A novel application of triple oxygen isotope ratios of speleothems

Lijuan Sha; Sasadhar Mahata; Pengzhen Duan; Boaz Luz; Pu Zhang; Jonathan Baker; Baoyun Zong; Youfeng Ning; Yassine Ait Brahim; Haiwei Zhang; R. Lawrence Edwards; Hai Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2019.12.003

A novel application of triple oxygen isotope ratios of speleothems

Lijuan Sha, Sasadhar Mahata, Pengzhen Duan, Boaz Luz, Pu Zhang, Jonathan Baker, Baoyun Zong, Youfeng Ning, Yassine Ait Brahim, Haiwei Zhang, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng

Earth and Environmental Sciences-Twin Cities

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

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present triple oxygen isotope data from speleothems obtained by an O₂-CO₂ Pt-catalyzed oxygen-isotope equilibration method. The high precision (9 per meg or better, 1σ SD) of our new speleothem Δ¹⁷O (carbonate ¹⁷O anomaly) data is sufficient to resolve subtle hydroclimatic signals. In addition, we determined triple oxygen isotope fractionation factors through two sets of modern paired carbonate-dripwater samples collected at a temperature of 17 ± 1 °C, which is prerequisite to the calculation of triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent meteoric waters at cave sites from speleothem proxy data. Based on this calibration, we back calculated triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent waters across well-characterized climate transitions using speleothem proxy data from three regions. Resulting oxygen-isotope data closely track the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), providing a preliminary validation of the method. Our speleothem Δ¹⁷O data indicate a 21 per meg difference between Marine Isotope Stage 5d and 5e in samples from Central Asia and a 15 per meg difference between the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum in samples from the eastern Mediterranean, suggesting a shift in moisture source and/or fractionation history. Unexpectedly, there were no measurable Δ¹⁷O differences between glacial and interglacial samples from both the South American (western Amazon) and Asian (southern China) monsoon domains, implying consistent moisture-source conditions across glacial and interglacial cycles, at least in terms of relative humidity. Remarkably, Δ¹⁷O values from the western Amazonian samples are significantly higher (∼20 per meg) than those from Asian monsoon regions, suggesting lower relative humidity along moisture trajectories in the western Amazon during the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial period. Similarly, Δ¹⁷O values of the eastern Mediterranean samples are significantly higher (19–55 per meg) than those of coeval samples from Central Asia, implying different hydrological environments or moisture sources despite being in the same westerly circulation domain. Speleothem Δ¹⁷O data may thus provide new and important constraints for understanding regional and global hydroclimate dynamics.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	360-378
Number of pages	19
Journal	Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Volume	270
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2019.12.003
State	Published - Feb 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, China (Nos. 41888101, 41561144003, 41761144069 and 41731174), Israel Scinece Foundation, Israel (Grant No. 633/15) and National Science Foundation, USA (Grant No. 1702816). Dr. E. Barkan is greatly appreciated for his mentoring in all laboratory aspects. We also thank M.C. Liang, H.P. Affek, and I. Musan for their continual helps to set up the method in Xi'an Jiaotong University. We are grateful to Prof. T.Y. Li and Mr. C.J. Chen, and J.J. Yin for providing the paired modern cave carbonates/dripwater samples. Finally, the authors appreciate the suggestions made by Associate Editor Jay Quade and two anonymous reviewers, which helped to improve the original manuscript.

Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China , China (Nos. 41888101 , 41561144003 , 41761144069 and 41731174 ), Israel Scinece Foundation , Israel (Grant No. 633/15 ) and National Science Foundation , USA (Grant No. 1702816 ). Dr. E. Barkan is greatly appreciated for his mentoring in all laboratory aspects. We also thank M.C. Liang, H.P. Affek, and I. Musan for their continual helps to set up the method in Xi'an Jiaotong University. We are grateful to Prof. T.Y. Li and Mr. C.J. Chen, and J.J. Yin for providing the paired modern cave carbonates/dripwater samples. Finally, the authors appreciate the suggestions made by Associate Editor Jay Quade and two anonymous reviewers, which helped to improve the original manuscript. Appendix A

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Dripwater
Moisture source
Paleohydroclimate
Relative humidity
Speleothems
Triple oxygen isotope

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This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.gca.2019.12.003

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title = "A novel application of triple oxygen isotope ratios of speleothems",

abstract = "We present triple oxygen isotope data from speleothems obtained by an O2-CO2 Pt-catalyzed oxygen-isotope equilibration method. The high precision (9 per meg or better, 1σ SD) of our new speleothem Δ17O (carbonate 17O anomaly) data is sufficient to resolve subtle hydroclimatic signals. In addition, we determined triple oxygen isotope fractionation factors through two sets of modern paired carbonate-dripwater samples collected at a temperature of 17 ± 1 °C, which is prerequisite to the calculation of triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent meteoric waters at cave sites from speleothem proxy data. Based on this calibration, we back calculated triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent waters across well-characterized climate transitions using speleothem proxy data from three regions. Resulting oxygen-isotope data closely track the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), providing a preliminary validation of the method. Our speleothem Δ17O data indicate a 21 per meg difference between Marine Isotope Stage 5d and 5e in samples from Central Asia and a 15 per meg difference between the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum in samples from the eastern Mediterranean, suggesting a shift in moisture source and/or fractionation history. Unexpectedly, there were no measurable Δ17O differences between glacial and interglacial samples from both the South American (western Amazon) and Asian (southern China) monsoon domains, implying consistent moisture-source conditions across glacial and interglacial cycles, at least in terms of relative humidity. Remarkably, Δ17O values from the western Amazonian samples are significantly higher (∼20 per meg) than those from Asian monsoon regions, suggesting lower relative humidity along moisture trajectories in the western Amazon during the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial period. Similarly, Δ17O values of the eastern Mediterranean samples are significantly higher (19–55 per meg) than those of coeval samples from Central Asia, implying different hydrological environments or moisture sources despite being in the same westerly circulation domain. Speleothem Δ17O data may thus provide new and important constraints for understanding regional and global hydroclimate dynamics.",

keywords = "Dripwater, Moisture source, Paleohydroclimate, Relative humidity, Speleothems, Triple oxygen isotope",

author = "Lijuan Sha and Sasadhar Mahata and Pengzhen Duan and Boaz Luz and Pu Zhang and Jonathan Baker and Baoyun Zong and Youfeng Ning and Brahim, {Yassine Ait} and Haiwei Zhang and Edwards, {R. Lawrence} and Hai Cheng",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, China (Nos. 41888101, 41561144003, 41761144069 and 41731174), Israel Scinece Foundation, Israel (Grant No. 633/15) and National Science Foundation, USA (Grant No. 1702816). Dr. E. Barkan is greatly appreciated for his mentoring in all laboratory aspects. We also thank M.C. Liang, H.P. Affek, and I. Musan for their continual helps to set up the method in Xi'an Jiaotong University. We are grateful to Prof. T.Y. Li and Mr. C.J. Chen, and J.J. Yin for providing the paired modern cave carbonates/dripwater samples. Finally, the authors appreciate the suggestions made by Associate Editor Jay Quade and two anonymous reviewers, which helped to improve the original manuscript. Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China , China (Nos. 41888101 , 41561144003 , 41761144069 and 41731174 ), Israel Scinece Foundation , Israel (Grant No. 633/15 ) and National Science Foundation , USA (Grant No. 1702816 ). Dr. E. Barkan is greatly appreciated for his mentoring in all laboratory aspects. We also thank M.C. Liang, H.P. Affek, and I. Musan for their continual helps to set up the method in Xi'an Jiaotong University. We are grateful to Prof. T.Y. Li and Mr. C.J. Chen, and J.J. Yin for providing the paired modern cave carbonates/dripwater samples. Finally, the authors appreciate the suggestions made by Associate Editor Jay Quade and two anonymous reviewers, which helped to improve the original manuscript. Appendix A Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Ltd",

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month = feb,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.gca.2019.12.003",

language = "English (US)",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - A novel application of triple oxygen isotope ratios of speleothems

AU - Sha, Lijuan

AU - Mahata, Sasadhar

AU - Duan, Pengzhen

AU - Luz, Boaz

AU - Zhang, Pu

AU - Baker, Jonathan

AU - Zong, Baoyun

AU - Ning, Youfeng

AU - Brahim, Yassine Ait

AU - Zhang, Haiwei

AU - Edwards, R. Lawrence

AU - Cheng, Hai

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, China (Nos. 41888101, 41561144003, 41761144069 and 41731174), Israel Scinece Foundation, Israel (Grant No. 633/15) and National Science Foundation, USA (Grant No. 1702816). Dr. E. Barkan is greatly appreciated for his mentoring in all laboratory aspects. We also thank M.C. Liang, H.P. Affek, and I. Musan for their continual helps to set up the method in Xi'an Jiaotong University. We are grateful to Prof. T.Y. Li and Mr. C.J. Chen, and J.J. Yin for providing the paired modern cave carbonates/dripwater samples. Finally, the authors appreciate the suggestions made by Associate Editor Jay Quade and two anonymous reviewers, which helped to improve the original manuscript. Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China , China (Nos. 41888101 , 41561144003 , 41761144069 and 41731174 ), Israel Scinece Foundation , Israel (Grant No. 633/15 ) and National Science Foundation , USA (Grant No. 1702816 ). Dr. E. Barkan is greatly appreciated for his mentoring in all laboratory aspects. We also thank M.C. Liang, H.P. Affek, and I. Musan for their continual helps to set up the method in Xi'an Jiaotong University. We are grateful to Prof. T.Y. Li and Mr. C.J. Chen, and J.J. Yin for providing the paired modern cave carbonates/dripwater samples. Finally, the authors appreciate the suggestions made by Associate Editor Jay Quade and two anonymous reviewers, which helped to improve the original manuscript. Appendix A Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2020/2/1

Y1 - 2020/2/1

N2 - We present triple oxygen isotope data from speleothems obtained by an O2-CO2 Pt-catalyzed oxygen-isotope equilibration method. The high precision (9 per meg or better, 1σ SD) of our new speleothem Δ17O (carbonate 17O anomaly) data is sufficient to resolve subtle hydroclimatic signals. In addition, we determined triple oxygen isotope fractionation factors through two sets of modern paired carbonate-dripwater samples collected at a temperature of 17 ± 1 °C, which is prerequisite to the calculation of triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent meteoric waters at cave sites from speleothem proxy data. Based on this calibration, we back calculated triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent waters across well-characterized climate transitions using speleothem proxy data from three regions. Resulting oxygen-isotope data closely track the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), providing a preliminary validation of the method. Our speleothem Δ17O data indicate a 21 per meg difference between Marine Isotope Stage 5d and 5e in samples from Central Asia and a 15 per meg difference between the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum in samples from the eastern Mediterranean, suggesting a shift in moisture source and/or fractionation history. Unexpectedly, there were no measurable Δ17O differences between glacial and interglacial samples from both the South American (western Amazon) and Asian (southern China) monsoon domains, implying consistent moisture-source conditions across glacial and interglacial cycles, at least in terms of relative humidity. Remarkably, Δ17O values from the western Amazonian samples are significantly higher (∼20 per meg) than those from Asian monsoon regions, suggesting lower relative humidity along moisture trajectories in the western Amazon during the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial period. Similarly, Δ17O values of the eastern Mediterranean samples are significantly higher (19–55 per meg) than those of coeval samples from Central Asia, implying different hydrological environments or moisture sources despite being in the same westerly circulation domain. Speleothem Δ17O data may thus provide new and important constraints for understanding regional and global hydroclimate dynamics.

AB - We present triple oxygen isotope data from speleothems obtained by an O2-CO2 Pt-catalyzed oxygen-isotope equilibration method. The high precision (9 per meg or better, 1σ SD) of our new speleothem Δ17O (carbonate 17O anomaly) data is sufficient to resolve subtle hydroclimatic signals. In addition, we determined triple oxygen isotope fractionation factors through two sets of modern paired carbonate-dripwater samples collected at a temperature of 17 ± 1 °C, which is prerequisite to the calculation of triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent meteoric waters at cave sites from speleothem proxy data. Based on this calibration, we back calculated triple oxygen isotope compositions of parent waters across well-characterized climate transitions using speleothem proxy data from three regions. Resulting oxygen-isotope data closely track the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), providing a preliminary validation of the method. Our speleothem Δ17O data indicate a 21 per meg difference between Marine Isotope Stage 5d and 5e in samples from Central Asia and a 15 per meg difference between the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum in samples from the eastern Mediterranean, suggesting a shift in moisture source and/or fractionation history. Unexpectedly, there were no measurable Δ17O differences between glacial and interglacial samples from both the South American (western Amazon) and Asian (southern China) monsoon domains, implying consistent moisture-source conditions across glacial and interglacial cycles, at least in terms of relative humidity. Remarkably, Δ17O values from the western Amazonian samples are significantly higher (∼20 per meg) than those from Asian monsoon regions, suggesting lower relative humidity along moisture trajectories in the western Amazon during the Middle Holocene and Last Glacial period. Similarly, Δ17O values of the eastern Mediterranean samples are significantly higher (19–55 per meg) than those of coeval samples from Central Asia, implying different hydrological environments or moisture sources despite being in the same westerly circulation domain. Speleothem Δ17O data may thus provide new and important constraints for understanding regional and global hydroclimate dynamics.

KW - Dripwater

KW - Moisture source

KW - Paleohydroclimate

KW - Relative humidity

KW - Speleothems

KW - Triple oxygen isotope

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A novel application of triple oxygen isotope ratios of speleothems

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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