Mass 47 clumped isotope signatures in modern lacustrine authigenic carbonates in Western China and other regions and implications for paleotemperature and paleoelevation reconstructions

Type Article
Date 2021-05
Language English
Author(s) Li Huashu1, Liu Xingqi1, Arnold AlexandreaORCID2, Elliott Ben2, Flores Randy2, Kelley Anne Marie2, Tripati Aradhna2, 3, 4
Affiliation(s) 1 : College of Resource Environment and Tourism, Capital Normal University, 100048 Beijing, PR China
2 : Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Center for Diverse Leadership in Science, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
3 : European Institute of Marine Sciences (IUEM), Université de Brest, UMR 6538, Domaines Océaniques, Rue Dumont D'Urville, 29280 Plouzané, France
4 : IFREMER, Laboratoire Géophysique et enregistrement Sédimentaire, 29280 Plouzané, France
Source Earth And Planetary Science Letters (0012-821X) (Elsevier BV), 2021-05 , Vol. 562 , P. 116840 (12p.)
DOI 10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116840
WOS© Times Cited 15
Keyword(s) clumped isotope, lacustrine authigenic carbonate, paleotemperature reconstruction, paleoclimate, paleoaltimetry
Abstract

With the development of the carbonate clumped isotope () geothermometer, many –temperature calibrations based on biogenic and abiogenic carbonates have been generated in recent years. However, there is still not a robust empirical calibration relationship derived from lacustrine authigenic carbonates that can be used to calculate lake water temperatures from values. In this study, we present a new calibration dataset that is comprised of measurements of the clumped isotope composition of 33 lacustrine authigenic carbonates collected from terminal lakes primarily in Western China that cover a substantial altitudinal gradient, and 5 samples from other regions. These data allow us to directly derive a temperature calibration for lacustrine authigenic carbonates. Our results show a robust correlation between modern lacustrine authigenic carbonate clumped isotope composition (Δ47carb) values and independently measured mean summer water surface temperatures (Twater) (ranging from 9.8 to 26.0 °C), which confirms the utility of mass-47 clumped isotope measurements of lacustrine authigenic carbonates as a lake water temperature indicator and allows for the derivation of the following calibration equation: Δ47carb (‰) = 0.0521 ± 0.0071 × 106/ (K) + 0.0904 ± 0.0870 (R2 = 0.6224, P < 0.0001, n = 33). We observe that Δ47carb is significantly correlated to lake elevation at 35°N from 270 to 5,156 m a.s.l. The change in –derived water temperature differences through elevation gradients (i.e. lapse rate) is around 3.2 °C/km. We do not observe a significant correlation between Δ47carb and carbonate oxygen isotopic composition or independently measured lake surface water oxygen isotopic composition. Additionally, in our dataset, we find that water chemistry, carbonate precipitation rate, carbonate content and mineral-specific differences do not significantly affect Δ47carb values. Hence, the mass-47 clumped isotope signal of lacustrine authigenic carbonate can be used in paleotemperature and paleoaltimetry studies if post-depositional diagenesis did not modify the isotopic composition.

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Li Huashu, Liu Xingqi, Arnold Alexandrea, Elliott Ben, Flores Randy, Kelley Anne Marie, Tripati Aradhna (2021). Mass 47 clumped isotope signatures in modern lacustrine authigenic carbonates in Western China and other regions and implications for paleotemperature and paleoelevation reconstructions. Earth And Planetary Science Letters, 562, 116840 (12p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116840 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00683/79478/