Enhanced supply of fossil organic carbon to the Okinawa Trough since the last deglaciation

Type Article
Date 2008-05
Language English
Author(s) Kao S. J.3, Dai M. H.4, Wei K. Y.5, Blair N. E.1, 2, Lyons W. B.6
Affiliation(s) 1 : Northwestern Univ, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, Evanston, IL 60208 USA.
2 : Northwestern Univ, Dept Earth & Planetary Sci, Evanston, IL 60208 USA.
3 : Acad Sinica, Res Ctr Environm Changes, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
4 : Xiamen Univ, State Key Lab Marine Environm Sci, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China.
5 : Natl Taiwan Univ, Dept Geosci, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
6 : Ohio State Univ, Byrd Polar Res Ctr, Columbus, OH 43210 USA.
Source Paleoceanography (0883-8305) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2008-05 , Vol. 23 , N. 2 / PA2207 , P. 1-10
DOI 10.1029/2007PA001440
WOS© Times Cited 40
Abstract Significantly older C-14 ages by 2500-7900 years are found for sedimentary total organic carbon (TOC) when compared to ages of codeposited surface-dwelling foraminifera in the southern Okinawa Trough. This age discrepancy increases with rising sea level since the Last Glacial Maximum. A progressive shift in TOC delta C-13 toward more negative values with rising sea level reflects an increasing fractional contribution of terrestrial organics (soil organics, plant debris, and/or fossil organics) to the buried organic pool. Organic matter previously stored on the East China Sea shelf during sea level lowstand and riverine material from Taiwan may be the sources that cause the delta C-13(TOC) to shift to more terrestrial values. During the Holocene when sea level is above -40 m, delta C-13(TOC) values stabilize within a narrow range (-22.3 to -22.8 parts per thousand) while age discrepancies continue to increase and less chemically weathered sediments are deposited. The increase in age discrepancy between TOC and foraminifera in the Holocene may be due to a wetter climate that drove higher rates of physical weathering on Taiwan and greater transport rates of fossil organic C-bearing lithogenic sediment to the ocean. The climate impact on the relative delivery of fossil and nonfossil TOC in depositional settings influenced by fluvial sources should be considered in interpretations of sedimentary C isotope records.
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