Limnological controls on stable isotope records of late-Holocene palaeoenvironment change in SW Greenland: a paired lake study
Olsen, Jesper; Anderson, N. John; Leng, Melanie J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1115-5166. 2013 Limnological controls on stable isotope records of late-Holocene palaeoenvironment change in SW Greenland: a paired lake study. Quaternary Science Reviews, 66. 85-95. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.10.043
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract/Summary
Stable isotope records are increasingly being used in palaeoenvironmental studies of Arctic lakes. Here we compare stable isotope and elemental records (δ13C, δ15N, C/N) with high resolution XRF-derived geochemical and colour data from low Arctic lakes (SS1220 and SS85) in southwest Greenland. Lake SS1220 sediments are laminated gyttja whereas SS85 consist of homogeneous gyttja, both records cover the last c. 5000 years. δ13C and carbon content suggest that organic matter in both lakes is predominantly autochthonous. The C/N variability, ranging between 11 and 15, is interpreted to be a function of nitrogen deficiency which is further supported by δ15N values (at SS1220) falling close to atmospheric δ15Natmosphere. Although some changes in the geochemical stratigraphies presented here can be related to regional environmental change (i.e. hydrology, effective precipitation, aeolian activity), these effects are filtered through the lake catchments. These changes alter the nutrient supply and hence lake productivity which appear to be the primary controls on the stable isotope data. We suggest that information of past environmental change can only be gained from the stable isotope composition of lake sediments when there is a reasonable understanding of limnological processes, and records may be lake specific.
Item Type: | Publication - Article |
---|---|
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | 10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.10.043 |
ISSN: | 02773791 |
Date made live: | 28 Nov 2013 15:34 +0 (UTC) |
URI: | https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/504081 |
Actions (login required)
View Item |
Document Downloads
Downloads for past 30 days
Downloads per month over past year