Search results for "Equilibrium fractionation"

Simulating speleothem growth in the laboratory: Determination of the stable isotope fractionation (δ13C and δ18O) between H2O, DIC and CaCO3

2019

Abstract Here we present novel cave-analogue experiments directly investigating stable carbon and oxygen isotope fractionation between the major involved species of the carbonate system (HCO3−, CO2, CaCO3 and H2O). In these experiments, which were performed under controlled conditions inside a climate box, a thin film of solution flew down an inclined marble or glass plate. After different distances of flow and, thus, residence times on the plate, pH, electrical conductivity, supersaturation with respect to calcite, precipitation rate as well as the δ18O and δ13C values of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the precipitated CaCO3 were obtained. Progressive precipitation of CaCO3 along…

Revised phosphate-water fractionation equation reassessing paleotemperatures derived from biogenic apatite.

2010

8 pages; International audience; Oxygen isotopes of biogenic apatite have been widely used to reassess anomalous temperatures inferred from oxygen isotope ratios of ancient biogenic calcite, more prone to diagenetic alteration. However, recent studies have highlighted that oxygen isotope ratios of biogenic apatite differ dependent on used analytical techniques. This questions the applicability of the phosphate–water fractionation equations established over 25 years ago using earlier analytical techniques to more recently acquired data. In this work we present a new phosphate–water oxygen isotope fractionation equation based on oxygen isotopes determined on fish raised in aquariums at contro…

2008

Abstract. Sulfur isotope analysis of atmospheric aerosols is a well established tool for identifying sources of sulfur in the atmosphere, estimating emission factors, and tracing the spread of sulfur from anthropogenic sources through ecosystems. Conventional gas mass spectrometry averages the isotopic compositions of several different types of sulfur aerosol particles, and therefore masks the individual isotopic signatures. In contrast, the new single particle technique presented here determines the isotopic signature of the individual particles. Primary aerosol particles retain the original isotopic signature of their source. The isotopic composition of secondary sulfates depends on the i…

CO2 degassing at La Solfatara volcano (Phlegrean Fields): Processes affecting and of soil CO2

2010

Abstract The soil CO2 degassing is affected by processes of isotope exchange and fractionation during transport across the soil, which can deeply modify the pristine isotope composition. This has been observed in the Solfatara volcano, upon a field survey of 110 points, where the CO2 flux was measured, together with temperature, CO2 concentration and oxygen and carbon isotopes within the soil. Furthermore, in some selected sites, the measurements were made at different depths, in order to analyze vertical gradients. Oxygen isotope composition appears controlled by exchange with soil water (either meteoric or fumarolic condensate), due to the fast kinetic of the isotopic equilibrium between …

Stable isotope fractionation in speleothems: Laboratory experiments

2010

Abstract In recent years, stalagmites have become important archives for paleoclimate. Several studies applying carbon and oxygen isotopes of stalagmites show a simultaneous increase of δ 13 C and δ 18 O along individual growth layers, which is interpreted as being indicative of isotope fractionation under disequilibrium conditions. In order to obtain robust paleoclimatic information from calcite precipitated under these non-equilibrium conditions it is important to improve the quantitative understanding of the corresponding isotope fractionation processes. Here we present laboratory experiments simulating calcite precipitation under cave-analogue conditions. The major focus was the investi…

Early diagenetic processes during Mn-carbonate formation: evidence from the isotopic composition of authigenic Ca-rhodochrosites of the Baltic Sea

2002

The formation of authigenic Ca-rich rhodochrosite (ACR) in sapropelic sediments of the Gotland Basin, Baltic Sea, is governed by deepwater renewal processes whereby saline water from the North Atlantic flushes the brackish anoxic Baltic Deeps. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of these Mn- carbonates suggest that ACR formation takes place just below the sediment surface and that dissolved compounds from the deepwater column, such as water and bicarbonate molecules, were incorporated in ACR during authigenesis. Porewaters near the sediment surface display 18 O values of 5.4‰ (VSMOW) and are generally depleted in 18 O, compared to the oxygen isotopic composition of water in equilibr…

Geochemistry and isotope composition (Sr, Pb, δ66Zn) of Vulcano fumaroles (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

2018

We present and discuss temperatures, major and trace element gas geochemistry, radiogenic isotopes (Pb, Sr) and the first Zn isotope data of fumarole condensates and altered rocks from the Vulcano fumarolic field. The fumaroles of the La Fossa cone, sampled on 5th May 2015, have temperatures ranging between 233 and 427 °C. They plot compositionally on the mixing trend between the magmatic and hydrothermal end-members defined by previous studies, but are strongly displaced towards the hydrothermal component. Correlations of radiogenic (Sr, Pb) and stable isotopes of Zn with δ13CCO2 and several trace elements of the fumarolic acid condensates support mixing between the above mentioned distinc…

Sclerochronology and geochemical variation in limpet shells (Patella vulgata): A new archive to reconstruct coastal sea surface temperature

2007

[1] Climate archives contained in shells of the European limpet, Patella vulgata, accumulated in archaeological deposits can potentially provide much needed information about Holocene environmental change in midlatitude coastal areas. Before reconstructing climate information preserved in these zooarchaeological records, we studied the controls on oxygen and carbon isotope ratios (δ18O and δ13C, respectively) in modern specimens. We tested the hypothesis that P. vulgata precipitates its shell in isotopic equilibrium with the ambient water by comparing δ18OSHELL with predicted values. Predicted δ18OSHELL was constructed using observed sea surface temperature (SST) records and the equilibrium…

2009

Abstract. Understanding the importance of the different oxidation pathways of sulfur dioxide (SO2) to sulfate is crucial for an interpretation of the climate effects of sulfate aerosols. Sulfur isotope analysis of atmospheric aerosol is a well established tool for identifying sources of sulfur in the atmosphere and assessment of anthropogenic influence. The power of this tool is enhanced by a new ion microprobe technique that permits isotope analysis of individual aerosol particles as small as 0.5 μm diameter. With this new single particle technique, different types of primary and secondary sulfates are first identified based on their chemical composition, and then their individual isotopic…