Search results for "Carbon Isotopes"
showing 10 items of 111 documents
Heavy enzymes and the rational redesign of protein catalysts
2019
Abstract An unsolved mystery in biology concerns the link between enzyme catalysis and protein motions. Comparison between isotopically labelled “heavy” dihydrofolate reductases and their natural‐abundance counterparts has suggested that the coupling of protein motions to the chemistry of the catalysed reaction is minimised in the case of hydride transfer. In alcohol dehydrogenases, unnatural, bulky substrates that induce additional electrostatic rearrangements of the active site enhance coupled motions. This finding could provide a new route to engineering enzymes with altered substrate specificity, because amino acid residues responsible for dynamic coupling with a given substrate present…
Impact of basin burial and exhumation on Jurassic carbonates diagenesis on both sides of a thick clay barrier (Paris Basin, NE France).
2014
27 pages; International audience; Several diagenetic models have been proposed for Middle and Upper Jurassic carbonates of the eastern Paris Basin. The paragenetic sequences are compared in both aquifers to propose a diagenetic model for the Middle and Late Jurassic deposits as a whole. Petrographic (optical and cathodoluminescence microscopy), structural (fracture orientations) and geochemical (δ18O, δ13C, REE) studies were conducted to characterize diagenetic cements, with a focus on blocky calcite cements, and their connection with fracturation events. Four generations of blocky calcite (Cal1-Cal4) are identified. Cal1 and Cal2 are widespread in the dominantly grain-supported facies of t…
Abiotic and biotic controls on methane formation down to 2.5 km depth within the Precambrian Fennoscandian Shield
2017
Abstract Despite a geological history characterised by high temperature and pressure processes and organic carbon deprived crystalline bedrock, large amounts of hydrocarbons are found in deep groundwaters within Precambrian continental shields. In many sites, methane comprises more that 80% of the dissolved gas phase reaching concentrations of tens of mmol l −1 . In this study, we used isotopic methods to study the carbon isotope systematics and sources of crustal methane within the Fennoscandian Shield. The main study sites were the Outokumpu Deep Drill Hole and the Pyhasalmi mine in Finland, both of which allow groundwater sampling down to 2.5 km depth and have been previously studied for…
In situ carbon and oxygen isotopes measurements in carbonates by fiber coupled laser diode-induced calcination: A step towards field isotopic charact…
2021
International audience; Natural stable isotopes ratios (δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb) of carbonates archived in the geological record are routinely used to reconstruct local and global paleo temperatures and the secular evolution of the biogeochemical carbon cycle. The state-of-the-art technique, employed since the mid 20th century, to measure these isotopic ratios starts with field sampling followed by several steps of physical and chemical laboratory preparation including: (i) microdrilling and/or sawing and crushing, (ii) CO2 release by wet acid digestion, (iii) gas equilibration, purification and transfer, before (iv) gas phase IRMS measurements. While these steps are time and resource consumi…
The end-Triassic mass extinction: A new correlation between extinction events and δ13C fluctuations from a Triassic-Jurassic peritidal succession in …
2018
Abstract A new δ13Ccarb curve was obtained from an expanded peritidal succession in western Sicily and was used to investigate the relationships between isotopic signatures and biological events on carbonate platforms across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (TJB). The resulting curve shows two main negative carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs) that fit well with the “Initial” and “Main” CIEs that are recognized worldwide and linked to the End-Triassic Extinction (ETE). In the studied section, the first negative CIE marks the disappearance of the large megalodontids, which were replaced by small and thin-shelled specimens, while the “Main” CIE corresponds to the last occurrence (LO) of the megalo…
Integrated bio- and carbon-isotope stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Gurpi Formation (Iran): A new reference for the eastern Tethys and its implic…
2018
29 pages; International audience; A high-resolution stratigraphic analysis of the Upper Cretaceous Gurpi Formation has been undertaken in the Shahneshin section (Zagros Basin, Iran). New results on calcareous nannofossils, planktic foraminifers, dinoflagellate cysts and high-resolution carbon and oxygen stable isotopes form the basis of a reference section for the eastern Tethys that spans the upper Coniacian to the late Danian. Carbon-isotope correlation to Gubbio, Italy and the NW German chalk allows for the identification of many isotopic events as well as for the definition of new events in the Campanian and Maastrichtian. Our results allow for a review of the accurate position of the C…
Carbon-isotope records of the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) Oceanix Anixic Event from the Valdorbia (Umbria-Marche Apennines) and Monte Mangart (Julian A…
2009
The Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (ca 183 Ma) coincides with a global perturbation marked by enhanced organic carbon burial and a general decrease in calcium carbonate production, probably triggered by changes in the composition of marine plankton and elevated carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. This study is based on high-resolution sampling of two stratigraphic successions, located in Valdorbia (Umbria-Marche Apennines) and Monte Mangart (Julian Alps), Italy, which represent expressions of the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event in deep-water pelagic sediments. These successions are characterized by the occurrence of black shales showing relatively low total organic carbon concentrations (…
Deciphering carbon sources of mussel shell carbonate under experimental ocean acidification and warming.
2018
Abstract Ocean acidification and warming is widely reported to affect the ability of marine bivalves to calcify, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. In particular, the response of their calcifying fluid carbonate chemistry to changing seawater carbonate chemistry remains poorly understood. The present study deciphers sources of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the calcifying fluid of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) reared at two pH (8.1 and 7.7) and temperature (16 and 22 °C) levels for five weeks. Stable carbon isotopic ratios of seawater DIC, mussel soft tissues and shells were measured to determine the relative contribution of seawater DIC and metabolically gener…
Trophic state changes can affect the importance of methane-derived carbon in aquatic food webs
2017
Methane-derived carbon, incorporated by methane-oxidizing bacteria, has been identified as a significant source of carbon in food webs of many lakes. By measuring the stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C values) of particulate organic matter, Chironomidae andDaphniaspp. and their resting eggs (ephippia), we show that methane-derived carbon presently plays a relevant role in the food web of hypertrophic Lake De Waay, The Netherlands. Sediment geochemistry, diatom analyses and δ13C measurements of chironomid andDaphniaremains in the lake sediments indicate that oligotrophication and re-eutrophication of the lake during the twentieth century had a strong impact on in-lake oxygen availabili…
Drivers of shell growth of the bivalve, Callista chione (L. 1758) - Combined it environmental and biological factors
2018
WOS:000426027100014; Seasonal shell growth patterns were analyzed using the stable oxygen and carbon isotope values of live-collected specimens of the bivalve Callista chione from two sites in the Adriatic Sea (Pag and Cetina, Croatia). Micromilling was performed on the shell surface of three shells per site and shell oxygen isotopes of the powder samples were measured. The timing and rate of seasonal shell growth was determined by aligning the delta O-18(shell)-derived temperatures so that the best fit was achieved with the instrumental temperature curve. According to the data, shells grew only at very low rates or not at all during the winter months, i.e., between January and March. Shell…