A Caveat on Radiocarbon Dating of Organic-Poor Bulk Lacustrine Sediments in Arid China

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Yong Yu ◽  
Peng Cheng ◽  
Zhanfang Hou
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Reservoir Effect ◽  
Driving Mechanisms ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Variability ◽  
Rich Information ◽  
Instrumental Records ◽  
Reservoir Age

Characterized by a dry climate, the arid area of China represents a unique landscape. A proper understanding of the driving mechanisms behind the changes of this ecologically vulnerable landscape requires placing the instrumental records within a geological context. Lakes in this area bear rich information about past climatic and environmental changes presumably regulated by the westerlies at various timescales. The lacustrine records obtained in this area heavily rely on radiocarbon ages, which are usually subject to the temporal and spatial variability of the 14C reservoir effect. Yet, little is known about the 14C reservoir age of lacustrine systems in this area. This study reports an anomalously large 14C reservoir age of about 11,000 ± 2000 yr from a saline lake in NW China by comparing 14C and OSL chronologies. The modeling study suggests that this age offset appears to be an inherent phenomenon in lacustrine systems, which mainly arises from the introduction of pre-aged organic matter from the catchment and the conversion of 14C-depleted dissolved inorganic carbon to organic matter by photosynthesis. Compared to the large age offset induced by the 14C-dcficient exogenous carbon, the reservoir effect due to retention of organic matter in the lake water appears to be inconsequential. The results reveal the pitfall of 14C dating on organic-poor bulk lacustrine sediments in this barren landscape, and thus highlight the need for alternate dating methods to constrain the chronology of lacustrine records.

scholarly journals Lake water dissolved inorganic carbon dynamics revealed from monthly measurements of radiocarbon in the Fuji Five Lakes, Japan

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Ota ◽  
Yusuke Yokoyama ◽  
Yosuke Miyairi ◽  
Shinya Yamamoto ◽  
Toshihiro Miyajima
Keyword(s):  
Lake Water ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Human Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lake Waters ◽  
Reservoir Age

Lakes are sensitive recorders of anthropogenic activities, as human society often develops in their vicinity. Lake sediments thus have been widely used to reconstruct the history of environmental changes in the past, anthropogenic, or otherwise, and radiocarbon dating provides chronological control of the samples. However, specific values of radiocarbon in different carbon reservoirs due to the different pathways of radiocarbon from the upper atmosphere to the lake, called the radiocarbon reservoir age, is always difficult to evaluate because of dynamic processes in and around lakes. There are few systematic studies on radiocarbon reservoir ages for lakes owing to the complex radiocarbon transfer processes for lakes. Here, we investigate lake waters of the Fuji Five Lakes with monthly monitoring of the radiocarbon reservoir effects. Radiocarbon from dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) for groundwater and river water is also measured, with resulting concentrations (Δ14C) at their lowest at Lake Kawaguchi in August 2018 (–122.4 ± 3.2‰), and at their highest at Lake Motosu in January 2019 (–22.4 ± 2.5‰), despite a distance of 25 km. However, winter values in both lakes show similar trends of rising Δ14C (about 20‰). Our lake water DIC Δ14C results are compared to previously published records obtained from sediments in Lake Motosu and Lake Kawaguchi. These suggest that total organic carbon and compound-specific radiocarbon found in sediments are heavily influenced by summer blooms of aquatic organisms that fix DIC in water. Thus, future studies to conduct similar analyses at the various lakes would be able to provide further insights into the carbon cycle around inland water, namely understanding the nature of radiocarbon reservoir ages.

14C GEOCHRONOLOGY AND RADIOCARBON RESERVOIR EFFECT OF REVIEWED LAKES STUDY IN CHINA

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Weijian Zhou ◽  
Yuda Chui ◽  
Ling Yang ◽  
Peng Cheng ◽  
Ning Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Piecewise Linear ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Sedimentary Facies ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Climatic Regions ◽  
Reservoir Age

ABSTRACT Lacustrine sediments are important archives for paleoclimate research, but there are evident carbon reservoir effects. Radiocarbon (14C) ages of lake sediments must be corrected for these effects before applying them to paleoclimate research. The authors review the lacustrine research from the last 20 years from different climatic regions in China, and systematically investigate the 14C age and correction methods used in the studies of 81 lakes. It is found that the climate-vegetation cover and distribution of carbonate around lakes are dominant factor controlling radiocarbon reservoir effects. In eastern China, the average 14C reservoir age is about 500 14C years and is associated with relatively dense vegetation. However, in northwest China and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, widespread carbonate bedrock may markedly increase the radiocarbon reservoir age which frequently is about 1500 and 2500 14C years. A piecewise linear regression model provides more reliable 14C reservoir age correction that accounts for sedimentary facies and sedimentation rate changes. It is worth mentioning that when analyzing 14C ages deviated greatly from time sequence, the age anomalies may indicate important effects relevant to the study of climate and environmental changes.

scholarly journals A comparison of the distribution and sources of organic matter in surface sediments collected from northwestern and southwestern plateau lakes in China

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jidun Fang ◽  
Fengchang Wu ◽  
Yongqiang Xiong ◽  
Shuping Wang
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Anaerobic Bacteria ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Terrestrial Organic Matter ◽  
Algae And Bacteria ◽  
Long Chain

<p>Surface lacustrine sediments from six plateau lakes in China were analysed for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen, δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>org</sub>, δ<sup>15</sup>N<sub>total</sub>, aliphatic hydrocarbons, fatty acids (FAs), and alkanols. The FAs and alkanols were fractionated into free and bound subfractions to facilitate investigation of their sources. Higher average TOC levels were observed in sediments from southwestern plateau lakes than in those from northwestern plateau lakes. The sediments from the southwestern plateau lakes may have been contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons from anthropogenic activities. The molecular compositions of n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and FAs extracted from the lacustrine sediments showed different responses to environmental changes. Most of the n-alkanol and FA distributions were dominated by short-chain components originating from algae and bacteria. However, the presence of long-chain n-alkanes indicate the presence of predominantly terrestrial organic matter (OM) in the sediment samples from the northwestern plateau lakes in China, suggesting that secondary components derived from post-depositional microbial activity were key contributors to the n-alkanols and FAs. Aquatic FAs derived from algae and anaerobic bacteria were a major component of the sedimentary OM and accounted for 65.1-90.2% of the total lipid concentrations.</p>

scholarly journals Mineralization of organic matter in boreal lake sediments: Rates, pathways and nature of the fermenting substrates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Clayer ◽  
Yves Gélinas ◽  
André Tessier ◽  
Charles Gobeil
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Biogeochemical Models ◽  
Mineralization Of Organic Matter ◽  
The Common ◽  
Reaction Transport ◽  
Lake Basins

Abstract. The complexity of organic matter (OM) degradation mechanisms represents a significant challenge for developing biogeochemical models to quantify the role of aquatic sediments in the climate system. The common representation of OM by carbohydrates formulated as CH2O in models comes with the assumption that its degradation by fermentation produces equimolar amounts of methane (CH4) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). To test the validity of this assumption, we modeled using reaction-transport equations vertical profiles of the concentration and isotopic composition (δ13C) of CH4 and DIC in the top 25 cm of the sediment column from two lake basins, one whose hypolimnion is perennially oxygenated and one with seasonal anoxia. Our results reveal that methanogenesis only occurs via hydrogenotrophy in both basins. Furthermore, we calculate, from CH4 and DIC production rates associated with methanogenesis, that the fermenting OM has an average carbon oxidation state (COS) below −0.9. Modeling solute porewater profiles reported in the literature for four other seasonally anoxic lake basins also yields negative COS values. Collectively, the mean (±SD) COS value of −1.4 ± 0.3 for all the seasonally anoxic sites is much lower than the value of zero expected from carbohydrates fermentation. We conclude that carbohydrates do not adequately represent the fermenting OM and that the COS should be included in the formulation of OM fermentation in models applied to lake sediments. This study highlights the need to better characterize the labile OM undergoing mineralization to interpret present-day greenhouse gases cycling and predict its alteration under environmental changes.

Isotopic fingerprints on lacustrine organic matter from Laguna Potrok Aike (southern Patagonia, Argentina) reflect environmental changes during the last 16,000 years

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Mayr ◽  
Andreas Lücke ◽  
Nora I. Maidana ◽  
Michael Wille ◽  
Torsten Haberzettl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Southern Patagonia

Tree growth across the Nepal Himalaya during the last four centuries

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 478-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
UK Thapa ◽  
S St. George ◽  
DK Kharal ◽  
NP Gaire
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Instrumental Records

The climate of Nepal has changed rapidly over the recent decades, but most instrumental records of weather and hydrology only extend back to the 1980s. Tree rings can provide a longer perspective on recent environmental changes, and since the early 2000s, a new round of field initiatives by international researchers and Nepali scientists have more than doubled the size of the country’s tree-ring network. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of the current tree-ring width network for Nepal, and use this network to estimate changes in forest growth nation-wide during the last four centuries. Ring-width chronologies in Nepal have been developed from 11 tree species, and half of the records span at least 290 years. The Nepal tree-ring width network provides a robust estimate of annual forest growth over roughly the last four centuries, but prior to this point, our mean ring-width composite fluctuates wildly due to low sample replication. Over the last four centuries, two major events are prominent in the all-Nepal composite: (i) a prolonged and widespread growth suppression during the early 1800s; and (ii) heightened growth during the most recent decade. The early 19th century decline in tree growth coincides with two major Indonesian eruptions, and suggests that short-term disturbances related to climate extremes can exert a lasting influence on the vigor of Nepal’s forests. Growth increases since AD 2000 are mainly apparent in high-elevation fir, which may be a consequence of the observed trend towards warmer temperatures, particularly during winter. This synthesis effort should be useful to establish baselines for tree-ring data in Nepal and provide a broader context to evaluate the sensitivity or behavior of this proxy in the central Himalayas.

scholarly journals Sediment-water column fluxes of carbon, oxygen and nutrients in Bedford Basin, Nova Scotia, inferred from <sup>224</sup>Ra measurements

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Burt ◽  
H. Thomas ◽  
K. Fennel ◽  
E. Horne
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Benthic Fluxes ◽  
Pore Waters ◽  
Overlying Water

Abstract. Exchanges between sediment pore waters and the overlying water column play a significant role in the chemical budgets of many important chemical constituents. Direct quantification of such benthic fluxes requires explicit knowledge of the sediment properties and biogeochemistry. Alternatively, changes in water-column properties near the sediment-water interface can be exploited to gain insight into the sediment biogeochemistry and benthic fluxes. Here, we apply a 1-D diffusive mixing model to near-bottom water-column profiles of 224Ra activity in order to yield vertical eddy diffusivities (KZ), based upon which we assess the diffusive exchange of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), nutrients and oxygen (O2), across the sediment-water interface in a coastal inlet, Bedford Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada. Numerical model results are consistent with the assumptions regarding a constant, single benthic source of 224Ra, the lack of mixing by advective processes, and a predominantly benthic source and sink of DIC and O2, respectively, with minimal water-column respiration in the deep waters of Bedford Basin. Near-bottom observations of DIC, O2 and nutrients provide flux ratios similar to Redfield values, suggesting that benthic respiration of primarily marine organic matter is the dominant driver. Furthermore, a relative deficit of nitrate in the observed flux ratios indicates that denitrification also plays a role in the oxidation of organic matter, although its occurrence was not strong enough to allow us to detect the corresponding AT fluxes out of the sediment. Finally, comparison with other carbon sources reveal the observed benthic DIC release as a significant contributor to the Bedford Basin carbon system.

scholarly journals Freshwater Reservoir Effect Variability in Northern Germany

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1085-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bente Philippsen ◽  
Jan Heinemeier
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Potential Problem ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Reservoir Effect ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
Age Correction ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Freshwater Reservoir ◽  
Reservoir Age

The freshwater reservoir effect is a potential problem when radiocarbon dating fish bones, shells, human bones, or food crusts on pottery from sites near rivers or lakes. The reservoir age in hardwater rivers can be up to several thousand years and may be highly variable. Accurate 14C dating of freshwater-based samples requires knowing the order of magnitude of the reservoir effect and its degree of variability. Measurements on modern riverine materials may not give a single reservoir age correction that can be applied to archaeological samples, but they show the order of magnitude and variability that can also be expected for the past. This knowledge will be applied to the dating of food crusts on pottery from the Mesolithic sites Kayhude at the Alster River and Schlamersdorf at the Trave River, both in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany.

Characterization of Organic Matter

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Bianchi
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Decay Rates ◽  
Source Information ◽  
Organic Matter Sources ◽  
General Overview ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Variability ◽  
Basic Source ◽  
Estuarine Systems ◽  
Global Biogeochemical Cycles

In chapter 8, a general overview was provided on the dominant sources of organic matter in estuarine systems. In general, estuarine organic matter is derived from a multitude of natural and anthropogenic allochthonous and autochthonous sources that originate across a freshwater to seawater continuum. Knowledge of sources, reactivity, and fate of organic matter are critical in understanding the role of estuarine and coastal systems in global biogeochemical cycles (Simoneit, 1978; Hedges and Keil, 1995; Bianchi and Canuel, 2001). Due to a wide diversity of organic matter sources and the dynamic mixing that occurs in estuarine systems, it remains a significant challenge in determining the relative importance of these source inputs to biogeochemical cycling in the water column of sediments. Temporal and spatial variability in organic matter inputs adds further to the complexity in understanding these environments. In recent years there have been significant improvements in our ability to distinguish between organic matter sources in estuaries using tools such as elemental, isotopic (bulk and compound/class specific), and chemical biomarker methods. This chapter will provide a general overview of the biochemistry of dominant organic compounds in organic matter and the techniques used to distinguish them in estuarine systems. The abundance and ratios of important elements in biological cycles (e.g., C, H, N, O, S, and P) provide the basic foundation of information on organic matter cycling. For example, concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) provide the most important indicator of organic matter since approximately 50% of most organic matter consists of C. As discussed in chapter 8, TOC in estuaries is derived from a broad spectrum of sources with very different structural properties and decay rates. Consequently, while TOC provides essential information on spatial and temporal dynamics of organic matter it lacks any specificity to source or age of the material. When bulk C information is combined with additional elemental information, as in the case of the C-to-N ratio, basic source information can be inferred about algal and terrestrial source materials (see review, Meyers, 1997). The broad range of C:N ratios across divergent sources of organic matter in the biosphere demonstrate how such a ratio can provide an initial proxy for determining source information.

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