean acidification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishida, K.; Hayashi, M.; Suzuki, A.; Sato, M.; Nojiri, Y.

2017-12-01

Stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions (δ13C, δ18O) of biogenic carbonate have been widely used for many paleoclimate, paleoecological, and biomineralization studies. δ13C of molluscan shells reflects the mixing of δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) of seawater and respiratory carbon. Previous studies reported physiological effects on molluscs by ocean acidification, and thus the metabolic changes could potentially appear in shell δ13C as changes in a fraction of two carbon sources. In addition, shell δ18O, a commonly used proxy of seawater temperature and seawater δ18O, is also affected by seawater carbonate chemistry. As changes in the marine carbonate system, such as pH and pCO2, have occurred in the past 300 million years, to estimate pH effect on paleotemperature reconstruction is important. Here, we experimentally examined acidification effects on shell δ13C and δ18O of two species of clams for understanding of environmental and physiological proxies. Juvenile specimens of bloody clam Scapharca broughtonii and Japanese surf clam Pseudocardium sachalinense were cultured at five (400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 µatm, P. sachalinense) or six (280, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 µatm, S. broughtonii) different pCO2 levels using CO2 control system of the Demonstration Laboratory, MERI, Japan. Significant negative correlations between shell δ13C and pH appeared in S. broughtonii, which showed non-significant pH effects on calcification, and the slope of the relationship of shell carbonate was lower than that of seawater DIC. On the other hand, in P. sachalinense which showed a decrease in calcification at low-pH treatment, the slopes of the relationship between shell δ13C and pH was roughly the same as that of seawater DIC. Thus, the extrapallial fluid of P. sachalinense might more strongly affected by acidified seawater than S. broughtonii. The results of two species might be attributable to differences in physiological responses to acidified seawater. δ18O of S. broughtonii had a significant negative correlation with pH (-0.48‰ /pH, at 17°C). These of P. sachalinense showed a significant positive relationship with pH (+1.05‰ /pH, at 17°C). As two species showed different trends of shell δ18O, further experimental studies are needed for the understanding of pH dependency on molluscan shell δ18O.

Temperature variations in the southern Great Lakes during the last deglaciation: Comparison between pollen and GDGT proxies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watson, Benjamin I.; Williams, John W.; Russell, James M.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Shane, Linda; Lowell, Thomas V.

2018-01-01

Our understanding of deglacial climate history in the southern Great Lakes region of the United States is primarily based upon fossil pollen data, with few independent and multi-proxy climate reconstructions. Here we introduce a new, well-dated fossil pollen record from Stotzel-Leis, OH, and a new deglacial temperature record based on branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) at Silver Lake, OH. We compare these new data to previously published records and to a regional stack of pollen-based temperature reconstructions from Stotzel-Leis, Silver Lake, and three other well-dated sites. The new and previously published pollen records at Stotzel-Leis are similar, but our new age model brings vegetation events into closer alignment with known climatic events such as the Younger Dryas (YD). brGDGT-inferred temperatures correlate strongly with pollen-based regional temperature reconstructions, with the strongest correlation obtained for a global soil-based brGDGT calibration (r2 = 0.88), lending confidence to the deglacial reconstructions and the use of brGDGT and regional pollen stacks as paleotemperature proxies in eastern North America. However, individual pollen records show large differences in timing, rates, and amplitudes of inferred temperature change, indicating caution with paleoclimatic inferences based on single-site pollen records. From 16.0 to 10.0ka, both proxies indicate that regional temperatures rose by ∼10 °C, roughly double the ∼5 °C estimates for the Northern Hemisphere reported in prior syntheses. Change-point analysis of the pollen stack shows accelerated warming at 14.0 ± 1.2ka, cooling at 12.6 ± 0.4ka, and warming from 11.6 ± 0.5ka into the Holocene. The timing of Bølling-Allerød (B-A) warming and YD onset in our records lag by ∼300–500 years those reported in syntheses of temperature records from the northern mid-latitudes. This discrepancy is too large to be attributed to uncertainties in radiocarbon dating, and correlation between pollen and brGDGT temperature reconstructions rules out vegetation lags as a cause. However, the YD termination appears synchronous among the brGDGT record, regional pollen stack, and Northern Hemisphere stack. The cause of the larger and lagged temperature changes in the southern Great Lakes relative to Northern Hemisphere averages remains unclear, but may be due to the effects of continentality and ice sheet extent on regional climate evolution.

δ18O and δD of lake waters across the Coast Range and Cascades, central Oregon: Modern insights from hydrologically open lakes into the control of landscape on lake water composition in deep time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkelstein, D. B.; Curtin, T.

2016-12-01

Reconstructing the stable isotopic composition of paleolake water normally requires an assumption of paleotemperature. However, hydrologically open paleolakes with short water residence times may have recorded paleoprecipitation along topographic gradients that are independent of lake water temperature. To identify the environmental and geographic controls on the isotopic composition of lake water, we sampled 22 natural lakes and reservoirs along a longitudinal and elevation gradient from the Pacific Ocean up and over the Coast and Cascade Ranges of central Oregon to the High Lava Plains in 2013 and 2015. The transect spans lakes of different origins, 6 geomorphic regions and an elevation range of 2-1942 m absl. The Coast Range lakes are sand hosted whereas the remaining are bedrock (volcanic and sedimentary) hosted. The lakes are hydrologically open and dominated by meteoric recharge. The water residence time ranges from months to decades. Samples were analyzed for temperature, pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS) in the field, and alkalinity and major cations and anions and stable isotopes of D and O in the lab. The pH ranges from 7 to 9.8 and shows no systematic variation based on substrate type or elevation. The lakes are dilute (avg. TDS = 35.8 ppm) and have low alkalinties (18.9 mg/L CaCO3) except for those in the High Lava Plains (avg. TDS = 337 ppm, alk: 291.2 mg/L CaCO3). In the Coast Range, Na is the major cation on an equivalent basis, reflecting proximity to the ocean. The easternmost lakes within the Coast Range are dominated by Ca, reflecting different drainage basins and substrate type. Lakes in the Western and High Cascades are dominated by Ca. The dominant cation and stable isotopic analyses clearly differentiate waters from different geomorphic regions. The δ18O ranges from -5.7 to -9.3 ‰ (VSMOW), and δD ranges from -37.8 to -63.6 ‰ (VSMOW) in the Coast Range whereas the δ18O ranges from -9.7 to -12.1 ‰ (VSMOW) and δD ranges from -71.5 to -86.5‰ (VSMOW) in the Cascades. Stable isotopic differences between mountain ranges reflect distance from the ocean and increasing elevation. Stable isotopes of water show no correlation with air or lake water temperatures. Average annual precipitation and bedrock across this topographic gradient controls the major ions and stable isotopic composition of these lakes.

Correlations between microbial tetraether lipids and environmental variables in Chinese soils: Optimizing the paleo-reconstructions in semi-arid and arid regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Huan; Pancost, Richard D.; Dang, Xinyue; Zhou, Xinying; Evershed, Richard P.; Xiao, Guoqiao; Tang, Changyan; Gao, Li; Guo, Zhengtang; Xie, Shucheng

2014-02-01

The bacterial membrane lipid-based continental paleothermometer, the MBT/CBT or MBT‧-CBT proxy (methylation index of branched tetraethers/cyclization of branched tetraethers), results in a large temperature deviation when applied in semiarid and arid regions. Here we propose new calibration models based on the investigation of >100 surface soils across a large climatic gradient, with a particular focus on semiarid and arid regions of China, and apply them to a loess-paleosol sequence. As reported elsewhere, MBT values exhibit a much higher correlation with MAAT than with summer temperature, suggesting a minimal seasonality bias; however, MBT is apparently insensitive to temperature <5 °C or >20 °C. Additional complexities are apparent in alkaline and arid soils, which are characterized by different relationships to climatic parameters than those in the complete Chinese (or global) dataset. For example, MBT and CBT indices exhibit a negative correlation in alkaline and arid soils, in contrast to their positive correlation in acid soils. Moreover, the cyclization ratio of bGDGTs (CBT), previously defined as a proxy for soil pH, is apparently primarily controlled by MAAT in these alkaline soils. Thus, we propose (1) a local Chinese calibration of the MBT-CBT proxy and (2) an alternative temperature proxy for use in semiarid and arid regions based on the fractional abundances of bGDGTs; the latter has a markedly higher determination factor and lower root mean square error in alkaline soils than the Chinese local calibration and is suggested to be preferred for paleotemperature reconstruction in Chinese loess/paleosol sequences. These new bGDGT proxies have been applied to the Weinan Holocene paleosol section of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). The fractional abundance calibration, when applied in the Weinan Holocene paleosol, produces a total Holocene temperature variation of 5.2 °C and a temperature for the topmost sample that is consistent with the modern temperature. Previously, we showed that the ratio of archaeal isoprenoid GDGTs to bGDGTs (Ri/b) increases at MAP < 600 mm, and elevated Ri/b values (>0.5) in the CLP suggest the presence of enhanced aridity in the late Holocene in North China. In combination, the high Ri/b ratios (>0.5) and the associated low MBT values (<0.4) reveal the co-occurrence of dry and cold events, especially in the latest Holocene, in the loess-paleosol sequences in CLP, and probably also in cold and arid regions outside of CLP.

Reconstruction of Late Quaternary Climate in Central Europe - A Comparison of Stable Isotope and Trace Element Variations in Speleothems From Different Cave Systems in Germany.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nordhoff, P.; Wiegand, B.; Simon, K.; Rosendahl, W.; Hansen, B. T.; Kempe, S.

2003-12-01

Speleothems (stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones) are important archives for Late Quaternary continental climatic and paleo-environmental reconstruction. Speleothems form when calcium carbonate precipitates from solutions seeping into caves hosted e.g. in limestone or dolomite complexes. Information of past climate variability and changes in local environmental conditions can be obtained from signatures of the stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon as well as trace element pattern recorded in speleothems. Reconstruction of paleo-temperature and past environmental conditions from stable isotopes, however, require isotopic equilibrium between the drip water and the precipitating calcium carbonate. Results from Dietzel et al. (1992) and Johnson and Ingram (2001) indicate that the formation of modern travertine and speleothem calcite occurs under isotopic equilibrium. Factors that influence the stable oxygen and carbon isotope composition during speleothem precipitation include e.g. the moisture source and precipitation, photosynthetic pathways, the bedrock proportion, and the drip rate. This often leads to a situation with several variables. However, a specific interpretation is possible when dealing with environments where only one of the factors is dominant, or specific settings are assumed to be invariant, or further proxies like trace element variations help to define the frame conditions during speleothem formation. Concentrations of trace elements (e.g. Sr, Mg) which are co-precipitated with calcite are related to changes in the composition of the solution and strongly depend on the dissolution/precipitation dynamics along drip water flow paths. In a multiproxy approach they are a valuable tool for the interpretation of the recorded stable isotope variations. We present first results from different cave systems located in the Swabian Alps and the Harz Mountains (Germany). Our study includes a high-resolution multiproxy approach, using U/Th-TIMS data, stable oxygen/carbon isotope data, and geochemical compositions of speleothems, covering ages from the Late Pleistocene to the Early Holocene. The results are compared to geochemical data from host rocks, soil zones, cave sediments, drip water compositions, and recent calcium carbonate precipitates. Understanding the response of a cave system to the actual climatic, hydrologic and environmental regimen is a main requirement for the interpretation of "paleo-information" conserved in speleothems in order to lead to a coherent picture of past continental climate dynamics. References: Dietzel M., Usdowski E., and Hoefs J., (1992): Applied Geochemistry 7: 177-184. Johnson, K.R. and Ingram, B.L. (2001): Abstract volume, 4th Internat. Symp. On Applied Isotope Geochemistry, Pacific Groove, USA: 70-72.

A preliminary study on isotopic evolution of ice by a melting experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ham, J. Y.; Lee, J.; Lee, W. S.; Han, Y.; Hur, S. D.

2016-12-01

Evidences of melted snow at surface were found on some ice cores. Melted layers may generate a significant error when paleo-temperature was retrieved from ice cores using stable water isotopes. To resolve this problem, it is necessary to understand the isotopic changes of ice and its meltwater that is made during the ice and snow melting. Isotopic fractionations between liquid water and snow have been discussed by Taylor et al. (2002) and Lee et al. (2009). The goal of this work is to understand isotopic evolution of ice and its meltwater. Melting experiments in a cold room were designed and conducted with heat source (infrared lamp) to mimic solar radiation. Melting rates were calculated in terms of specific discharge (g/min). To control melting rates, distances between ice surface and heat source were adjusted in various conditions (1 cm, 10 cm and 20 cm). The experiments were conducted by three different melting rates, 1.6 g/min, 3.5 g/min and 5.8 g/min. We used cubic ice that has 3 cm in width, length and height in dimension with 1.5 kg or 2 kg of ice used totally. The total time spent melting the whole ice was 592, 783, and 1180 minutes, respectively. Cold room temperature was range of -1 to 1°C, which removes an effect of air temperature. Meltwater samples were collected and isotopic compositions of oxygen and hydrogen were determined by a cavity ring down spectrometer (Picarro L-1120) installed at the Korea Polar Research Institute. We also analyzed bulk water and bulk ice to make the ice used in the experiments (-8.20 ‰ and -58.73 ‰ for oxygen and hydrogen isotopes, respectively). The isotopic compositions of meltwater increased linearly or to a second degree polynomial. The isotopic variations were larger in the lower melting rates, compared to the higher melting rates (0.65 of lower melting rates vs. 0.35 higher melting rates for oxygen isotope). The slope of linear regression between oxygen and hydrogen ranged 6.2, 7.3 and 6.2, which is less than that of the Global Meteoric Water Line (8) and the sublimation (7.7) suggested by Earman et al. (2006). We believe that isotopic exchange between liquid water and ice plays a crucial role in the variations of isotopes for the ice and its meltwater. We will modify a physically based 1-D model used in the previous studies to better understand the isotopic compositions of ice and its meltwater.

Late Pleistocene Age Model for Site U1460, Perth Basin, SW Australian Shelf: Implications for Leeuwin Current History

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, B. A.; Takayanagi, H.; Petrick, B.; Ishiwa, T.; Henderiks, J.; Groeneveld, J.; Mamo, B. L.; De Vleeschouwer, D.; Auer, G.; Deik, H.; Fulthorpe, C.; Gallagher, S. J.; McHugh, C.; Reuning, L.; Yokoyama, Y.

2017-12-01

The Leeuwin Current (LC) exerts an important control on modern Australian climate, but its onset is not well defined. The LC is the only southward flowing eastern boundary current. Driven by a pressure gradient set up in the Indonesian Throughflow, its warm waters support reefs to 29°S. It is seasonally controlled south of the Western Cape. Determination of the onset of the LC was a major objective of IODP Expedition 356. Expedition 356 drilling on the western Australian margin provides an opportunity to explore depositional patterns and timing in the region influenced by the current. Site U1460 was drilled in 214.5 m w.d. (Gallagher et al., 2017). Integrated calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy places the upper 86.5 m firmly within the late Pleistocene. However, the glacial- interglacial stratigraphy is uncertain because of the complexity of this shelfal depositional environment. Here we present a likely late Pleistocene stratigraphy based on integrated geochemical and paleontological datasets. A benthic foraminifer (Uvigerina peregrina) stable isotope record provides the foundation for the age model and the data are supported by SST estimates based on Tex86 and alkenones. Our age model places MIS 16 between 104 and 99 m-CSF-A, followed by an expanded MIS 15 section (99 - 50 m-CSF-A). We correlate the interval from 50 - 5 m-CSF-A with MIS 14 to MIS 8, with the largest magnitude glacial events (MIS 12, MIS 6) either condensed or represented as depositional hiatuses. A Recent 14C date at 0.34 mbsf constrains the interval from 2 - 0.5 m-CSF-A to MIS 4-3, which is in good agreement with the base of common Emiliania huxleyi (0.09 Ma) at 2.13 m-CSF-A. Thus MIS 5 is equivalent to the interval from 5 to 2 m-CSF-A. The expanded MIS 15 section follows a geometric change from slope to prograding shelf. It is associated with a shift to infaunal benthic foraminiferal assemblages, abundant sponge spicules, and a reduction in CaCO3%, suggesting that the high MIS 15 sedimentation rate results from increased productivity and/or upwelling. Our stable-isotope-based correlation, combined with paleotemperature reconstructions, points to a modern-like LC in operation at 0.6 Ma (MIS 16 onward), following a change in continental margin geometry. Alternative age-depth models are possible, and are also presented.

Minute co-variations of Sr/Ca ratios and microstructures in the aragonitic shell of Cerastoderma edule (Bivalvia) - Are geochemical variations at the ultra-scale masking potential environmental signals?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Füllenbach, Christoph S.; Schöne, Bernd R.; Shirai, Kotaro; Takahata, Naoto; Ishida, Akizumi; Sano, Yuji

2017-05-01

It remains a challenging task to reconstruct water temperatures from Sr/Ca ratios of bivalve shells. Although in many aragonitic species, Sr/Ca is negatively correlated to temperature - which is expected based on abiogenic precipitation experiments, the incorporation of Sr into the shell of bivalves is strongly controlled by physiological processes and occurs away from the predicted thermodynamic equilibrium. Strontium-to-calcium ratios of aragonitic shells remain far below that of the ambient water. Moreover, Sr concentrations vary considerably among shell portions consisting of different microstructures and/or organic content. Values observed at annual growth lines and within the intervening shell portions (= annual growth increments) deviate much stronger from each other than expected from a change in temperature or Sr/Cawater. As demonstrated here by ultra-high-resolution chemical analysis (EPMA, NanoSIMS) of a Cerastoderma edule shell, Sr concentrations are also heterogeneously distributed at approximately micrometer resolution. For example, in the outer portion of the outer shell layer, Sr/Ca ratios were statistically significantly (t-, u-tests) higher at circatidal growth lines (irregular simple prismatic structure; arithmetic mean ± 1 standard deviation = 2.86 ± 0.38 mmol/mol; n = 53) than within circatidal increments (nondenticular prismatic structure; 2.42 ± 0.25 mmol/mol; n = 51). S/Cashell, a representative of the concentration of organics, showed the opposite pattern, i.e., significantly higher values in circatidal increments (2.37 ± 0.29 mmol/mol; n = 51) than at circatidal growth lines (2.13 ± 0.47 mmol/mol; n = 53). Overall highest values of Sr/Cashell (3.47 ± 0.65 mmol/mol; n = 3) and S/Cashell (3.98 ± 0.65 mmol/mol; n = 3), however, were typically associated with annual growth lines and larger biomineral units. The intimate link between Sr/Cashell, S/Cashell and shell architecture may indicate that microstructures or the processes controlling their formation exert a strong control over the incorporation of strontium into shells of C. edule. Analytical techniques with lower sampling resolution, e.g., LA-ICP-MS, cannot resolve such fine-scale Sr variations. As a result, the signal-to-noise ratio decreases and the data generated by such techniques may therefore not seem to provide useful paleotemperature data. Future studies should therefore employ a combined analysis of Sr/Cashell and shell microstructures, and interpret Sr/Ca values of shell portions with different microstructures separately.

Reconstruction of full glacial environments and summer temperatures from Lago della Costa, a refugial site in Northern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samartin, Stéphanie; Heiri, Oliver; Kaltenrieder, Petra; Kühl, Norbert; Tinner, Willy

2016-07-01

Vegetation and climate during the last ice age and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼23,000-19,000 cal BP) were considerably different than during the current interglacial (Holocene). Cold climatic conditions and growing ice-sheets during the last glaciation radically reduced forest extent in Europe to a restricted number of so-called ;refugia;, mostly located in the southern part of the continent. On the basis of paleobotanical analyses the Euganian Hills (Colli Euganei) in northeastern Italy have previously been proposed as one of the northernmost refugia of temperate trees (e.g. deciduous Quercus, Tilia, Ulmus, Fraxinus excelsior, Acer, Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica, Carpinus and Castanea) in Europe. In this study we provide the first quantitative, vegetation independent summer air temperature reconstruction for Northern Italy spanning the time ∼31,000-17,000 cal yr BP, which covers the coldest periods of the last glacial, including the LGM and Heinrich stadials 1 to 3. Chironomids preserved in a lake sediment core from Lago della Costa (7m a.s.l.), a small lake at the south-eastern edge of the Euganean Hills, allowed quantitative reconstruction of Full and Late Glacial summer air temperatures using a combined Swiss-Norwegian temperature inference model based on chironomid assemblages from 274 lakes. Chironomid and pollen evidence from Lago della Costa derives from finely stratified autochthonous organic gyttja sediments, which excludes major sediment mixing or reworking. After reconstructing paleo-temperatures, we address the question whether climate conditions were warm enough to permit the local survival of temperate tree species during the LGM and whether local expansions and pollen-inferred contractions of temperate tree taxa coincided with chironomid-inferred climatic changes. Our results suggest that chironomids at Lago della Costa have responded to major climatic fluctuations such as temperature decreases during the LGM and Heinrich stadials. The vegetation of the Euganean Hills shows responses to these climatic oscillations although the effects of temperature changes were probably also strongly influenced by changes in humidity. Reconstructed July air temperatures at Lago della Costa never fell below 10-13 °C (error range of reconstruction ∼ ±1.5-1.6 °C), which is considerably above the limit considered necessary for forest growth (8-10 °C). Instead rather mild climatic conditions prevailed ∼31,000-17,000 cal yr BP with average summer temperatures between ∼12 and 16 °C, which most likely allowed survival of temperate tree taxa in the warmest (and moistest) microhabitats of the Euganean Hills during the LGM. Only assuming local survival is it possible to explain the repeated expansions and collapses of temperate trees at Lago della Costa which faithfully accompanied the climatic oscillations.

Insect-Based Holocene (and Last Interglacial?) Paleothermometry from the E and NW Greenland Ice Sheet Margins: A Fly's-Eye View of Warmth on Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axford, Y.; Bigl, M.; Carrio, C.; Corbett, L. B.; Francis, D. R.; Hall, B. L.; Kelly, M. A.; Levy, L.; Lowell, T. V.; Osterberg, E. C.; Richter, N.; Roy, E.; Schellinger, G. C.

2013-12-01

Here we present new paleotemperature reconstructions based upon insect (Chironomidae) assemblages and other proxies from lake sediment cores recovered in east Greenland at ~71° N near Scoresby Sund and in northwest Greenland at ~77° N near Thule/Qaanaaq. In east Greenland, Last Chance Lake (informal name) is a small, non-glacial lake situated ~90 km east of the Greenland Ice Sheet margin. The lake preserves a sedimentary record of the entire Holocene (Levy et al. 2013). Chironomids from Last Chance Lake record cold summer temperatures (and establishment of a cold-climate fauna including abundant Oliveridia and Pseudodiamesa) during the late Holocene, preceded by summer temperatures estimated to have been 3 to 6°C warmer during the first half of the Holocene (when summer insolation forcing was greater than today). In northwest Greenland, Delta Sø and Wax Lips Lake (informal name) both preserve Holocene sediments. Here we discuss the late Holocene chironomid record from Delta Sø, whereas from Wax Lips Lake (a small, non-glacial lake situated ~2 km west of the ice sheet margin) we present a longer sedimentary and biostratigraphic record. The deeper portions of cores from Wax Lips Lake yield pre-Holocene and nonfinite radiocarbon ages, suggesting that this lake preserves sediments predating the Last Glacial Maximum. Abundant chironomids in the pre-glacial sediments appear to record interglacial conditions, and we infer that these sediments may date to the Last Interglacial (Eemian). The preservation of in situ Last Interglacial lacustrine sediments so close to the modern ice sheet margin suggests a minimally erosive glacierization style throughout the last glacial period, like that inferred for other Arctic locales such as on Baffin Island (Briner et al. 2007), ~750 km southwest of our study site. Our study sites are situated nearby key ice core sites (including NEEM, Camp Century, Agassiz and Renland) and very close to the ice sheet margin. These chironomid records therefore provide opportunities to compare climate inferences based upon ice core data and reconstructed ice margin histories with independent, biologically based estimates of air temperatures for the Holocene and possibly the Last Interglacial. Briner, J.P., Axford, Y., Forman, S.L., Miller, G.H., and Wolfe, A.P. 2007. Multiple generations of interglacial lake sediment preserved beneath the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Geology 35, 887-890. Levy, L.B., Kelly, M.A., Lowell, T.V., Hall, B.L., Hempel, L.A., Honsaker, W.M., Lusas, A.R., Howley, J.A., Axford, Y.L., 2013. Holocene fluctuations of Bregne ice cap, Scoresby Sund, east Greenland: a proxy for climate along the Greenland Ice Sheet margin. In press, Quaternary Science Reviews.

Do GCM's predict the climate.... Or the low frequency weather?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovejoy, S.; Schertzer, D.; Varon, D.

2012-04-01

Over twenty-five years ago, a three-regime scaling model was proposed describing the statistical variability of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from weather scales out to ≈ 100 kyrs. Using modern in situ data reanalyses, monthly surface series (at 5ox5o), 8 "multiproxy" (yearly) series of the Northern hemisphere from 1500 - 1980, and GRIP and Vostok paleotemperatures at 5.2 and ≈ 100 year resolutions (over the past 91-420 kyrs), we refine the model and show how it can be understood with the help of new developments in nonlinear dynamics, especially multifractals and cascades. In a scaling range, mean fluctuations in state variables such as temperature ΔT vary in power law manners ≈ Δt**H the where Δt is the duration. At small (weather) scales the fluctuation exponents are generally H>0; they grow with scale (Δt). At longer scales Δt >τw (≈ 10 days) H changes sign, the fluctuations decrease with scale; this is the low variability, "low frequency weather" regime. In this regime, the spectrum is a relatively flat "plateau", it's variability is low, stable, corresponding to our usual idea of "long term weather statistics". Finally for longer times, Δt>τc ≈ 10 - 100 years, once again H>0, so that the variability increases with scale: the true climate regime. These scaling regimes allow us to objectively define the weather as fluctuations over periods <τw, to define "climate states" as fluctuations at scale τc and then "climate change" as the fluctuations at longer periods (Δt>τc). We show that the intermediate low frequency weather regime is the result of the weather regime undergoing a "dimensional transition": at temporal scales longer than the typical lifetime of planetary structures (τw), the spatial degrees of freedom are rapidly quenched so that only the temporal degrees of freedom are important. This low frequency weather regime has statistical properties well reproduced not only by stochastic cascade models of weather, but also by control runs (i.e. without climate forcing) of GCM based climate forecasting systems including those of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (Paris) and the Earth Forecasting System (Hamburg). In order for these systems to go beyond simply predicting low frequency weather i.e. in order for them to predict the climate, they need appropriate climate forcings and/ or new internal mechanisms of variability. Using statistical scaling techniques we examine the scale dependence of fluctuations from forced and unforced GCM outputs, including from the ECHO-G and EFS simulations in the Millenium climate reconstruction project and compare this with data, multiproxies and paleo data. Our general conclusion is that the models systematically underestimate the multidecadal, multicentennial scale variability.

Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes revealed by multi-proxy records from the Chukchi Abyssal Plain, western Arctic Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Rujian; Xiao, Wenshen; März, Christian; Li, Qianyu

2013-09-01

Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes in the western Arctic Ocean are revealed by multi-proxy records of core 03M03 from the Chukchi Abyssal Plain (CAP). Proxy parameters include lithology, grain size fractions, and mineralogy and petrology of ice-rafted detritus (IRD), element contents, biogenic components, δ18O, δ13C and Mg/Ca of planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sin.) (Nps). Seven IRD (> 250 μm) peaks are interpreted as marking detrital input by rafting sea ice or icebergs during MIS 3 interstadials and early MIS 1. High MnO, CaO and MgO contents and high Ca/Al and Mg/Al ratios during MIS 3 and MIS 1 correspond to increases in ice-rafted detrital carbonates and the synchronous declines in siliciclastic elements (e.g., Al2O3, Fe2O3). Therefore, these warmer periods were characterized by a high detrital carbonate input entrained in icebergs from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago coeval with an increased input of Mn through rivers and/or coastal erosion. Relatively stable contents of siliciclastic elements and their ratios in the grayish sediment units are interpreted from turbid surface water plumes or nepheloid flows delivered by meltwater and/or brine rejection from ice-sheet margins at the Arctic Ocean periphery. Relatively stable clay- and silt-sized fractions were attributed mainly to sea ice entrainment over glacial-interglacial cycles. High foraminiferal abundances in the brown units during MIS 3 and 1 are related to enhanced calcareous plankton productivity under more open water conditions and/or the incremental input of Atlantic water masses. Relatively high TOC and opal contents in the grayish units of MIS 3 appear to have accumulated by lateral transport of organic matter from the Chukchi shelf to the deep abyssal plain. Lower contents of biogenic material in the brown units probably result from increased dilution by rapid IRD deposition, and from early diagenetic degradation. Depletions in Nps-δ18O and -δ13C concurrent with high foraminiferal abundances and IRD peaks within the brown units of MIS 3 and 1 are indicative of meltwater pulses, as previously documented across the Arctic Ocean. However, several Nps-δ18O and -δ13C depletions between the brown units B3 and B2 in MIS 3 could have resulted from enhanced sea ice formation. The Nps-Mg/Ca has the potential to record paleotemperature changes in the Arctic region, but still awaits a better calibration of the Nps-Mg/Ca-temperature relationship with results from core-tops, sediment traps, and plankton tows.

Insect-Based Holocene (and Last Interglacial?) Paleothermometry from the E and NW Greenland Ice Sheet Margins: A Fly's-Eye View of Warmth on Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axford, Y.; Bigl, M.; Carrio, C.; Corbett, L. B.; Francis, D. R.; Hall, B. L.; Kelly, M. A.; Levy, L.; Lowell, T. V.; Osterberg, E. C.; Richter, N.; Roy, E.; Schellinger, G. C.

2011-12-01

Here we present new paleotemperature reconstructions based upon insect (Chironomidae) assemblages and other proxies from lake sediment cores recovered in east Greenland at ~71° N near Scoresby Sund and in northwest Greenland at ~77° N near Thule/Qaanaaq. In east Greenland, Last Chance Lake (informal name) is a small, non-glacial lake situated ~90 km east of the Greenland Ice Sheet margin. The lake preserves a sedimentary record of the entire Holocene (Levy et al. 2013). Chironomids from Last Chance Lake record cold summer temperatures (and establishment of a cold-climate fauna including abundant Oliveridia and Pseudodiamesa) during the late Holocene, preceded by summer temperatures estimated to have been 3 to 6°C warmer during the first half of the Holocene (when summer insolation forcing was greater than today). In northwest Greenland, Delta Sø and Wax Lips Lake (informal name) both preserve Holocene sediments. Here we discuss the late Holocene chironomid record from Delta Sø, whereas from Wax Lips Lake (a small, non-glacial lake situated ~2 km west of the ice sheet margin) we present a longer sedimentary and biostratigraphic record. The deeper portions of cores from Wax Lips Lake yield pre-Holocene and nonfinite radiocarbon ages, suggesting that this lake preserves sediments predating the Last Glacial Maximum. Abundant chironomids in the pre-glacial sediments appear to record interglacial conditions, and we infer that these sediments may date to the Last Interglacial (Eemian). The preservation of in situ Last Interglacial lacustrine sediments so close to the modern ice sheet margin suggests a minimally erosive glacierization style throughout the last glacial period, like that inferred for other Arctic locales such as on Baffin Island (Briner et al. 2007), ~750 km southwest of our study site. Our study sites are situated nearby key ice core sites (including NEEM, Camp Century, Agassiz and Renland) and very close to the ice sheet margin. These chironomid records therefore provide opportunities to compare climate inferences based upon ice core data and reconstructed ice margin histories with independent, biologically based estimates of air temperatures for the Holocene and possibly the Last Interglacial. Briner, J.P., Axford, Y., Forman, S.L., Miller, G.H., and Wolfe, A.P. 2007. Multiple generations of interglacial lake sediment preserved beneath the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Geology 35, 887-890. Levy, L.B., Kelly, M.A., Lowell, T.V., Hall, B.L., Hempel, L.A., Honsaker, W.M., Lusas, A.R., Howley, J.A., Axford, Y.L., 2013. Holocene fluctuations of Bregne ice cap, Scoresby Sund, east Greenland: a proxy for climate along the Greenland Ice Sheet margin. In press, Quaternary Science Reviews.

Reconstructing fluid-flow events in Lower-Triassic sandstones of the eastern Paris Basin by elemental tracing and isotopic dating of nanometric illite crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaise, Thomas; Clauer, Norbert; Cathelineau, Michel; Boiron, Marie-Christine; Techer, Isabelle; Boulvais, Philippe

2016-03-01

Lower- to Middle-Triassic sandstones from eastern Paris Basin were buried to a maximum depth of 2500 m at a paleo-temperature of about 100 °C. They contain extensive amounts of authigenic platy and filamentous illite particles similar to those reported in reservoirs generally buried at 3000 to -5000 m and subjected to temperatures of 120 to -150 °C. To evaluate this unexpected occurrence, such sandstones were collected from drill cores between 1825 and 2000 m depth, and nanometric-sized sub-fractions were separated. The illite crystals were identified by XRD, observed by SEM and TEM, analyzed for their major, trace, rare-earth elements and oxygen isotope compositions, and dated by K-Ar and Rb-Sr. Illite particles display varied growth features in the rock pore-space and on authigenic quartz and adularia that they postdate. TEM-EDS crystal-chemical in situ data show that the illite lath/fiber and platelet morphologies correspond at least to two populations with varied interlayer charges: between 0.7 and 0.9 for the former and between 0.8 and 1.0 for the latter, the Fe/Fe + Mg ratio being higher in the platelets. Except for the deeper conglomerate, the PAAS-normalized REE patterns of the illite crystals are bell-shaped, enriched in middle REEs. Ca-carbonates and Ca-phosphates were detected together with illite in the separates. These soluble components yield 87Sr/86Sr ratios that are not strictly in chemical equilibrium with the illite crystals, suggesting successive fluids flows with different chemical compositions. The K-Ar data of finer <0.05 μm illite separates confirm two crystallization events at 179.4 ± 4.5 and 149.4 ± 2.5 Ma during the Early and Late Jurassic. The slightly coarser fractions contain also earlier crystallized or detrital K-bearing minerals characterized by lower δ18O values. The δ18O of the finest authigenic illite separates tends to decrease slightly with depth, from 18.2 (±0.2) to 16.3 (±0.2)‰, suggesting different but contemporaneous crystallization conditions deeper in the section. The illite platelets and filaments crystallized in changing physical-chemical crystallization conditions induced by fluids flows through the host-rock pore system. These flow events were probably driven by repetitive rifting episodes of the North Atlantic Ocean, although located several hundreds kilometers away from eastern Paris Basin, and/or by fracturing events in the nearby basement of the Vosges Massif. Complex relationships between geodynamical events, thermal anomalies, and advective fluids confirm that remote tectonic activities can impact quiescent basins, even if located far from tectono-thermal activities, by discrete and long-distance fluid flows.

High resolution and high precision on line isotopic analysis of Holocene and glacial ice performed in the field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gkinis, V.; Popp, T. J.; Johnsen, S. J.; Blunier, T.; Bigler, M.; Stowasser, C.; Schüpbach, S.; Leuenberger, D.

2010-12-01

Ice core records as obtained from polar ice caps provide a wealth of paleoclimatic information. One of the main features of ice cores is their potential for high temporal resolution. The isotopic signature of the ice, expressed through the relative abundances of the two heavy isotopologues H218O and HD16O, is a widely used proxy for the reconstruction of past temperature and accumulation. One step further the combined information obtained from these two isotopologues, commonly referred to as the deuterium excess, can be utilized to infer additional information about the source of the precipitated moisture. Until very recently isotopic analysis of polar ice was performed with isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) in a discrete fashion resulting in a high workload related to the preparation of samples. Most important though the available temporal resolution of the ice core was in many cases not fully exploited. In order to overcome these limitations we have developed a system that interfaces a commercially available IR laser cavity ring-down spectrometer tailored for water isotope analysis to a stream of liquid water as extracted from a continuously melted ice rod. The system offers the possibility for simultaneous δ18O and δD analysis with a sample requirement of approximately 0.1 ml/min. The system has been deployed in the field during the NEEM ice core drilling project on 2009 and 2010. In this study we present actual on line measurements of Holocene and glacial ice. We also discuss how parameters as the melt rate, acquisition rate and integration time affect the obtained precision and resolution and we describe data analysis techniques that can improve these last two parameters. By applying spectral methods we are able to quantify the smoothing effects imposed by diffusion of the sample in the sample transfer lines and the optical cavity of the instrument. We demonstrate that with an acquisition rate of 0.2 Hz we are able to obtain a precision of 0.5‰ and 0.15‰ for δD and δ18O respectively. This is comparable to the performance of traditional IRMS systems for δD but slightly less precise for δ18O. With this acquisition rate the system’s 3db bandwidth is 0.006 Hz. With a melt rate equal to 3 cm/min, the latter translates to signals with wavelengths of 8.3 cm. We will comment on the quality of the acquired ice core data and their potential use for dating, paleotemperature reconstruction, isotopic firn diffusion and deuterium excess studies.

Paleoenvironmental History of Long Island Sound, CT, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varekamp, J. C.; Thomas, E.; Lugolobi, F.; Buchholtz Ten Brink, M. R.

2002-12-01

Western Long Island Sound (LIS) is an urban estuary heavily impacted by waste water effluents from CT and New York city. The estuary has suffered seasonal hypoxia since the 1970s, and in 1999 lobsters suffered > 90% mortality. We used short sediment cores that cover the last several 100 years to reconstruct the temperature/salinity history of LIS, as well as its history of hypoxic episodes. We measured oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions and Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca in calcite tests of the benthic foraminifer Elphidium excavatum, collected alive (Rose Bengal stained) in grab samples and in core samples, as proxies for bottom water temperature and salinity. The level of bottom water oxygenation is derived from the carbon isotope values in foraminiferal calcite, after correction for paleosalinity. The strong seasonal temperature fluctuation in Long Island Sound bottom waters (about 20oC) and the long livespan of the foraminifer make precise paleotemperature estimates difficult. The oxygen isotope data (in vivo effect 1.1 o/_{oo} of the foraminiferal tests were recalculated at constant mean-annual water temperature (12.5^{o}C) into paleosalinities, ranging between 18 and 33 ^{o}/oo. The oxygen and carbon isotope ratios of river water, Long Island Sound water and dissolved inorganic carbon were used to construct a mixing model for the Sound. From calculated paleosalinities and the modern mixing model we derived expected carbon isotope ratios, which were subtracted from the observed values. We argue that the residuals (excess carbon isotope values) are proportional to the amount of organic carbon that was oxidized in these waters, and as such represent a proxy for paleohypoxia. Data from nine cores show no long term trends in salinity over the last 1000 years, but show more pronounced variations over the last 100 years. Several low salinity events could be correlated with wet climate periods documented in Southern New England. The excess carbon isotope values were between 0 and -1 o/_{oo} for most of the last millennium but became much more negative in the mid 18^{th} to 19^{th} century, with strong variability in the 20^{th} century. The low salinity events of the last 100 years correlate strongly with strongly negative excess carbon isotope values, suggesting a linkage between the wet periods and oxidation of organic matter on the bottom of the Sound (algal blooms, warm periods?). This linkage between low salinity events and strongly negative excess carbon isotope values did not occur prior to 1900 AD. More detailed dating (^{210}Pb, ^{137}$Cs) will improve the time resolution and correlation between cores of the various documented events.

Can leaf wax n-alkane δ²H and GDGTs be used conjointly to reconstruct past environmental changes along altitudinal transects in East Africa?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coffinet, Sarah; Huguet, Arnaud; Pedentchouk, Nikolai; Omuombo, Christine; Williamson, David; Bergonzini, Laurent; Wagner, Thomas; Derenne, Sylvie

2016-04-01

Leaf wax n-alkanes (C27-C31) and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (br GDGTs) are increasingly being used as molecular proxies to investigate past environmental conditions. Indices were previously developed to relate the br GDGT distribution to temperature and pH in soils. Furthermore, the δ²Hwax of leaf wax n-alkanes in soils was shown to track the 'altitude effect', suggesting it could be used to reconstruct paleoelevation. Combination of these two proxies could bring information on both past uplift elevation and past temperature changes, as illustrated by the pioneer paleostudy of Hren et al. (2010) in the Sierra Nevada. In the present study, δ²Hwax and br GDGTs were analysed in ca. 60 surface soils collected along Mt. Rungwe (Southwest Tanzania) and Mt. Kenya (Central Kenya). A weak link was identified between δ²Hwax and altitude (R² = 0.33) along Mt. Kenya, whereas no trend was observed along Mt. Rungwe, as also previously shown by Peterse et al. (2009) for Mt. Kilimanjaro. This shows that the strength of the relationship between soil δ²Hwax and elevation depends on which mountain is considered in East Africa and can be overprinted by numerous poorly understood environmental and/or physiological parameters. In contrast, br GDGT-derived mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and temperature lapse rate (5 °C/1000 m) were in agreement with values recorded along both Mt. Rungwe and Mt. Kenya, highlighting the robustness of this proxy for paleotemperature reconstruction in East Africa. Moreover, the combination of these br GDGT data with previous results obtained from East African surface soils (along Mts. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Sinninghe Damsté et al., 2008; Rwenzori (Uganda), Loomis et al., 2011; Rungwe (Tanzania), Coffinet et al., 2014), allowed the establishment of a regional soil calibration between br GDGT distribution and MAAT. This new East African calibration, based on 105 samples, leads to a substantial improvement of both the R2 (0.75) and RMSE (2.4 °C) of brGDGT-derived MAAT with respect to the global soil calibration by Peterse et al. (2012; R2 0.61 and RMSE 5° C). References: Coffinet, S. et al., 2014. Org. Geochem. 68, 82-89. Hren, M.T. et al., 2010. Geology 38, 7-10. Loomis, S.E., et al., 2011. Org. Geochem. 42, 739-751. Peterse, F. et al., 2009. Biogeosciences 6, 2799-2807. Peterse, F. et al., 2012. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 96, 215-229. Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. et al., 2008. Org. Geochem. 39, 1072-1076.

Unravelling the chronology and evolution of the Pleistocene-Holocene basin in the hanging-wall of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake fault by multidisciplinary approach (paleomagnetism, palaeontology, geochemistry and radiometric dating) on a 150 m deep hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mochales, T.; Porreca, M.; Smedile, A.; Buratti, N.; Macri', P.; Di Chiara, A.; Sagnotti, L.; Speranza, F.; Amoroso, S.; Nicolosi, I.; D'ajello Caracciolo, F.; Carluccio, R.; Di Giulio, G.; Vassallo, M.; Villani, F.; Civico, R.

2013-12-01

The Mw=6.1 L'Aquila earthquake struck the central Apennines (Italy), on April 6th, 2009. INSAR data showed that the maximum subsidence of ca. 15 cm was located in the continental Aterno Basin, partly controlled by the Paganica extensional fault, yielding the L'Aquila earthquake. Preliminary geological and geophysical surveys have been performed in the depocenter of the Aterno Basin to figure out the underground configuration and determine the best location for a deep hole. The drilling was performed in May-June 2013, recovering 151 m of continental Holocene and Pleistocene sediments. The upper sandy-silty sequence (41 m), interbedded with gravels, is interpreted as fluvial-alluvial origin. The lower clayey-silty sequence, interpreted as lacustrine sediments, continues downward until the bottom (disrupted by 30 m of gravels). The continuous sediment record of the hole is being processed along three stages: i) Description consists of the elaboration of stratigraphical logs, color description and photographic record of the core. The second stage consists of sampling for the different analyses. ii) Continuous samples (U-Channel) were collected from the undisturbed centre of the core for paleomagnetic measurements. Additional samples were collected in the clayey-silty fraction (10 to 25 cm spacing) for calcimetry, geochemical, palynological and ostracoda fauna analysis. Finally, individual levels rich in organic matter and charcoal were sampled for radiometric datings. Iii) The measurements include magnetic susceptibility, paleomagnetic and rock magnetic properties, content of calcium carbonate and 16/18 oxygen ratio, crumble and classification of fossils for pollens and ostracods analyses. Paleomagnetic analyses will hopefully allow us to obtain experimental constraints for dating the Holocene-Pleistocene sediments of the Aterno Basin. The presence of Carbon-14 in organic materials can yield absolute dating. Palynology, oxygen ratio and calcium carbonate content will provide information about the environmental and climatic variations and paleotemperature of the water during sedimentation. The study of ostracods will provide information about the paleonvironment (e.g. water depth variations). Geotechnical tests and diffractometric analysis will document the mechanical properties and mineralogical composition of the lacustrine deposits. All the results, along with sedimentological studies, will be integrated to evaluate the occurrence of eventual ciclicities and the degree of inter-relation between the measured parameters. The final aim is to evaluate a possible correlation between the sedimentary events and activation of local extensional structures in the geological past, observe their recurrence (if any) in recent geological times and propose a reconstruction of the Pleistocene evolution of the Aterno Basin.

The temperature and precipitation reconstructions on Swiss stalagmites with a special emphasis on altitude gradient using noble-gases, δO-18 and δD of fluid inclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghadiri, Elaheh; Brennwald, Matthias; Kipfer, Rolf

2017-04-01

We present the results of an application of 'Combined Vacuum Crushing and Sieving (CVCS)' system (e.g., allowing to crush samples to defined grain size in vacuum) for the first time to stalagmites grown in cold climates during the last glacial-interglacial transition, but at different altitudes. Recently, concentrations of dissolved atmospheric noble gases in fluid inclusions of stalagmites were used to reconstruct past ambient cave temperatures, the annual mean temperature and hydrological conditions when the water was trapped. To reconstruct temperatures from noble gases (noble gas temperature: NGT) in water-filled inclusions, we processed samples from Swiss stalagmites M6 from Milandre cave (400 m.a.s.l) and GEF1 from Grotte aux Fées cave (895 m.a.s.l) covering the climatic transitions Allerød-Younger Dryas-Holocene. Water content. The amount of water extracted per unit mass of calcite fabric (e.g., 'water yield': WT) was shown to be a measure of the total water content. The data shows that the WT systematically changes with δ18Ocalcite of the calcite. We therefore conclude that WT records can be linked on changes in drip rates and thus can be used to track changes of past precipitation even in cold regions. Noble gases. Noble gas analysis shows that the annual mean temperatures in Milandre cave were 2.2±2.0°C during the late Allerød and dropped to 0±2°C at the Younger Dryas. Such temperatures close 0°C indicate that drip water supply stopped in response to the formation of permafrost conditions around the cave preventing further stalagmite growth. However, one late Holocene sample gave a cave temperature of 8.7±1.4°C agreeing generally with present day annual mean temperature. The annual mean temperature of 5.7±1.3°C from GEF1 was determined for the early Holocene. The observed data show systematic variations with sample elevation, e.g., higher temperature from lower altitude and vice versa. Combining the isotopic composition of water in fluid inclusions (δ18Owater, δDwater) and the NGTs allows determining the δ18O-T relation ('laps rate') in the past as both δ18O and T scale with altitude. This calibration is key as paleo-temperatures are often reconstructed from δ18O, δD data whereby it is implicitly assumed that the modern Δ(δ18Owater, δDwater)-ΔT relation is also valid for the past. Our study makes an argument that noble gas analysis in stalagmites can also be a new route to address this fundamental hypothesis of past climate reconstruction.

Stable isotope compositions of speleothems from the last interglacial - Spatial patterns of climate fluctuations in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demény, Attila; Kern, Zoltán; Czuppon, György; Németh, Alexandra; Leél-Őssy, Szabolcs; Siklósy, Zoltán; Lin, Ke; Hu, Hsun-Ming; Shen, Chuan-Chou; Vennemann, Torsten W.; Haszpra, László

2017-04-01

Studies on the last interglacial (LIG) can provide information on how our environment behaved in a period of slightly higher global temperatures at about 125 ± 4 ka, even if it is not the best analogue for the Holocene. The available LIG climate proxy records are usually better preserved and can be studied at a higher resolution than those of the preceding interglacials, allowing detailed comparisons. This paper presents complex stable hydrogen, carbon and oxygen isotope records obtained for carbonate (δ13C and δ18Ocarb) and fluid inclusion hosted water (δD and δ18Ow) of a stalagmite from the Baradla Cave system in Central Europe that covers most of the LIG, as proven by U-Th dates. Comparing its C and O isotope data with records reported for other speleothem (cave-hosted carbonate) deposits from Europe revealed the complex behavior of these climate proxies, with a concerted relative increase in 18O of carbonates from 128 to 120 ka and synchronized shifts in the opposite direction after 119 ka. The hydrogen isotope analyses of inclusion-hosted water extracted from the BAR-II stalagmite also correspond to the regional climate proxy records, with meaningful deviations from global temperature trends. Beside following the general paleotemperature pattern from the climate optimum (high δD values up to -64‰ around 120 ka) to the subsequent cooling starting at about 119 ka (low δD values down to -90‰ at about 109 ka), a period between 126.5 and 123 ka with low δD values (down to -81‰) is detected in the BAR-II stalagmite. Although the isotope shifts are muted in the C-O isotope data of carbonate due to competitive fractionation processes, the δ13C data show a positive relationship with the δD pattern, indicating humidity - and possibly temperature - variations. The periods with low δD values fit well to temperature and humidity changes inferred from proxy records from western Europe to the eastern Mediterranean. Spatial distributions of these variables show, that at about 125 ± 2 ka the Mediterranean region was characterized by warm, humid conditions and enhanced seasonality with elevated winter precipitation. The combined interpretation of stable isotope data revealed that the Alpine and Mediterranean regions behaved differently during Greenland Stadial 26 (GS26, ∼119 to 116.2 ka). While the Alpine records fluctuated in close agreement with the Central Greenland ice core δ18O data, the BAR-II stalagmite show a positive δ18Ocarb anomaly. The Baradla data indicate enhanced aridity and seasonality for a part of GS26, with the relative dominance of summer precipitation and Mediterranean moisture contribution. Following the GS26 event, the effect of long-term global cooling becomes dominant in the Baradla isotope records and leads to glacial inception at about 109 ka.

Middle Miocene paleotemperature anomalies within the Franciscan Complex of northern California: Thermo-tectonic responses near the Mendocino triple junction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Underwood, M.B.; Shelton, K.L.; McLaughlin, R.J.; Laughland, M.M.; Solomon, R.M.

1999-01-01

This study documents three localities in the Franciscan accretionary complex of northern California, now adjacent to the San Andreas fault, that were overprinted thermally between 13.9 and 12.2 Ma: Point Delgada-Shelter Cove (King Range terrane); Bolinas Ridge (San Bruno Mountain terrane); and Mount San Bruno (San Bruno Mountain terrane). Vein assemblages of quartz, carbonate, sulfide minerals, and adularia were precipitated locally in highly fractured wall rock. Vitrinite reflectance (Rm) values and illite crystallinity decrease away from the zones of metalliferous veins, where peak wall-rock temperatures, as determined from Rm, were as high as 315??C. The ??18O values of quartz and calcite indicate that two separate types of fluid contributed to vein precipitation. Higher ??18O fluids produced widespread quartz and calcite veins that are typical of the regional paleothermal regime. The widespread veins are by-products of heat conduction and diffuse fluid flow during zeolite and prehnite-pumpellyite-grade metamorphism, and we interpret their paleofluids to have evolved through dehydration reactions and/or extensive isotopic exchange with accreted Franciscan rocks. Lower ??18O fluids, in contrast, evolved from relatively high temperature exchange between seawater (or meteoric water) and basaltic and/or sedimentary host rocks; focused flow of those fluids resulted in local deposition of the metalliferous veins. Heat sources for the three paleothermal anomalies remain uncertain and may have been unrelated to one another. Higher temperature metalliferous fluids in the King Range terrane could have advected either from a site of ridge-trench interaction north of the Mendocino fracture zone or from a "slabless window" in the wake of the northward migrating Mendocino triple junction. A separate paradox involves the amount of Quaternary offset of Franciscan basement rocks near Shelter Cove by on-land faults that some regard as the main active trace of the San Andreas plate boundary. Contouring of vitrinite reflectance values to the north of an area affected by A.D. 1906 surface rupture indicates that the maximum dextral offset within the interior of the King Range terrane is only 2.5 km. If this fault extends inland, and if it has been accommodating most of the strike-slip component of San Andreas offset at a rate of 3-4 cm/yr, then its activity began only 83-62 ka. This interpretation would also mean that a longer term trace of the San Andreas fault must be nearby, either offshore or along the northeast boundary of the King Range terrane. An offshore fault trace would be consistent with peak heating of King Range strata north of the Mendocino triple junction. Conversely, shifting the fault to the east would be compatible with a slabless window heat source and long-distance northward translation of the King Range terrane after peak heating.

Re-assessing the role of plant community change and climate in the PETM n-alkane record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bush, R. T.; Baczynski, A. A.; McInerney, F. A.; Chen, D.

2012-12-01

The terrestrial leaf wax n-alkane record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, shows large excursions in both carbon isotope (δ13C) values and n-alkane average chain length (ACL). At the onset of the PETM, ACL values increase from ~28.5 to ~30.1 while the negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) is 4-6‰ in magnitude and larger than δ13C records from other materials. It has been hypothesized previously that both the ACL excursion and the large magnitude of the CIE were caused by a concurrent turnover in the local flora from a mixed conifer/angiosperm community before the PETM to a different suite of angiosperm species during the PETM. Here, we present the results of a meta-analysis of data (>2000 data from 89 sources, both published and unpublished) on n-alkane amounts and chain length distributions in modern plants from around the world. We applied the data in two sets of comparisons: 1) within and among plant groups such as herbs and graminoids, and 2) between plants and climate, using reported collection locations for outdoor plants and climate values generated via GIS extraction of WorldClim modeled data. We show that angiosperms, as group, produce more n-alkanes than do gymnosperms by 1-2 orders of magnitude, and this means that the gymnosperm contribution to a mixed soil n-alkane pool would be negligible, even in an ecosystem where gymnosperms dominated (i.e. the pre/post-PETM ecosystems). The modern plant data also demonstrate that turnover of the plant community during the PETM, even among only the angiosperm species, is likely not the source of the observed ACL excursion. First, we constructed "representative" groups of PETM and pre/post-PETM communities using living relative species at the Chicago Botanic Garden and find no significant difference in chain length distributions between the two groups. Second and moreover, the modern plant data reveal that n-alkane chain length distributions are tremendously variable within large vascular plant groups--both functional groups such as woody plants or graminoids as well as phylogenetic groups at the family level or higher. This variability makes it difficult at best to use n-alkane chain lengths to distinguish one vascular group from another, as was previously suggested. Instead, our results suggest that chain length distributions and ACL are driven more by climate, especially temperature. Longer chain lengths, with their increased hydrophobicity, would likely experience favorable selection under warmer or drier conditions where leaf water loss is likely to be a greater stress. Thus, it may be that we can interpret the increase in ACL during the PETM as a direct response by the flora to increased temperature during the hyperthermal event, and n-alkane chain length distributions, properly constrained, may possibly serve as a qualitative paleotemperature proxy.

The Devil's Hole Is In The Details

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, M. G.

2012-12-01

As the granularity of Quaternary paleoclimatic proxy signatures from continental and oceanic sources continues to resolve, increasingly integrated studies such as Shakun et. al. (2012), and Kohfeld and Ridgewell (2009) have emerged, with far-reaching but sometimes conflicting paleo-global climate interpretations. Accordingly, none of the competing empirical and phenomenological narratives regarding the time series of Quaternary temperature patterns fit with sufficient fidelity to the observational record. Among other examples, the Shakun et al. study reviewed and processed 80 proxy sites worldwide for paleotemperature reconstruction, but left out the premier Devil's Hole poxy site in the continental Southwestern U.S. The Devil's Hole site presents a nominally earlier record of an interglacial warming signal (Landwehr and Winograd 2012). Both cite similar data (NOAA, 2005) as confirmation of their competing interpretations. Clearly both cannot be right. Epistemic origins of this apparent conflict may be rooted on the ongoing controversy concerning the importance of orbital forcings to the 100K year Quaternary glacial oscillations. Orbital forcings had been intrinsically posited as the only possible extraterrestrial driver of global temperature cycles over the Quaternary time frame. Yet other extraterrestrial climate forcing parameters are now conceivable. This paper reexamines past 3He marine core measurements conducted on two oceans and two hemispheres, and alternatives to the associated interpretations of researchers Patterson and Farley (1998). This study includes a new phenomenological and empirical exploration of an alternate extraterrestrial Quaternary global climate forcing model. This new interpretation is possible based on improved mapping of the Local Interstellar Medium (ISM), as documented in recent works such as those by Frisch and Mueller (2011). References: Frisch, P.C., and HR Mueller, 2011, Time-Variability in the Interstellar Boundary Conditions of the Heliosphere: Effect of the Solar Journey on the Galactic Cosmic Ray Flux at Earth. Space Science Review DOI 10.1007/s11214-011-9766-x. Kohfeld, Karen E., and Andy Ridgewell, 2009, "Glacial-Interglacial Variability in Atmospheric CO2", Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Processes Geophysical Research Series 187, pp. 251-286. Landwehr, J.M., Sharp, W.D., Coplen, T.B., Ludwig, K.R., and Winograd, I.J., 2011, "The chronology for the δ18O record from Devil's Hole, Nevada, extended into the mid-Holocene: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1082, 5 p. NOAA Paleoclimatology Program - Paleocean Site Data. tr163-19_ssts-fwc.txt # SST data only # File Created: 19-Jan-2005. ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/sst/tr163-19_ssts-fwc.txt. Patterson, DB, and Farley, KA (1998): Extraterrestrial 3He in seafloor sediments: Evidence for correlated 100 kyr periodicity in the accretion rate of interplanetary dust, orbital parameters, and Quaternary climate. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 62(23-24), 3669-3682. Shakun, Jeremy D. , Peter U. Clark, Feng He, Shaun A. Marcott, Alan C. Mix, Zhengyu Liu, Bette Otto-Bliesner, Andreas Schmittner & Edouard Bard, 2012, "Global warming preceded by increasing carbon dioxide concentrations during the last deglaciation" Nature Vol 484. pp 49-55.

Toward a new < 250 °C pyrrhotite-magnetite geothermometer for claystones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aubourg, Charles; Pozzi, Jean-Pierre

2010-05-01

We investigate the effects of burial and moderate experimental heating on claystones from three regions with different degrees of maturation: immature (burial temperature ˜ 40 °C) of Bure Callovo-Oxfordian claystones in the Basin of Paris (France); early mature (burial temperature ˜ 85 °C) of Opalinus Lower Dogger claystones from the Mont Terri anticline in front of the Jura fold belt (Switzerland); and mature to overmature (burial temperature < 170 °C) of Chartreuse Callovian-Oxfordian claystones from Chartreuse Sub-Alpine chains. To have information about the nature of the magnetic assemblage, we perform low-temperature (10 K-300 K) investigation of an isothermal remanent magnetization. In a first set of laboratory heating experiments, we aim to impart a chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) at 95 °C for several weeks in Bure and Opalinus claystones. Thermal demagnetization of the CRM reveals that magnetite is formed by heating the Opalinus claystones while an assemblage of magnetite and iron sulphide is formed in Bure claystones. Further, we document the appearance of a magnetic transition at ˜ 35 K in Bure claystones after heating. We name this transition the P-transition and we propose that it is related to the formation of fine-grained pyrrhotite (Fe 7S 8). The P-transition is also detected in early mature to mature Opalinus and Chartreuse claystones. We conduct additional experimental heating of natural Opalinus claystones. One set of experiments is referred to as short-term heating (1 h) from 100 °C to 200 °C. It is dedicated to an investigation of the effect of short-lived heating processes in geology. A second set of heating experiments is designed to approach burial conditions using a gold capsule. In burial-like experiments, we heated Opalinus claystones from 150 °C to 250 °C for several weeks under a pressure of 100 MPa. In both experiments, we observe a correlative diminution of the pyrrhotite signature at 35 K with increasing temperature. We interpret this trend as the appearance of magnetite. We derive a parameter PM from the warming curve of a saturated isothermal remanent magnetization acquired at 10 K (ZFC). We report on a consistent evolution of PM with temperature in the range of 40 °C to 250 °C, including natural samples, heated samples at 95 °C, and burial-like heated samples. PM first increases between ˜ 40 °C up to ˜ 85 °C, implying that pyrrhotite gradually dominates the magnetic assemblage at low temperature. For temperatures above 85 °C, PM decreases up to 250 °C, implying that the formation of magnetite gradually overshadows the magnetic input of pyrrhotite. PM values obtained from mature to overmature claystones from the Chartreuse are lower than the PM values obtained from the burial-like heated Opalinus claystones, suggesting that the formation of magnetite is driven by kinetics. The continuous trend of the PM parameter suggests that the magnetic properties of pyrrhotite-magnetite claystones can be used to infer paleo-temperatures and we propose to name this geothermometer MagEval.

Reconstructing palaeo-environmental conditions in the Baltic: A multi-proxy comparison from IODP Site M0059 (Little Belt)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotthoff, Ulrich; Andrén, Thomas; Bauersachs, Thorsten; Fanget, Anne-Sophie; Granoszewski, Wojciech; Groeneveld, Jeroen; Krupinski, Nadine; Peyron, Odile; Stepanova, Anna; Cotterill, Carol

2015-04-01

Some of the largest marine environmental impacts from ongoing global climate change are occurring in continental shelf seas and enclosed basins, including severe oxygen depletion, intensifying stratification, and increasing temperatures. In order to predict future changes in water mass conditions, it is essential to reconstruct how these conditions have changed in the past. The brackish Baltic Sea is one of the largest semi-enclosed basins worldwide, and hence provides a unique opportunity to analyse past changes. IODP Expedition 347 recovered a unique set of long sediment cores from the Baltic Sea Basin which allow new high-resolution reconstructions. The application of existing and development of new proxies in such a setting is complicated, as environmental changes often occur on much faster time scales with much larger variations. Therefore, we present a comparison of commonly used proxies to reconstruct palaeoecosystems, -temperatures, and -salinity from IODP Site M0059 in the Little Belt. The age model for Site M0059 is based on 14C dating and biostratigraphic correlation with neighbouring terrestrial pollen records. The aim of our study is to reconstruct the development of the terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the research area and the related environmental conditions, and to identify potential limitations for specific proxies. Pollen is used as proxy for vegetation development in the hinterland of the southern Baltic Sea and as land/air-temperature proxies. By comparison with dinoflagellate cysts and green algae remains from the same samples, a direct land-sea comparison is provided. The application of the modern analogues technique to pollen assemblages has previously yielded precise results for late Pleistocene and Holocene datasets including specific information on seasonality, but pollen-based reconstructions for Northern Europe may be hampered by plant migration effects. Chironomid remains are used where possible as indicators for surface water conditions during the warm season. Analyses of palynomorphs and chironomids are complemented with the analysis of lipid palaeothermometers, such as TEX86 and the long chain diol index (LDI), which both allow reconstructing variation in sea surface temperatures (SST) of the Baltic Sea. In addition, the MBT/CBT proxy is used to infer past changes in mean annual air temperatures (MAAT) and the diol index (DI) to determine variation in salinity of the Baltic Sea's surface waters over the investigated time period. The low salinity (25 psu) of the Little Belt is a potential limitation for several of the used proxies, which could lead to under-estimation of paleo-temperatures. To quantitatively and qualitatively estimate the impact of salinity, δ18O measurements (monospecific) and faunal assemblage analyses are performed on benthic foraminifera as well as ostracod faunal assemblages, which are especially sensitive to bottom water salinity changes. The results of this inter-comparison study will be useful for the reconstruction of gradients between different settings, e.g. how water column stratification developed, possibly if and how changes in seasonality occurred, and to identify the circumstances under which specific proxies may be affected by secondary impacts.

Thermal history and evolution of the Rio de Janeiro - Barbacena section of the southeastern Brazilian continental margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neri Gezatt, Julia; Stephenson, Randell; Macdonald, David

2015-04-01

The transect between the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Barbacena (22°54'S, 43°12'W and 21°13'S, 43°46'W, respectively) runs through a segment of a complex range of N-NE/S-SW trending basement units of the Ribeira Belt and southern Sao Francisco Craton, intensely reworked during the Brasiliano-Pan-African orogenic cycle. The ortho- and paragneisses in the area have metamorphic ages between 650 and 540 Ma and are intruded by pre-, syn- and post-tectonic granitic bodies. The transect, perpendicular to the strike direction of the continental margin, crosses the Serra do Mar escarpment, where the sample density is higher in order to better constrain occasional significant age changes. For logistical reasons, the 40 samples collected were processed in two separate batches for apatite fission track (AFT) analysis. The first batch comprised 19 samples, from which 15 produced fission track ages. Analyses were carried out at University College London (UCL), following standard procedures. Preliminary results for the study show AFT ages between 85.9±6.3 and 54.1±4.2 Ma, generally with younger ages close to the coast and progressively older ages towards the continental interior. The highest area sampled, around the city of Teresopolis, ranges from 740 to 1216 m above sea level and shows ages between 85.9±6.3 and 71.3±5.3 Ma. There is no evident lithological or structural distribution control. Medium track length values range from 12.57 to 13.89 µm and distributions are unimodal. Thermal history modelling was done using software QTQt. Individual sample model cooling curves can be divided into two groups: a dominant one, showing a single, slower cooling trend, and a second one with a rapid initial cooling curve, which becomes less steep around 65 Ma. In both groups the maximum paleotemperatures are around 110 Ma. The thermal history model for the first batch of samples is compatible with a single cooling event for the area following continental rifting and formation of the Atlantic Ocean. The preliminary results add to the growing thermochronological data base for the southeastern Brazilian continental margin and to deciphering the complex evolution of the region, as well as to the knowledge about the development and evolution of divergent continental margins in general. In a regional setting, AFT ages from this study, though not broadly variant locally, are distinct from basement rock AFT ages for adjacent areas produced by other authors along the southeastern continental margin. Similar ages are found at the southern Bocaina Plateau, for example, where structural control of age distribution is evident. Such regional thermal age difference has been previously attributed to continental scale structural compartmentalization throughout the continental passive margin, related to Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic reactivation of the E-W fracture zones linked to rifting of the South Atlantic. The present AFT results are compatible with Late Cretaceous reactivation but show no relation with younger events.

Partitioning water and carbon fluxes in a Mediterranean oak woodland using stable oxygen isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubbert, Maren; Piayda, Arndt; Cuntz, Matthias; Correia, Alexandra; Silva, Filipe Costa e.; Pereira, Joao; Werner, Christiane

2014-05-01

Water is a key factor driving ecosystem productivity, especially in water-limited ecosystems. A separation of the component fluxes is needed to gain a functional understanding on the development of net ecosystem water fluxes and their coupling with biogeochemical cycles. Oxygen isotope signatures are valuable tracers for water movements within the ecosystem because of the distinct isotopic compositions of water in soil and vegetation. In the past, determination of isotopic signatures of evaporative or transpirational fluxes has been challenging since measurements of water vapor isotopes were difficult to obtain using cold-trap methods, delivering data with low time resolution. Recent developments in laser spectroscopy now enable direct high frequency measurements of the isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapor (δv), evapotranspiration (δET), and its components and allow validations of common modeling approaches for estimating δE and δT based on Craig and Gordon (1965). Here, a novel approach was used, combining a custom build flow-through gas-exchange branch chamber with a Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer in a Mediteranean cork-oak woodland where two vegetation layers respond differently to drought: oak-trees (Quercus suber L.) avoid drought due to their access to ground water while herbaceous plants survive the summer as seeds. We aimed at 1) testing the Craig and Gordon equation for soil evaporation against directly measured δE and 2) quantifying the role of non-steady-state transpiration under natural conditions. Thirdly, we used this approach to quantify the impact of the understory herbaceous vegetation on ecosystem carbon and water fluxes throughout the year and disentangle how ET components of the ecosystem relate to carbon dioxide exchange. We present one year data comparing modeled and measured stable oxygen isotope signatures (δ18O) of soil evaporation, confirming that the Craig and Gordon equation leads to good agreement with measured δ18O of evaporation (Dubbert et al. 2013). Moreover, we found continuously strong deviations from isotopic steady-state in plant transpiration combined with large isoforcing on the atmosphere. This implies that assuming plant transpiration to be in the steady-state can have a huge impact at least for studies that distinguish relatively short time intervals (hours, e.g. partitioning studies). Finally. partitioning ecosystem ET and NEE into its three sources revealed a strong contribution of soil evaporation (E) and herbaceous transpiration (T) to ecosystem ET during spring and fall. In contrast, soil respiration (R) and herbaceous net carbon gain contributed to a lesser amount to ecosystem NEE during spring and fall, leading to consistently smaller water use efficiencies (WUE) of the herbaceous understory compared to the cork-oaks. Craig H, Gordon, LI. 1965. Deuterium and oxygen-18 variations in the ocean and the marine atmosphere. Paper presented at the Stable Isotopes in Oceanographic Studies and Paleotemperatures, Spoleto, Italy. Dubbert M, Cuntz M, Piayda A, Maguas C, Werner C, 2013: Partitioning evapotranspiration - Testing the Craig and Gordon model with field measurements of oxygen isotope ratios of evaporative fluxes. J Hydrol.

Determination of kinetic isotopic fractionation of water during bare soil evaporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quade, Maria; Brüggemann, Nicolas; Graf, Alexander; Rothfuss, Youri

2017-04-01

A process-based understanding of the water cycle in the atmosphere is important for improving meteorological and hydrological forecasting models. Usually only net fluxes of evapotranspiration - ET are measured, while land-surface models compute their raw components evaporation -E and transpiration -T. Isotopologues can be used as tracers to partition ET, but this requires knowledge of the isotopic kinetic fractionation factor (αK) which impacts the stable isotopic composition of water pools (e.g., soil and plant waters) during phase change and vapor transport by soil evaporation and plant transpiration. It is defined as a function of the ratio of the transport resistances in air of the less to the most abundant isotopologue. Previous studies determined αK for free evaporating water (Merlivat, 1978) or bare soil evaporation (Braud et al. 2009) at only low temporal resolution. The goal of this study is to provide estimates at higher temporal resolution. We performed a soil evaporation laboratory experiment to determine the αK by applying the Craig and Gordon (1965) model. A 0.7 m high column (0.48 m i.d.) was filled with silt loam (20.1 % sand, 14.9 % loam, 65 % silt) and saturated with water of known isotopic composition. Soil volumetric water content, temperature and the isotopic composition (δ) of the soil water vapor were measured at six different depths. At each depth microporous polypropylene tubing allowed the sampling of soil water vapor and the measurement of its δ in a non-destructive manner with high precision and accuracy as detailed in Rothfuss et al. (2013). In addition, atmospheric water vapor was sampled at seven different heights up to one meter above the surface for isotopic analysis. Results showed that soil and atmospheric δ profiles could be monitored at high temporal and vertical resolutions during the course of the experiment. αK could be calculated by using an inverse modeling approach and the Keeling (1958) plot method at high temporal resolution over a long period. We observed an increasing δ in the evaporating water vapor due to more enriched surface water. This leads to a higher transport resistances and an increasing αK. References Braud, I., Bariac, T., Biron, P., and Vauclin, M.: Isotopic composition of bare soil evaporated water vapor. Part II: Modeling of RUBIC IV experimental results, J. Hydrol., 369, 17-29. Craig, H. et al., 1965. Deuterium and oxygen 18 variations in the ocean and marine atmosphere. In: E. Tongiogi (Editor), Stable Isotopes in Oceanographic Studies and Paleotemperatures. V. Lishi, Spoleto, Italy, pp. 9-130. Keeling, C. D.: The Concentration and Isotopic Abundances of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide in Rural Areas, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 13, 322-334. Merlivat, L., 1978. Molecular Diffusivities of H216O, HD16O, and H218O in Gases. J Chem Phys, 69, 2864-2871. Rothfuss, Y. et al., 2013. Monitoring water stable isotopic composition in soils using gas-permeable tubing and infrared laser absorption spectroscopy. Water Resour. Res., 49, 1-9.

Carbonate mounds from the Gulf of Cadiz in relation to methane seepage: unrelated phenomena or coupling?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stadnitskaia, Alina; Baas, Marianne; de Haas, Henk; van Weering, Tjeerd C. E.; Kreulen, Rob R.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.

2010-05-01

For more than decade, the formation of carbonate mounds, related ecosystem development and organization/functioning of the entire mound habitats are subjects for a growing amount of studies and discussions. Carbonate mounds from the Gulf of Cadiz are of special interest due to their association with active mud volcanoes within the El Arraiche mud volcano field. Such co-occurrence of ecologically contrasting phenomena anticipates complex biogeochemical interactions between a carbonate mound interior and seeping through hydrocarbon-rich fluids. To get closer in understanding of how methane affects a carbonate mound development in the gulf, a combination of inorganic and organic geochemical techniques was applied to two sedimentary cores collected from summits of Alfa and Beta mounds. These mounds were found at the NW slope of the Gimini MV at the Pen Duick Mound Province. We analyzed vertical distribution profiles of sulfate, sulfide, chlorinity, DIC in combination with hydrocarbon gas measurements and lipid biomarker study. To have estimates of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) during the carbonate mound formation, we applied the TEX86 (TetraEther indeX of tetraethers with 86 carbon atoms; Schouten et al., 2002) and the alkenone-based UK37 index (Müller et al., 1998). The pore-water data revealed the presence of brine inflow, which is consistent with the data of Hensen et al., (2007). The behavior of sulfide distribution profiles and δ13C values from dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) indicated that most of the sulfide and DIC are resulted from the microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) processes. In contrast, the analysis of archaeal membrane lipids from distinct clades of AOM-mediating anaerobic methanotrophs showed exceedingly low concentrations of specific biomarkers, which is in contradiction with pore-water and gas chemistry data. Besides, AOM is the main cause for the increase of sedimentary alkalinity that leads to carbonate precipitation. Instead, some sedimentary intervals associated with pore-water-detected AOM zone showed the presence of semi-dissolved coral branches, indicating thus rather acidic intra-environments. In this paper we discuss a potential "consecutive order" of biogeochemical processes in the close subsurface of Alfa and Beta carbonate mounds and outline the importance of careful interpretation of biogeochemical signatures related to past, modern and post seepage episodes. References: Hensen, C, Nuzzo, M, Hornibrook, E, Pinheiro, L M, Bock, B, Magalhães, V, W Bruckmann (2007). Sources of mud volcano fluids in the Gulf of Cadiz: indications for hydrothermal imprint. Geochim. Cosmochimica Acta, 71, 1232-1248. Schouten, S., Hopmans, E.C., Schefub, E., and Sinninghe Damsté, J.S., 2002, Distributional variations in marine crenarchaeotal membrane lipids: a new tool for reconstructing ancient sea water temperatures?: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 204, p. 265-274. Somoza, L., Gardner, J.M., Diaz-del-Rio, V., Vazquez, J.T., Pinheiro, L.M.,Herna‘ndez-Molina, F.J.the TASYO/Anastasya shipboard parties, 2002. Numerous methane gas-related sea floor structures identified in the Gulf of Cadis. EOS, p. 541. Müller, P.J., Kirst, G., Ruhland, G., von Storch I. and A. Rosell-Melé (1998). Calibration of the alkenone paleotemperature index UK'37 based on core-tops from the eastern South Atlantic and the global ocean (60°N-60°S). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62, pp. 1757-1772. Van Rensbergen, P., Depreiter, D., Pannemans, B. and Henriet, J.-P. (2005) Seafloor expression of sediment extrusion and intrusion at the El Arraiche mud volcano field,Gulf of Cadiz. J. Geophys. Res.110, No. F2, F02010.

Dating and tracing groundwater resources in central Québec with noble gases, 14C and water chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vautour, G.; Pinti, D. L.; Castro, M. C.; Barbecot, F.; Larocque, M.; Hall, C. M.

2011-12-01

Canada water supply is derived mainly from lakes and rivers while groundwater accounts for less than 30% of the demand. Climatic and anthropogenic stress is endangering this natural resource. This study is part of a Quebec-funded program to characterize groundwater resources from major basins to ensure adequate water quality and management. The Bécancour River catchment area, 200 km NE of Montréal, is studied for this purpose. The region extends from the Appalachian Mts. down to the St. Lawrence River. Water chemistry shows the occurrence of Ca,Na-HCO3, Ca-HCO3, Na-HCO3 and NaCl waters, mainly recharged in the Appalachians and flowing to the St. Lawrence River. Aquifers are also recharged locally through Quaternary sandy deposits throughout the plain. Main aquifers are found both in unconfined and confined Quaternary sands intercalated with clays, and also locally in fractured Ordovician carbonates. To identify groundwater flow paths and to estimate water residence times, a multi-isotopic study involving noble gases, 14C and U, Th isotopes was initiated. Noble gas preliminary results were obtained on two transects, one along the downward flow path and the second perpendicular to the first, along a deeper sinclinorium with NaCl waters (TDS =170-705 mg/L). The 3He/4He ratios versus 4He/20Ne clearly points to mixing between three water bodies. The first has been recharged very recently displaying a near-atmospheric ratio of 0.79 Ra (Ra=atmospheric 3He/4He ratio of 1.386 x 10-6) and a 4He/20Ne of 0.2 close to the Air Saturated Water value, i.e. the ratio of atmospheric He and Ne dissolved in groundwater. The second water body is slightly older and shows the occurrence of tritiogenic 3He (3Hetri) excesses up to 1.07x10-13 ccSTP/g. These waters are found along the transect parallel to the main flow path. Using a local tritium decay curve and measured 3Hetri, an age of 19-20 years is suggested. The third water body contains large amounts of radiogenic 4He produced by U and Th decay in aquifer rocks up to 4.48x10-5 ccSTP/g. These waters are found close to the Appalachian recharge and in the transversal sinclinorium. They are from relatively deep wells (50 m depth), likely tapping the Ordovician carbonate basement. A simple in situ U-Th-4He age model gives ages of 2.0 to 6.6 Ma, which might suggest either: (1) the occurrence of isolated pockets of old water in the fractured basement or (2) mixing with deeper fossil brines containing large amounts of radiogenic 4He occurring in the Bécancour area. 14C measurements, in progress, should be helpful in calibrating the He age model and to test whether a 4He source external to aquifers might exist. Preliminary calculated paleotemperatures using atmospheric noble gases suggest values varying between 0° to 7 °C. The higher temperature represents actual recharge conditions during spring. The lower temperatures might correspond to Holocene waters recharged during the last deglaciation or contribution from recent glacial meltwater.

The last interglacial period on the Pacific Coast of North America: Timing and paleoclimate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Muhs, D.R.; Simmons, K.R.; Kennedy, G.L.; Rockwell, T.K.

2002-01-01

New, high-precision U-series ages of solitary corals (Balanophyllia elegans) coupled with molluscan faunal data from marine terraces on the Pacific Coast of North America yield information about the timing and warmth of the last interglacial sea-level highstand. Balanophyllia elegans takes up U in isotopic equilibrium with seawater during growth and shortly after death. Corals from the second terrace on San Clemente Island (offshore southern California), the third terrace on Punta Banda (on the Pacific Coast of northern Baja California), and the Discovery Point Formation on Isla de Guadalupe (in the Pacific Ocean offshore Baja California) date to the peak of the last interglacial period and have U-series ages ranging from ca. 123 to 114 ka. The first terrace on Punta Banda has corals with ages ranging from ca. 83 to 80 ka, which corresponds to a sea-level highstand formed in the late last interglacial period. U-series analyses of corals from the Cayucos terrace (central California) and the Nestor terrace at Point Loma (southern California) show that these fossils have evidence of open-system history, similar to what has been reported by other workers for the same localities. Nevertheless, a model of continuous, secondary U and Th uptake shows that two ages of corals are likely present at these localities, representing the ca. 105 and ca. 120 ka sea-level highstands reported elsewhere. U-series ages of last interglacial corals from the Pacific Coast overlap with, but are on average younger than the ages of corals from Barbados, the Bahamas, and Hawaii. This age difference is explained by the nature of the geomorphic response to sea-level change: fringing or barrier reefs on low-latitude coastlines have an accretionary growth style that keeps pace with rising sea level, whether on a tectonically rising or stable coastline. In contrast, midlatitude, high-energy coastlines are sites of platform cutting during the early part of a sea-level high stand and terrace scouring and concomitant sediment and fossil deposition as sea level starts to recede. The youngest ages of corals from the Pacific Coast suggest that sea level was still relatively high at ca. 116 ka, which is not in agreement with other estimates of relatively large global ice volume at that time. Reliably dated, ca. 120 ka marine-terrace deposits on the Pacific Coast have fossil mollusks that indicate water temperatures as warm or warmer than at present. In contrast, ca. 80 ka marine deposits reported here and elsewhere have fossil mollusks indicating cooler-than-modern water temperatures. The presence of both ca. 105 ka and ca. 120 ka corals on the Nestor and Cayucos terraces explains a previously enigmatic mixture of warm-water and cool-water mollusks. At ca. 105 ka, a relatively high sea level with cool waters may have "captured" the terrace formed during the 120 ka sea-level highstand, in areas of low uplift rate. The inference of cooler-than-modern waters off the Pacific Coast of North America at ca. 80 ka and ca. 105 ka, based on marine-terrace faunas, does not agree with estimates of sea-surface temperatures derived from alkenone studies in the Santa Barbara Basin. However, cooler water temperatures at these times are in agreement with paleo-temperature estimates from planktonic foraminiferal data for the Santa Barbara Basin. All records, from central California to Baja California, whether from marine terraces or offshore cores, indicate at least seasonably warmer-than-modern waters during the peak of the last interglacial period at ca. 120 ka.

The early to mid-Miocene environment of Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashworth, A. C.; Lewis, A.

2012-12-01

Paleoecological studies in the Transantarctic Mountains of the McMurdo region provide evidence that the climate was both warmer and wetter in the early to mid-Miocene than it was during the late Miocene. The climate change was accompanied by a shift from wet- to cold-based glaciation in the TAM and the probable growth of the polar ice sheet. Terrestrial and freshwater aquatic fossil assemblages from the Friis Hills (77°S) and the Olympus Range (77°S), with endpoint 40Ar/39Ar ages on tephras of 19.76 Ma and 14.07 Ma, respectively, indicate climatic cooling during the interval. At c.14 Ma, the temperature dropped below the threshold required to support the plants and insects of a tundra biome, and they became extinct. This interpretation is supported by pollen studies from Ross Sea cores. The extinction of the tundra biota on the continent appears to have been time-transgressive, occurring at 12.8 Ma on the Antarctic Peninsula. Evidence of climatic cooling from early to mid-Miocene is based on a decrease in biodiversity. During interglacial phases of the early Miocene, the poorly drained valley of the Friis Hills supported a sexually-reproducing moss community dominated by Campylium cf. polygamum, which today grows on the margins of lakes and in soil between boulders. Wood and leaves of Nothofagus (Southern Beech), and the seeds of at least five other angiosperm species are preserved as fossils. In addition, there are abundant megaspores and spiny, curved leaves of the aquatic lycopod Isoetes (Quillwort), as well as chitinous remains of curculionid beetles and Chironomidae (midges). During glacial phases, the only fossils found are Nothofagus leaves of a species which appears to be different than that associated with the interglacial phases. Pollen supports the interpretation that there was more than one species of Nothofagus in the vegetation. The types and numbers of species indicate that the vegetation was a shrub tundra. The closest modern analog for the fossil assemblage is at treeline and higher on Isla Navarino (55°S) at the southern tip of South America. By mid-Miocene, the upland tundra biota was less diverse, most notably in the number of angiosperm taxa. Based on the autecology and geographic distributions of the descendants of the fossil biota which survive in the subantarctic islands, South America and Tasmania, there was a decline of mean summer temperatures from c. 6°C to c. 4°C from the early to the mid-Miocene. During the early Miocene, the MST of the TAM was c.19°C warmer than today. A paleotemperature estimate based on leaf waxes from a Ross Sea core is for a MST 11°C warmer than today which seems low considering it is based on a near sea-level vegetation. A recent paper utilizing a salt-hydration process to provide adequate moisture to support a Miocene tundra biota is based on erroneous data. The Miocene climate was wet with an annual precipitation of at least 3000 mm. A recent report of the possible survival of vegetation in the Taylor Valley until the Pliocene, based on the discovery of 5 Ma wood-like forms in a DVDP core, is improbable. Even if wood can be definitively identified from the Pliocene deposits it is likely to be reworked Miocene wood from uplands in the TAM (e.g. Friis Hills). Research supported by NSF OPP 0739693.

Progress in Late Cretaceous planktonic foraminiferal stable isotope paleoecology and implications for paleoceanographic reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrizzo, Maria Rose; Falzoni, Francesca; Huber, Brian T.; MacLeod, Kenneth G.

2015-04-01

Paleoecological preferences proposed for Cretaceous planktonic foraminiferal taxa have traditionally been based on morphological analogies with depth-stratified modern species, on biofacies comparison in continental margin and deepwater settings, and limited oxygen and carbon stable isotope data. These studies concluded that large-sized, keeled and heavily calcified planktonic foraminifera generally lived at deeper levels in the surface waters than small-sized, thinner-walled non-keeled species. Stable isotope data have been used to infer information on paleotemperature, paleoceanography and paleoproductivity of ancient oceans and constrain biological paleo-activities (i.e. photosymbiosis and respiration) of fossil species. These studies have suggested that the depth-distribution model based on analogy with modern taxa might not be fully applicable for Cretaceous species, and found particularly 13C-enriched values in some Maastrichtian multiserial taxa that have been related to the activity of photosymbionts. We have collected about 1500 δ18O and δ13C species-specific analyses on glassy preserved planktonic foraminifera from Tanzania (Tanzania Drilling Project TDP sites 23, 28 and 32) and well-preserved planktonic foraminifera from other mid-low latitude localities (Shatsky Rise, northwestern Pacific Ocean, ODP Leg 198 Hole 1210B; Exmouth Plateau, eastern Indian Ocean, ODP Leg 122, Hole 762C; Eratosthenes Seamount, eastern Mediterranean, ODP Leg 160, Hole 967E; Blake Nose, central Atlantic Ocean, ODP Leg 171B, holes 1050C and 1052E) to investigate Late Cretaceous species paleoecological preferences, life strategies and depth distribution in the surface water column. Our results indicates that several large-sized (> 500 μm) double-keeled species belonging to the genera Dicarinella, Marginotruncana and Contusotruncana, generally interpreted as deep to thermocline dwellers, instead occupied shallow/warm layers of the water column, whilst not all biserial species were adapted to shallow layers and eutrophic environments (Falzoni et al., 2013; Falzoni et al., in prep.). Interestingly, globigeriniform planktonic foraminifera with meridional ornamentation (Paracostellagerina and Rugoglobigerina), a morphological feature generally considered to be genetically controlled and thus taxonomically significant, typically yield higher δ13C values than co-occurring finely ornamented morphotypes (Petrizzo et al., 2008). A possible explanation to these results invokes the presence of facultative photosymbionts enhancing test calcification or alternatively, the occurrence of ecophenotypes adapted to a different sea-surface 13C/12C ratio within the same fossil species (Falzoni et al., 2014). Finally, we discuss evidences against the traditional species depth-distribution model and highlight the restrictions in performing Late Cretaceous paleoenvironmental and paleoceanographic reconstructions based on shell morphology and/or inferred life strategies of planktonic foraminifera. References Falzoni, F., Petrizzo, M.R., MacLeod, K.G., Huber, B.T. (2013). Santonian-Campanian planktonic foraminifera from Tanzania, Shatsky Rise and Exmouth Plateau: species depth ecology and paleoceanographic inferences. Marine Micropaleontology 103, 15-29. Falzoni, F., Petrizzo, M.R., Huber, B.T., MacLeod, K.G. (2014). Insights into the meridional ornamentation of the planktonic foraminiferal genus Rugoglobigerina (Late Cretaceous) and implications for taxonomy. Cretaceous Research 47, 87-104. Petrizzo, M.R., Huber, B.T., Wilson, P.A., MacLeod, K.G. (2008). Late Albian paleoceanography of the western subtropical North Atlantic. Paleoceanography 23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007PA001517 (PA1213).

Tropical sea surface temperature variability near the Oligocene - Miocene boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Pagani, M.

2010-12-01

The Oligocene/Miocene (O-M) boundary is characterized by a period of rapid and intense glaciation labeled Mi-1 at ~ 23.1 Ma. An abrupt 1.5‰ increase in the benthic foraminifera oxygen isotope composition that characterizes Mi-1 may indicate a (1) significant deep-water temperature decrease; (2) major ice-sheet expansion, or the combination of both. Current coarse Mg/Ca-based temperature estimations for the early Miocene suggests that deep-ocean temperatures were ~2°C warmer than Today [1, 2]. However, Mg/Ca based temperatures can also be influenced by changes in the carbonate ion concentration, vital effects, and diagenesis. In particular, recent evidence from mid-ocean ridge flank carbonate veins shows dramatic seawater Mg/Ca ratio changes during the Neogene (Mg/Ca from ~2.2 to 5.3, [3]), which further challenges the application of Mg/Ca thermometry. Owing to poor temperature constraints, current ice volume estimations for the late Oligocene/early Miocene range from 125% of the present-day East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to a nearly complete collapse of the Antarctic glaciers [4]. Here we present tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) records based on TEX86 and alkenone UK37 near the O-M boundary. Sediment samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 926 in the Ceara Rise (tropical Atlantic) and Site 1148 in the South China Sea (tropical Pacific) were subject to lipid extraction, separation, gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. TEX86-based SST indicates that the tropics were ~3-4°C warmer than today and relatively stable during Mi-1. This suggests that ice-sheet dynamics, rather than temperature, might be responsible for the observed oxygen isotope changes during the O-M boundary. Further, O-M boundary averaged temperatures recorded at site 926 is ~ 0.5°C higher relative to the late Eocene from site 925 (a nearby site [5]). Given late Oligocene benthic δ18O that suggests at least 1‰ enrichment relative to the late Eocene (e.g. ODP 1218 [2]), our records suggest major Antarctic ice build-up in the Oligocene. Additional work across high-latitude sites is necessary to evaluate how the extratropics responded to climate change during Mi-1, as well as modeling efforts to quantitatively resolve ice volume from temperature. [1] K. Billups, D.P. Schrag, Paleotemperatures and ice volume of the past 27 Myr revisited with paired Mg/Ca and 18O/16O measurements on bethic foraminifera, Paleoceanography 17(2002). [2] C.H. Lear, Y. Rosenthal, H.K. Coxall, P.A. Wilson, Late Eocene to early Miocene ice sheet dynamics and the global carbon cycle, Paleoceanography 19(2004). [3] R.M. Coggon, D.A.H. Teagle, C.E. Smith-Duque, J.C. Alt, M.J. Copper, Reconstructing past seawater Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca from Mid-Ocean Ridge flank calcium carbonate veins, Science 327(2010) 1141-1147. [4] S.F. Pekar, R.M. DeConto, High-resolution ice-volume estimates for the early Miocene: Evidence for a dynamic ice sheet in Antarctica, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 231(2006) 101-109. [5] Z. Liu, M. Pagani, D. Zinniker, R. DeConto, M. Huber, H. Brinkhuis, S.R. Shah, R.M. Leckie, A. Pearson, Global Cooling During the Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition, Science 323(2009) 1187-1190.

Climatic record of the Iberian peninsula from lake Moncortes' sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Min; Huguet, Carme; Rull, Valenti; Valero, Blas; Rosell-Mele, Antoni

2014-05-01

Climatic record of the Iberian peninsula from lake Moncortes' sediments Min Cao1, Carme Huguet1, Valenti Rull2, Blas L. Valero-Garces3, Antoni Rosell-Melé1,4 1Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain; 2Institut de Botanic de Barcelona (CSIC), Passeig del Migdia s/n, 08038, Barcelona, Spain, 3 Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologıa (CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain, 4Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The continuing buildup of industrial greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and concomitant increase in global temperatures has made much of the world's society aware that decades to centuries of environmental change lie ahead, and that these will have profound economic, political and societal impacts. The Iberian Peninsula lies in the boundary between tropical and subtropical climates and seems to amplify the climatic signals form the northern hemisphere through both atmospheric and water circulation feedbacks, making it an ideal site to monitor Northern hemisphere climate changes. This extreme sensitivity to climatic changes also makes the Iberian Peninsula extremely vulnerable to future climate changes. This is why understanding sensitivity to climate change and the consequences it will have on both climate and the hydrological cycle is key to implement preventive measures. The aim of our study is to come up with a high resolution quantitative reconstruction of climate variability (temperature, production and precipitation) in the Iberian Peninsula from lake sediments. We also want to establish the relation between those changes and the ones observed in both ice cores from Greenland and paleotemperature records from marine sediments of the continental Iberian margin. For these reasons we sampled a core in Moncortes (42.3N, 0.99E), a lake of karstic origin with an average depth of 25m and an area of 0.19km2. Lake Moncortes is situated at 1065 m above sea level, has an average temperature of 10ºC (minimum 3 and maximum 16ºC) and a mean annual precipitation of 770mm. We used the MBT/CBT (Weijers et al. 2007) proxy of pH and terrestrial temperature and the TEX86 temperature proxy (Schouten et al. 2002) to estimate changes in and around the lake. Both proxies are based on the glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) of archaea (isoprenoid GDGTs) and bacteria (branched GDGTs) origin. We also measured soils surrounding the lake (Menges et al. 2013) in order to establish end-members for the proxies as well as organic matter transport. Data on n-alkane isotopes will help establish hydrographic regime changes. We observe changes in temperature and humidity consistent with those on teh northern hemisphere. J. Menges, C. Huguet, J.M. Alcañiz, S. Fietz, D. Sachse, A. Rosell-Melé Biogechemistry discussions (2013), BGD bg-2013-198. S. Schouten, E.C. Hopmans, E. Schefuss, J.S.S. Damste, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 204(2002) 265-274 J.W.H. Weijers, S. Schouten, J.S.S. Damste, Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 71(2007) A1098-A1098.

Glacial and volcanic evolution on Nevado Coropuna (Tropical Andes) based on cosmogenic 36Cl surface exposure dating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Úbeda, J.; Palacios, D.; Vázquez-Selém, L.

2012-04-01

We have reconstructed the evolution of the paleo-glaciers of the volcanic complex Nevado Coropuna (15°S, 72°W; 6377 m asl) through the interpretation and dating of geomorphological evidences. Surface exposure dating (SED) based on the accumulation of 36Cl on the surface of moraine boulders, polished bedrock and lava flows allowed: 1) to confirm that the presence of ice masses in the region dates back to >80ka; 2) to produce chronologies of glacial and volcanic phases for the last ~21 ka; and 3) to obtain evidences of the reactivation of volcanic activity after the Last Glacial Maximum. Bromley et al. (2009) presented 3He SED ages of 21 ka for moraine boulders on the Mapa Mayo valley, to the North of Nevado Coropuna. Our 36Cl SED SED for moraine boulders from the valleys on the NE sector of the volcanic complex suggest a maximum initial advance between 20 and 16 ka, followed by another expansion of similar extent at 12-11 ka. On the Southern slope of Nevado Coropuna, the 36Cl ages show a maximum initial advance that reaches to the level of the Altiplano at 14 ka, and a re-advance at ~10-9 ka BP. Other data show minor re-advances at 9 ka on the Northern slope and at 6 ka to the South of the volcanic complex. These minor positive pulses interrupted a fast deglaciation process during the Holocene as shown by two series of 36Cl SED from polished rock surfaces on successively higher altitudes along the valleys of rivers Blanco and Cospanja, to the SW and SE. Despite the global warming occuring since 20 ka, deduced from the record of sea surface paleo-temperature of the Galapago Islands (Lea et al, 2006), the evolution of the fresh-water plankton from Lake Titicaca (Fritz et al, 2007) is consistent with sustained glacial conditions until 10-9 ka as suggested by the present work. Exposure ages of three lava flows indicate a reactivation of the magmatic system as the paleo-glaciers abandonned the slopes. The eruptive activity migrated from the West, where we found a lava flow of 6 ka, to the East, where we dated two units similar to the previous one at 2 and <1ka. Bromley, G.R. et al., 2009. Relative timing of last glacial maximum and late-glacial events in the central tropical Andes. Quaternary Science Reviews, 1-13. Bromley, R.M. et al., 2011. Glacier fluctuations in the southern Peruvian Andes during the late-glacial period, constrained with cosmogenic 3He. Journal of Quaternary Science, 26 (1): 37-43. Fritz, S.C. et al., 2007. Lake Titicaca 370KYr LT01-2B Sediment Database. Lake Titicaca 370KYr LT01-2B Sediment Data. IGBP PAGES/World Data Center-A for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series # 92-008. NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program. Boulder (EEUU). Lea, D.W. et al., 2006. Galápagos TR163-22 Foraminiferal ^18O and Mg/Ca Data and SST Reconstruction. IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series # 2006-090. NOAA/NCDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder (EEUU). Research funded by CGL2009-7343 project, Government of Spain.

Shallow geothermal investigations into the existence of the Valles Caldera outflow plume near Ponderosa and Jemez Pueblo, north-central, New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salaz, Robert Ezekiel

Geothermal research within the Jemez Mountains spans several decades and is documented in many papers. This study serves to extend the research boundary to the south and east outside of Valles caldera and Canon de San Diego, where the main occurrences of geothermal activity are located. The focus of this investigation is to test for a deep ~900 m, stratigraphically-bound thermal aquifer within the Madera Limestone along the western margin of the Santo Domingo basin transition zone near Ponderosa and Jemez Pueblo, in north-central New Mexico. Numerous springs were sampled for aqueous geochemistry to identify leakage of a deeper geothermal aquifer into shallow aquifers. Wells were sampled for temperature anomalies. In addition, two travertine deposits were analyzed for stable isotope composition and one deposit was dated using U-Series techniques to assess the timing and origin of deposition. This study is important because researchers in other extensional basins have identified reasonably good geothermal reservoirs in deep carbonate aquifers that are similar in geologic setting to the Madera Limestone aquifer of this study. The existence of a deep geothermal aquifer near Ponderosa and Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico could prove to be another prospect for geothermal exploration in the Jemez Mountains. Aqueous geochemistry of springs are plotted on ternary Piper diagrams to help classify similar geochemical trends and group these trends into recognizable patterns. These data indicate calcium carbonate rich waters in the north that may gradationally change to alkaline type waters as they flow south through the study area. Contrasting this data, SiO2 and TDS concentrations show two separate systems that may indicate separate confined aquifers. Two distinct TDS regions are observed, one with higher concentrations (>1000 ppm) shows a decrease from N-S and one with lower concentrations (<600 ppm) shows an increase from N-S. The data indicate that the waters can be classified as shallow meteoric waters within the Jemez Mountains. The geochemical complexity of the data point towards separate systems with distinct geochemical characteristics, i.e. confined aquifers, but the complexity and sparseness of data make further interpretations difficult. No evidence of geothermal mixing was observed in any of the samples. Temperature data taken from shallow water wells that penetrate Tertiary Zia Sandstone and Triassic Chinle Group sediments (less than 200 m) show higher than expected geothermal gradients, up to 93 °C/km. Transient temperature models of an aquifer with warm water flowing laterally may explain how an expected background temperature gradient in the Rio Grande rift of 30 °C/km could be heated to 80 °C/km. The aquifer is the Madera Limestone, with a projected depth of 900 meters, which lies below the Abo Formation and the Chinle Group aquitards. The models point toward a period of advective heat transport of a deep stratigraphically-bound, laterally flowing geothermal aquifer and subsequent conductive heating of the strata above the aquifer. Travertine data show elevated delta13C values from 1.31‰ -- 5.18‰ PDB, indicating a possible magmatic source. delta18O paleotemperature results indicate spring temperatures of approximately 33 °C. U-series dates yield an age for one travertine mound, ~150 meters above the active stream channel, of approximately 450 ka +/-17 ka. These data are also consistent with published data from Soda Dam. Although the data show mixed indications of a potential geothermal resource at depth, it is evident that there is no leakage of this resource into the shallow groundwater within the study area. However, higher-than-normal geothermal gradients may indicate a thermal source at depth. Travertine data are sparse, but support the existence of thermal activity related to geothermal events from the Valles caldera in the past. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Paleoenvironmental dynamics of Western Beringia - New studies from the Yedoma key site Duvanny Yar (Lower Kolyma River, Siberia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauss, Jens; Schirrmeister, Lutz; Wetterich, Sebastian

2010-05-01

Duvanny Yar is a stratigraphic key site for the late Quaternary in Western Beringia. It is characteristic for ice-rich permafrost sequences of the so-called Yedoma Suite in north-east Siberia (e.g. KAPLINA et al. 1978; SHER et al. 1979) and is an important reference site for the late Pleistocene history of Beringia (HOPKINS 1982). The aim of our study was to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental dynamics at the Duvanny Yar site during the late Quaternary using its terrestrial archive. A multidisciplinary approach using geocryological, geochronological, sedimentological, hydrochemical, isotope geochemical, and paleoecological methods was applied to obtain multiproxy records. Sediment samples were analysed for ice contents, grain size parameters, biogeochemistry (total carbon, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, stable carbon isotopes), mineral density, mass specific magnetic susceptibility, and for radiocarbon age. Stable isotopes of water were measured for ground ice (ice wedges, segregated ice, and pore ice), modern surface waters and modern precipitation. Six profiles along the riverbank were sampled in August 2008. They contained Eemian lacustrine deposits, long sequences of Ice Complex deposits of the Late Pleistocene Yedoma, Holocene lacustrine and boggy deposits in thermokarst depressions. All profiles showed very bad sorted sediment of fine to coarse silt. A homogenous and polymodal grain size distribution for the ice rich (~30 to 60 wt %) Yedoma Suite revealed a polygenetic origin and disproves the pure "arctic loess" hypothesis for these deposits. Measurements of bulk density, ice content and total organic carbon content (TOC) enable for a relative TOC content in Ice Complex deposits at Duvanny Yar. The mean value of organic carbon at Duvanny Yar is 16 ± 11 kg/m^3. Geochronological results based on 11 new AMS ages revealed that the Yedoma Suite was continuously formed from the end of the Middle Weichselian (~ 40000 years BP) and at least until the Late Glacial Maximum (~ 20000 years BP). Stable water isotopes measured in ice wedges, segregated ice and ice lenses were used to estimate paleotemperature changes. Isotopic signals revealed cold temperatures for the whole period with relative warm peaks in the Eemian and Holocene times. During Yedoma Suite formation the climate was stable and cold. A better understanding of the paleoenvironmental dynamics at Duvanny Yar may provide a basis for more reliable predictions of future reaction on global warming of organic-bearing ice-rich permafrost in Siberia which is considered as a potential greenhouse gas source permafrost (DUTTA et al. 2006; ZIMOV et al. 2006). References Dutta, K., Schuur, E.A.G., Neff, J.C. and Zimov, S.A. (2006). "Potential carbon release from permafrost soils of Northeastern Siberia", Global Change Biology 12(12): 2336-2351. Hopkins, D.M. (1982). Aspects of the paleogeography of Beringia during the Late Pleistocene. In: Paleoecology of Beringia. Hopkins, D. M., Matthews, J. V., Schweger, C. E. and Young, S. B., Academic Press: 3-28. Kaplina, T.N., Giterman, R.E., Lakhtina, O.V., Abrashov, B.A., Kiselyov, S.V. and Sher, A.V. (1978). "Duvannyy Yar - a key section of Upper Pleistocene deposits of the Kolyma lowland", Bulletin of Quaternary Research Commission 48: 49-65. (in Russian) Sher, A.V., Kaplina, T.N., Giterman, R.E., Lozhkin, A.V., Arkhangelov, A.A., Kiselyov, S.V., Kouznetsov, Y.V., Virina, E.I. and Zazhigin, V.S. (1979). Late Cenozoic of the Kolyma Lowland. 14th Pacific Science Congress, Khabarovsk, Academy of Science, USSR. Zimov, S.A., Davydov, S.P., Zimova, G.M., Davydova, A.I., Schuur, E.A.G., Dutta, K. and Chapin III, F.S. (2006). "Permafrost carbon: Stock and decomposability of a globally significant carbon pool", Geophysical Research Letters 33(20): L20502.

Petrological, geochemical and isotopic characteristics of lignite and calcified lignite from mining area Pesje, Velenje Basin, Slovenia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vrabec, Mirijam; Markič, Miloš; Vrabec, Marko; Jaćimović, Radojko; Kanduč, Tjaša

2014-05-01

Lignite (organic rich) and calcified lignite (inorganic rich) samples from excavation field -50c mining area Pesje, Velenje Basin, Slovenia were investigated. During geological and structural mapping lignite and calcified lignite samples were systematically taken for determination of their petrological, geochemical and isotopic characteristics. Lignite is composed of fine detritical gelified matrix. At least five different types of calcified lignite were recognized forming laminations, calcifications after wood, petrified wood and complete replacements of lignite with carbonate. All measured parameters so far indicate geochemical processes during sedimentation of the Velenej Basin. After macroscopic description samples were split to organic and inorganic component (Ward, 1984) and powdered in an agate mortar for geochemical and isotopic analyses. Major and trace elements (As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Sb, Se, Th, U, Zn) in these samples were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) using k-0 standardization method (Jaćimović et al, 2002). The isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen was determined using a Europa 20-20 continuous flow IRMS ANCA-SL preparation module. A 1 mg amount of a sample was weighed in a tin capsule for carbon and 10 mg for nitrogen analysis. Samples for carbon analyses were pretreated with 1 M HCl to remove carbonates. Carbonate samples from carbonate-rich strata and calcified xylite were first roasted at 450 deg C (Krantz et al., 1987). Three miligrams of carbonate sample was transformed into CO2 by reaction with anhydrous H3PO4 at 55 deg C under vacuum (McCrea, 1950) and measured with GV 2003 isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Measured isotopic composition of oxygen as VPDB values was recalculated to the VSMOW reference standard to enable the comparison with data from other coal basins. SEM/EDXS of carbonate rich sediments was performed with JEOL JSM 5800 electron microanalyzer scanning electron microscope energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy at the Department of Ceramics at the Jožef Stefan Institute. Geochemical characteristics of major and trace elements indicate that the values of major and trace elements are comparable to world average coal (Zhang et al., 2004). Isotopic composition of carbon and isotopic composition of nitrogen of investigated samples indicate values from to -29.4o to -23.7o and 1.8o to 5.9o respectively. Lower value of isotopic composition of carbon indicates higher gelification (values up to -29.4) and higher value of isotopic composition of nitrogen (values up to 5.9) indicate higher mineralization. The results of SEM/EDXS microscopy revealed that in calcified lignite chemical composition of calcite prevails. Traces of diagenetic pyrite were also found, indicating localized anoxic conditions during sedimentation. Values of isotopic composition of CCaCO3 range from -2 to +13 and indicate temperature of precipitation from 17.3 to 35 deg C, which is similar to results obtained in previous studies (Kanduč et al., 2012). References Krantz, D.E., Williams, D.F., Jones, D.S., 1987: Ecological and paleoenvironmental information using stable isotope profiles from living and fossil mollusks. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 58, 249-266. Kanduč T., Markič M., Zavšek S., McIntosh J. 2012: carbon cycling in the Pliocene Velenje Coal Basin, Slovenia, inferred from stable carbon isotopes. International Journal of Coal Geology 89, 70-83. Jaćimović, R., Lazaru, A., Mihajlović, D., Ilić, R., Stafilov, T., 2002: Determination of major and trace elements in some minerals by k0-instrumental neutron activation analysis. Journal of Radioanalytical Nuclear Chemistry, 253, 427-434. McCrea, JM., 1950. On the isotopic chemistry of carbonates and a paleotemperature scale. Journal of Chemical Physics 18, 849. Ward C.R. (Ed.), 1984: Coal Geology and Coal Technology. Black-well, Oxford, 345 pp. Zhang J.Y., Zheng C.G., Ren D.Y., Chou C.L., Zheng R.S., Wang Z.P., Zhao F. H., Ge Y.T. 2004: Distribution of potentially hazardous trace elements in coals from Shoxi provinces, China. Fuel 83: 129-135.

The source of phosphate in the oxidation zone of ore deposits: Evidence from oxygen isotope compositions of pyromorphite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burmann, Fabian; Keim, Maximilian F.; Oelmann, Yvonne; Teiber, Holger; Marks, Michael A. W.; Markl, Gregor

2013-12-01

Pyromorphite (Pb5[PO4]3Cl) is an abundant mineral in oxidized zones of lead-bearing ore deposits and due to its very low solubility product effectively binds Pb during supergene alteration of galena (PbS). The capacity of a soil or near-surface fluid to immobilize dissolved Pb depends critically on the availability of phosphate in this soil or fluid. Potential phosphorus sources in soil include (i) release during biological processes, i.e. leaching from litter/lysis of microbial cells (after intracellular enzyme activity) in soil and hydrolysis from soil organic matter by extracellular enzymes and (ii) inorganic phosphate from the dissolution of apatite in the adjacent basement rocks. Intracellular enzyme activity in plants/microorganisms associated with kinetic fractionation produces an oxygen isotope composition distinctly different from inorganic processes in soil. This study presents the first oxygen isotope data for phosphate (δ18OP) in pyromorphite and a comprehensive data set for apatite from crystalline rocks. We investigated 38 pyromorphites from 26 localities in the Schwarzwald (Southwest Germany) and five samples from localities outside the Schwarzwald in addition to 12 apatite separates from gneissic and granitic host rocks. Pyromorphites had δ18OP values between +10‰ and +19‰, comparable to literature data on δ18OP in the readily available P fraction in soil (resin-extractable P) from which minerals potentially precipitate in soils. δ18OP values below the range of equilibrium isotope fractionation can be attributed either to apatites that formed geochemically (δ18OP of apatites:+6‰ to +9‰) or less likely to biological processes (extracellular enzyme activity). However, for most of our samples isotopic equilibrium with ambient water was indicated, which suggests biological activity. Therefore, we conclude that the majority of pyromorphites in oxidized zones of ore bodies formed from biologically cycled phosphate. This study highlights that biological activity and Pb mobilization are intimately connected: in humid regions with high biological activity in soil, Pb might be precipitated rapidly due to biologically-released phosphate, whereas Pb will be released to the environment from ore deposits or mine dumps much more easily in arid regions with low biological activity, because pyromorphite cannot form due to limited supply of phosphorus. Phosphate from magmatic, metamorphic or sedimentary rocks: The most important phosphate-bearing mineral in such rocks is apatite (Ca5[(PO4)3(F,Cl,OH)]). In magmatic and metamorphic rocks it generally occurs as fluorapatite (Piccoli and Candela, 2002; Filippelli, 2008), whereas sedimentary rocks may also contain considerable amounts of carbonate-fluorapatite. Phosphorites are present in the geological record since the Lower Proterozoic (Cook and McElhinny, 1979; Shemesh et al., 1983). Alteration with low-pH fluids can dissolve apatite and thereby release geochemical phosphate (Filippelli, 2008). Low pH values may be attained by dissolution of atmospheric CO2 or by reaction with sulfides present in the rocks or in adjacent ore deposits. Phosphate of organic origin, such as from plants, animals or microorganisms: Phosphorus is required in most biological systems, as it is an essential element in major organic molecules such as adenosine triphosphate in the energy cycle, or in phospholipids, which form cell walls (Bucher, 2007; Filippelli, 2008). Organisms take up phosphorus as dissolved inorganic phosphate and cycle it through metabolic processes (intracellular enzyme activity). Once entering the soil, the organic material is decomposed by extracellular enzyme activity (hydrolysis of ester bonds) and phosphate is being released (Bünemann et al., 2011). Phosphate of anthropogenic origin: Since phosphate is a limiting factor in organism growth, it is an important ingredient of fertilizers in the agricultural industry. Also, phosphate can be found as ingredients in detergents, toothpaste and as a release of waste water treatment plants (Young et al., 2009). Anthropogenic effects will not be discussed further in the following. On this basis, we consider three different cases of pyromorphite formation as illustrated on the conceptual scheme of Fig. 1. Case 1: Pyromorphite grown recently (within the last hundreds of years) on rock surfaces in former mines. Both, phosphate released geochemically from igneous rocks and phosphate released biologically during leaching from litter/lysis of microbial cells and soil organic matter decomposition are possible sources. Case 2: Pyromorphite formation on mine dumps, below vegetation (recent, during tens to hundreds of years). Based on the specific setting of these samples investigated here (they were found exclusively below a large fern; see more details in the section on sample description), biologically-mediated P release provides the phosphate for pyromorphite growth. Case 3: Pyromorphite growth in the oxidized zones of ore bodies prior to human interference. Most samples of our study belong to this case.Phosphorus generally forms very strong covalent bonds (Huminicki and Hawthorne, 2002) and there is only negligible exchange of oxygen isotopes between phosphate and ambient water under most near-surface conditions without biological activity (Winter et al., 1940; Longinelli, 1965). The only important exchange of oxygen isotopes between phosphate and ambient water involves biological activity and the oxygen isotope composition of phosphate (δ18OP) may be modified by different enzymatic/cellular processes. Once phosphate is taken up by organisms, intracellular pyrophosphatase mediates internal P cycling. This is associated with a temperature-dependent equilibrium isotope fractionation due to the reversible exchange of O atoms between the phosphate molecule and cell water. As a result the δ18OP is equilibrated with the ambient water, and the equilibrium temperature can be calculated following the revised empirical equation from Longinelli and Nuti (1973) presented by Puceat et al. (2010): T(°C)=118.7-4.22[(δ18OP+(22.6-δ18ONBS120c))-δ18OW] where T is the temperature of the ambient water, δ18OP is the oxygen isotope composition of the phosphate at equilibrium conditions, δ18ONBS120c is the oxygen isotope composition of reference material NBS120c according to Vennemann et al. (2002) and δ18OW is the oxygen isotope composition of the ambient water. Knowledge of the δ18OP of ambient water and its temperature renders it possible to calculate a theoretical equilibrium value for δ18OP. If phosphate is again released from organisms into the soil, it will reflect the δ18OP of the cell-internal P cycling. In addition, extracellular enzymes are released in soil if the demand for P requires the hydrolysis of organic P in soil (McGill and Cole, 1981). Extracellular enzymes also transfer O atoms from water to phosphate and thus, change δ18OP. The associated isotopic fractionation factors vary between -10‰ (enzyme: 5‧-nucleotidase) and -30‰ (enzyme: alkaline phosphatase; Liang and Blake, 2006, 2009). All recent publications on δ18OP of phosphate in the readily available P fraction in soil (resin P) showed δ18OP values in the range calculated for isotopic equilibrium fractionation irrespective of environmental conditions (parent material, climate, biome). At most 20% down to 0% of the measured δ18OP fell outside the calculated isotopic equilibrium range (Angert et al., 2011, 2012; Tamburini et al., 2012). We therefore infer a dominant role of intracellular enzyme activity for δ18OP values in resin P in soil.Theoretical calculations by Lecuyer et al. (1999) imply that oxygen isotope exchange between phosphate and water can also occur in the absence of biological activity. An extrapolation of their equations to temperatures of 10 °C shows, however, that it takes more than 6000 years to exchange 10% of the phosphate oxygen (Colman et al., 2005). Traditionally, the oxygen isotope composition of phosphate has been used as a tool for determining paleotemperatures (e.g., Longinelli, 1984), but recent studies suggested to test its suitability for tracing phosphate sources in aquatic systems (Gruau et al., 2005; Elsbury et al., 2009; Young et al., 2009). Most of these studies deal with short-term ecological cycles and therefore the inorganic exchange of oxygen is negligible. However, this effect has to be considered for processes that happen in geological timescales.Due to the low phosphate concentrations in natural waters (Blake et al., 2005) and the low solubility product of pyromorphite, it is reasonable to assume almost all phosphate to precipitate as pyromorphite without any fractionation. Accordingly, the δ18OP of pyromorphite reflects the oxygen isotope composition of the dissolved phosphate in the water from which it precipitated and records the source, if this phosphate was not modified during fluid transport.Different phosphate reservoirs differ in their oxygen-isotope composition and with more and more data available it is possible to discriminate between different sources. Data for phosphates in aquatic systems are provided by Young et al. (2009): Phosphates of anthropogenic origin (fertilizers and the corresponding processing stages, detergents and toothpaste) show δ18OP values between +13.3‰ and +22.3‰, for phosphates from organic sources (vegetation leachate and animal waste) values between +14.2‰ and +23.1‰ are reported and a range between +8.4‰ and +14.2‰ is covered by phosphates of waste water treatment plants. For terrestrial ecosystems, Tamburini et al. (2012) reported δ18OP values between +4.5‰ and +31.4‰ with most data falling in the range of +12.4‰ to +31.4‰ for phosphate in plants (N = 11). Microbial phosphate in soil covered a range of +11‰ to +19‰. Resin-extractable P in soil as the readily available P fraction in soil from which P-containing minerals would precipitate, showed a range of 14.5-20.0‰ (Angert et al., 2011, 2012; Weiner et al., 2011; Tamburini et al., 2012). Additionally, Tamburini et al., 2012 reported values for apatite, most likely from the metamorphosed granitic bedrock, to be about +7‰. This is consistent with theoretical considerations by Shemesh et al. (1983) and with data from a gabbro (+4.1‰) and a tonalite (+6.7‰) reported by Taylor and Epstein (1962). Mizota et al. (1992) analyzed δ18OP of apatites from carbonatites, volcanic ashes and hydrothermal vugs covering a range of +0.2 to +12.2‰ (N = 10), whereas phosphate from phosphorites have higher values of up to +20‰ (e.g., Shemesh et al. (1983).This study investigates the oxygen isotope composition of phosphate in pyromorphite and in apatite from crystalline rocks. To evaluate possible phosphate sources, the results will be checked for isotopic equilibrium with different ambient waters and possible phosphate sources will be discussed.