Search results for "Δ"
showing 10 items of 315 documents
Insolation cycles as a major control equatorial Indian Ocean primary production
1997
Analysis of a continuous sedimentary record taken in the Maldives indicates that strong primary production fluctuations (70 to 390 grams of carbon per square meter per year) have occurred in the equatorial Indian Ocean during the past 910,000 years. The record of primary production is coherent and in phase with the February equatorial insolation, whereas it shows diverse phase behavior with δ 18 O, depending on the orbital frequency (eccentricity, obliquity, or precession) examined. These observations imply a direct control of productivity in the equatorial oceanic system by insolation. In the equatorial Indian Ocean, productivity is driven by the wind intensity of westerlies, which is rel…
The history and impacts of farming activities in south Greenland: an insight from lake deposits.
2013
International audience; Agriculture in southern Greenland has a two-phase history: with the Norse, who first settled and farmed the region between 985ad and circa 1450ad, and with the recent reintroduction of sheep farming (1920ad to the present). The agricultural sector in Greenland is expected to grow over the next century as anticipated climate warming extends the length of the growing season and increases productivity. This article presents a synthesis of results from a well-dated 1500-year lake sediment record from Lake Igaliku, south Greenland (61°00′N, 45°26′W, 15m asl) that demonstrates the relative impacts of modern and Norse agricultural activities. Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs…
An intractable climate archive — Sclerochronological and shell oxygen isotope analyses of the Pacific geoduck, Panopea abrupta (bivalve mollusk) from…
2008
Abstract Annual growth increment patterns of cardinal teeth (CT) of Panopea abrupta (Conrad) can reportedly provide information about past climate variations. However, little is known about the intra-annual timing and rate of shell growth necessary to interpret such records. In addition, it remains unclear whether actual temperatures can be reliably inferred from δ18O values of geoduck {goo'e-duk} shells. This study compared high-resolution environmental records (hourly to monthly resolved temperature, bi-weekly to monthly δ18Owater and salinity data) with temperatures reconstructed from oxygen isotope values of the outer shell layer (Tδ18OOSL) and cardinal tooth portions (Tδ18OCT) of diffe…
North Atlantic Oscillation recorded in carbonate δ18O signature from Lagunillo del Tejo (Spain)
2016
Abstract Oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotope compositions of authigenic carbonates measured in Lagunillo del Tejo sediment document precipitation variability during the last millennium in the Iberian Range. Modern water samples show that Lagunillo δ18O and δD plot below the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL). Sediment samples show a covariant trend between carbonate δ18O and δ13C, indicating that the precipitation/evaporation ratio has largely controlled the isotopic composition of this lake. This covariant trend is used to extract information about past lake level changes. Humid periods occurred around AD 1300–1450, AD 1620–1775 and AD 1950–1980, while the driest periods were concentrat…
Shell sclerochronology and stable isotopes of the bivalve Anomalocardia flexuosa (Linnaeus, 1767) from southern Brazil: Implications for environmenta…
2017
Abstract This study presents the first stable isotopic and sclerochronological calibration of the bivalve Anomalocardia flexuosa (Linnaeus, 1767) in relation to environmental variables in a subtropical coastal area of southern Brazil. We investigate incremental shell growth patterns and δ18O and δ13C values of modern specimens collected alive from the Laguna Lagoonal System (LLS). Shells of Anomalocardia flexuosa are also one of the main biological components of pre-Columbian archaeological shell mounds and middens distributed along the Brazilian coastline. We therefore selected archaeological specimens from a local late Holocene shell mound (Cabecuda) to compare their stable carbon and oxy…
Oxygen isotope analysis of Equus teeth evidences early Eemian and early Weichselian palaeotemperatures at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Neumark-Nor…
2019
Abstract Here we present phosphate oxygen isotope (δ 18OPO4) data from horse (Equus sp.) tooth enamel (bioapatite) from early Eemian and early Weichselian find levels at the archaeological site of Neumark-Nord 2, Germany. Based on the relationship between δ18OPO4 of bioapatite, body water, local precipitation and air temperature, these data are used to reconstruct palaeoclimatic conditions contemporary to the different phases of Neanderthal activity at the site. Bulk enamel samples representing one year of growth were taken from horse teeth from early Eemian (NN2/2b [∼121 ± 5 ka], and NN2/1c) and early Weichselian (NN2/0; ∼93 ± 7 ka) find levels, and δ18OPO4 values were then utilised to cal…
Hydroclimate variability of western Thailand during the last 1400 years
2020
Mainland Southeast Asia is located on the moisture transport route of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) where hydroclimate records from speleothems have rarely been investigated. Here, we present a new multi-proxy (δ18O and δ13C values, trace element concentrations, and grayscale values) data set of stalagmite KPC1 from Khao Prae cave in western Thailand spanning the last 1400 years (500–1900 CE; the Common Era). These multi-proxy data reveal a high variability between the wet and dry periods during 500–850 CE and 1150–1300 CE, stable climate conditions during 850–1150 CE, and overall dry conditions since 1300 CE. The δ13C values, trace elements concentrations, and grayscale values show cente…
A tough travesía: Mobility constraints among late Holocene Patagonian hunter-gatherers through oxygen stable isotopes in enamel and water sources
2020
Central-eastern North Patagonia is characterized by a severe environmental fragmentation due to the scarce and heterogeneous distribution of fresh water. The main local wet zones, the Negro and Colorado river valleys in the North and the Somuncura Foothills in the South are separated by a large and harsh dry land, the travesia. In this paper, we assess the effects of this environmental fragmentation in the mobility of the Late Holocene hunter-gatherers through the analysis of the stable isotopes of oxygen in both enamel and water sources. We analyzed the δ18O of the enamel carbonate of 64 human teeth from 42 individuals from the Negro River valley (n = 30) and the Somuncura Foothills (n = 1…
REFINING ESTIMATES FOR THE SEASON OF SHELLFISH COLLECTION ON THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST: APPLYING HIGH-RESOLUTION STABLE OXYGEN ISOTOPE ANALYSIS AND…
2012
Stable oxygen isotopes from estuarine bivalve carbonate from Saxidomus gigantea were analysed combined with high-resolution sclerochronology from modern and archaeological shells from British Columbia, Canada, to determine the seasonality of shellfish collection from the archaeological site of Namu. The combination of high-resolution sclerochronology and a micro-milled sampling strategy for δ18O analysis permits a precise estimate of archaeological seasonality, because seasonal freshwater influxes and changes in temperature have dual effects on the δ18O value of the shell. Sclerochronological analysis identifies the timing and duration of growth that is temporally aligned to stable oxygen i…
A combined dietary approach using isotope and dental buccal-microwear analysis of human remains from the Neolithic, Roman and Medieval periods from t…
2016
Stable isotope and dental-microwear analysis are methods commonly used to reconstruct dietary habits in modern and ancient human populations. However, it is rare that they are both used together in the same study, and here both methods are combined to obtain information on human dietary habits from the site of Tossal de les Basses (Alicante, Spain) through time. Middle Neolithic, Late Roman and Medieval (Islamic) individuals have been analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of bone collagen, as well as for buccal-dental microwear. Overall, δ13C and δ15N isotopic values show that for all periods the diet was mainly based on C3 terrestrial resources. However, the isotopic signa…