Pairing plant-wax H and C isotopes with lake-area – A method for evaluating the local amount effect in northern China during the late Quaternary

Yonaton Goldsmith; Pratigya J. Polissar; Hai Xu; Peter deMenocal; Jianghu Lan; Peng Cheng; Weijian Zhou; Wallace S. Broecker

doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104403

Pairing plant-wax H and C isotopes with lake-area – A method for evaluating the local amount effect in northern China during the late Quaternary

Yonaton Goldsmith^*, Pratigya J. Polissar, Hai Xu, Peter deMenocal, Jianghu Lan, Peng Cheng, Weijian Zhou, Wallace S. Broecker

^*Corresponding author for this work

Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The correlation between modern tropical mean annual precipitation (MAP) and its isotopic composition (δ_p) has been extensively used to interpret terrestrial paleoclimate records. However, the existence of this phenomenon in the past and in individual regions remains a matter of debate. Here, we describe a method for evaluating the relationship between local δ_p and local MAP in the past (i.e. the “local amount effect”) and apply this method to a closed-basin lake in northeastern China. We measured compound specific hydrogen isotopes from plant-wax derived long-chain n-alkanes (δ²H_wax) and fatty acids (δ²H_FA) from lake sediments, which primarily record local δ_p, and compared them with the lake level and area history of the lake, which records local MAP. Both the lake level reconstruction and the organic isotope proxies are derived from the same samples and thus enable a direct comparison. In addition, we explore the possibility of using chain-length distribution and δ²H_wax data to assess sediment reworking in the lake basin. Our results show that the n-C₂₉ n-alkane δ²H_wax and C_16:0n-acid δ²H_FA are correlated with lake level over the past 15 to 3 ka from samples where both age and lake level are well constrained (n = 5 and n = 3, respectively). Over the past 2–3 ka this correlation breaks down: lake level remains low, following summer insolation, but the Chinese cave δ¹⁸O and modern δ²H_wax become progressively more negative. The reason for this ‘2 ka shift’, first identified in Chinese cave δ¹⁸O records, is unclear. Our data suggests that δ_p is decoupled from MAP during this time and thus adds an additional constraint to solving this issue. Our results show that combining lake-area reconstructions with organic isotope geochemistry from closed-basin lakes can be used to assess the relation between local rainfall amount and local δ_p in the past, but requires a thorough assessment of sediment dynamics of each individual sample.

Original language	American English
Article number	104403
Journal	Organic Geochemistry
Volume	169
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104403
State	Published - Jul 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We dedicate this paper to the memory of Wally Broecker who passed during the preparation of this manuscript. Wally was an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend. We thank Broxton Bird at IUPUI for isotopic analysis of waters, E. Sheng and T. Liu for their great help in the field. We thank Prof. Melissa Berke and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. This work was funded by the Comer Family, the Columbia Center for Climate and Life and ISF research program (grant No. 2229/21).

Funding Information:
We dedicate this paper to the memory of Wally Broecker who passed during the preparation of this manuscript. Wally was an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend. We thank Broxton Bird at IUPUI for isotopic analysis of waters, E. Sheng and T. Liu for their great help in the field. We thank Prof. Melissa Berke and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. This work was funded by the Comer Family, the Columbia Center for Climate and Life and ISF research program (grant No. 2229/21). All the data presented in this paper is included in the paper and supplementary information.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Biomarkers
Closed-basin lakes
Eastern Asia
Monsoon
Organic geochemistry
Paleoclimatology
Quaternary
Sedimentology
Speleothems
Stable isotopes

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10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104403

Cite this

@article{f279af94b0ee4c239e46b8b14c9b6d8c,

title = "Pairing plant-wax H and C isotopes with lake-area – A method for evaluating the local amount effect in northern China during the late Quaternary",

abstract = "The correlation between modern tropical mean annual precipitation (MAP) and its isotopic composition (δp) has been extensively used to interpret terrestrial paleoclimate records. However, the existence of this phenomenon in the past and in individual regions remains a matter of debate. Here, we describe a method for evaluating the relationship between local δp and local MAP in the past (i.e. the “local amount effect”) and apply this method to a closed-basin lake in northeastern China. We measured compound specific hydrogen isotopes from plant-wax derived long-chain n-alkanes (δ2Hwax) and fatty acids (δ2HFA) from lake sediments, which primarily record local δp, and compared them with the lake level and area history of the lake, which records local MAP. Both the lake level reconstruction and the organic isotope proxies are derived from the same samples and thus enable a direct comparison. In addition, we explore the possibility of using chain-length distribution and δ2Hwax data to assess sediment reworking in the lake basin. Our results show that the n-C29 n-alkane δ2Hwax and C16:0n-acid δ2HFA are correlated with lake level over the past 15 to 3 ka from samples where both age and lake level are well constrained (n = 5 and n = 3, respectively). Over the past 2–3 ka this correlation breaks down: lake level remains low, following summer insolation, but the Chinese cave δ18O and modern δ2Hwax become progressively more negative. The reason for this {\textquoteleft}2 ka shift{\textquoteright}, first identified in Chinese cave δ18O records, is unclear. Our data suggests that δp is decoupled from MAP during this time and thus adds an additional constraint to solving this issue. Our results show that combining lake-area reconstructions with organic isotope geochemistry from closed-basin lakes can be used to assess the relation between local rainfall amount and local δp in the past, but requires a thorough assessment of sediment dynamics of each individual sample.",

keywords = "Biomarkers, Closed-basin lakes, Eastern Asia, Monsoon, Organic geochemistry, Paleoclimatology, Quaternary, Sedimentology, Speleothems, Stable isotopes",

author = "Yonaton Goldsmith and Polissar, {Pratigya J.} and Hai Xu and Peter deMenocal and Jianghu Lan and Peng Cheng and Weijian Zhou and Broecker, {Wallace S.}",

note = "Funding Information: We dedicate this paper to the memory of Wally Broecker who passed during the preparation of this manuscript. Wally was an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend. We thank Broxton Bird at IUPUI for isotopic analysis of waters, E. Sheng and T. Liu for their great help in the field. We thank Prof. Melissa Berke and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. This work was funded by the Comer Family, the Columbia Center for Climate and Life and ISF research program (grant No. 2229/21). Funding Information: We dedicate this paper to the memory of Wally Broecker who passed during the preparation of this manuscript. Wally was an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend. We thank Broxton Bird at IUPUI for isotopic analysis of waters, E. Sheng and T. Liu for their great help in the field. We thank Prof. Melissa Berke and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. This work was funded by the Comer Family, the Columbia Center for Climate and Life and ISF research program (grant No. 2229/21). All the data presented in this paper is included in the paper and supplementary information. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2022",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104403",

language = "American English",

volume = "169",

journal = "Organic Geochemistry",

issn = "0146-6380",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd.",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Pairing plant-wax H and C isotopes with lake-area – A method for evaluating the local amount effect in northern China during the late Quaternary

AU - Goldsmith, Yonaton

AU - Polissar, Pratigya J.

AU - Xu, Hai

AU - deMenocal, Peter

AU - Lan, Jianghu

AU - Cheng, Peng

AU - Zhou, Weijian

AU - Broecker, Wallace S.

N1 - Funding Information: We dedicate this paper to the memory of Wally Broecker who passed during the preparation of this manuscript. Wally was an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend. We thank Broxton Bird at IUPUI for isotopic analysis of waters, E. Sheng and T. Liu for their great help in the field. We thank Prof. Melissa Berke and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. This work was funded by the Comer Family, the Columbia Center for Climate and Life and ISF research program (grant No. 2229/21). Funding Information: We dedicate this paper to the memory of Wally Broecker who passed during the preparation of this manuscript. Wally was an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend. We thank Broxton Bird at IUPUI for isotopic analysis of waters, E. Sheng and T. Liu for their great help in the field. We thank Prof. Melissa Berke and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. This work was funded by the Comer Family, the Columbia Center for Climate and Life and ISF research program (grant No. 2229/21). All the data presented in this paper is included in the paper and supplementary information. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2022/7

Y1 - 2022/7

N2 - The correlation between modern tropical mean annual precipitation (MAP) and its isotopic composition (δp) has been extensively used to interpret terrestrial paleoclimate records. However, the existence of this phenomenon in the past and in individual regions remains a matter of debate. Here, we describe a method for evaluating the relationship between local δp and local MAP in the past (i.e. the “local amount effect”) and apply this method to a closed-basin lake in northeastern China. We measured compound specific hydrogen isotopes from plant-wax derived long-chain n-alkanes (δ2Hwax) and fatty acids (δ2HFA) from lake sediments, which primarily record local δp, and compared them with the lake level and area history of the lake, which records local MAP. Both the lake level reconstruction and the organic isotope proxies are derived from the same samples and thus enable a direct comparison. In addition, we explore the possibility of using chain-length distribution and δ2Hwax data to assess sediment reworking in the lake basin. Our results show that the n-C29 n-alkane δ2Hwax and C16:0n-acid δ2HFA are correlated with lake level over the past 15 to 3 ka from samples where both age and lake level are well constrained (n = 5 and n = 3, respectively). Over the past 2–3 ka this correlation breaks down: lake level remains low, following summer insolation, but the Chinese cave δ18O and modern δ2Hwax become progressively more negative. The reason for this ‘2 ka shift’, first identified in Chinese cave δ18O records, is unclear. Our data suggests that δp is decoupled from MAP during this time and thus adds an additional constraint to solving this issue. Our results show that combining lake-area reconstructions with organic isotope geochemistry from closed-basin lakes can be used to assess the relation between local rainfall amount and local δp in the past, but requires a thorough assessment of sediment dynamics of each individual sample.

AB - The correlation between modern tropical mean annual precipitation (MAP) and its isotopic composition (δp) has been extensively used to interpret terrestrial paleoclimate records. However, the existence of this phenomenon in the past and in individual regions remains a matter of debate. Here, we describe a method for evaluating the relationship between local δp and local MAP in the past (i.e. the “local amount effect”) and apply this method to a closed-basin lake in northeastern China. We measured compound specific hydrogen isotopes from plant-wax derived long-chain n-alkanes (δ2Hwax) and fatty acids (δ2HFA) from lake sediments, which primarily record local δp, and compared them with the lake level and area history of the lake, which records local MAP. Both the lake level reconstruction and the organic isotope proxies are derived from the same samples and thus enable a direct comparison. In addition, we explore the possibility of using chain-length distribution and δ2Hwax data to assess sediment reworking in the lake basin. Our results show that the n-C29 n-alkane δ2Hwax and C16:0n-acid δ2HFA are correlated with lake level over the past 15 to 3 ka from samples where both age and lake level are well constrained (n = 5 and n = 3, respectively). Over the past 2–3 ka this correlation breaks down: lake level remains low, following summer insolation, but the Chinese cave δ18O and modern δ2Hwax become progressively more negative. The reason for this ‘2 ka shift’, first identified in Chinese cave δ18O records, is unclear. Our data suggests that δp is decoupled from MAP during this time and thus adds an additional constraint to solving this issue. Our results show that combining lake-area reconstructions with organic isotope geochemistry from closed-basin lakes can be used to assess the relation between local rainfall amount and local δp in the past, but requires a thorough assessment of sediment dynamics of each individual sample.

KW - Biomarkers

KW - Closed-basin lakes

KW - Eastern Asia

KW - Monsoon

KW - Organic geochemistry

KW - Paleoclimatology

KW - Quaternary

KW - Sedimentology

KW - Speleothems

KW - Stable isotopes

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U2 - 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104403

DO - 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104403

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85131358601

SN - 0146-6380

VL - 169

JO - Organic Geochemistry

JF - Organic Geochemistry

M1 - 104403

ER -

Pairing plant-wax H and C isotopes with lake-area – A method for evaluating the local amount effect in northern China during the late Quaternary

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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