Tracing sources of carbon in urban groundwater using delta c-13(TDIC) ratios

Total dissolved inorganic carbon (TDIC) and its stable isotope ratio δ13CTDIC are used to trace the evolution of the carbon system of groundwater in three UK Permo-Triassic sandstone aquifers. Samples were collected from multilevel piezometers, open boreholes and sewer sampling points in the British Midlands (Nottingham, Birmingham and Doncaster) to evaluate both local and regional variations in δ13CTDIC. δ13C samples of matrix and pore water have also been analysed in each aquifer to further constrain the interpretations. Combining δ13CTDIC ratios with measurements of TDIC and pH clearly distinguishes the principal processes underlying the geochemical evolution of groundwater in Triassic sandstone aquifers, where processes can be both natural (e.g. carbonate dissolution) and anthropogenic (sewer-derived recharge). The paper shows that δ13CTDIC resolves ambiguities that arise from the interpretation of TDIC and pH measurements in isolation. Field measurements demonstrate that, under natural conditions, the carbonate system evolves similarly in each aquifer. An open-system evolution during recharge largely saturates the groundwater with carbonate depending upon its availability in the sandstone matrix. The contribution of sewer exfiltration to urban recharge is readily distinguished by lower pH and higher TDIC values without significant changes in δ13CTDIC

The Palaeoproterozoic perturbation of the Global Carbon Cycle : the Lomagundi-Jatuli Isotopic Event

On Earth, carbon cycles through the land, ocean, atmosphere, living and dead biomass and the planet’s interior. The global carbon cycle can be divided into the tectonically driven geological cycle and the biological/physicochemical cycles. The former operates over millions of years, whereas the latter operate over much shorter time scales (days to thousands of years). Within the geological cycle, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is controlled by the balance between weathering, biological drawdown, size of sedimentary reservoir, subduction, metamorphism and volcanism over time periods of hundreds of millions of year

The Yungul carbonatite dykes associated with the epithermal fluorite deposit at Speewah, Kimberley, Australia: carbon and oxygen isotope constraints on their origin

The Yungul carbonatite dykes at Speewah in the Kimberley region of Western Australia were emplaced along a north-trending splay from the northeast-trending Greenvale Fault located at the western boundary of the Halls Creek Orogen. The Yungul carbonatite dykes intrude a thick composite sill of the Palaeoproterozoic Hart Dolerite (~1,790 Ma), consisting of tholeiitic dolerite and gabbro with its felsic differentiates that form the Yilingbun granophyres and associated granites. The carbonatite dykes consist of massive, calcite carbonatite that host very coarse, pegmatitic veins and pods of calcite, and have largely replaced (carbonatitized) and fenitized the country rock Hart Dolerite suite in a zone up to 150 m wide. Dykes of red-brown siliceous fluidized-breccia and epithermal-textured veins consisting of bladed quartz, adularia and fluorite are closely associated with the carbonatite dykes. The Yungul carbonatites are closely associated with fluorite occurrences with resources currently reported as 6.7 Mt at 24.6% CaF2. The precise age of the Yungul carbonatite is not known, although it is believed to be post early Cambrian. The total REE content of the Yungul carbonatite is low (174.0–492.8 ppm; La/Yb 2.28–10.74) and thus atypical for calciocarbonatite. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns for the carbonatite are relatively flat compared to average calciocarbonatite, and show small negative Eu anomalies. These unusual geochemical features may have been acquired from the Hart Dolerite suite during emplacement of the carbonatite, a process that involved extensive replacement and fenitization of country rocks. Carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of massive calcite carbonatite and the coarse calcite veins and pods from the carbonatite suggest a deep-seated origin. The C and O isotope compositions show an overall positive correlation that can be attributed to both magmatic and magmatic-hydrothermal processes in their evolution. The magmatic δ13C-δ18O trend is also indicative of crustal contamination and/or low-temperature water/rock exchange. The carbon isotopic compositions have δ13C values that range from about −5.2‰ to −6.3‰ that support a mantle-derived origin for the Yungul carbonatites and are consistent with earlier conclusions based on whole-rock geochemistry and radiogenic isotopes studies

Novel and Lost Forests in the Upper Midwestern United States, from New Estimates of Settlement-Era Composition, Stem Density, and Biomass

<div><p>Background</p><p>EuroAmerican land-use and its legacies have transformed forest structure and composition across the United States (US). More accurate reconstructions of historical states are critical to understanding the processes governing past, current, and future forest dynamics. Here we present new gridded (8x8km) reconstructions of pre-settlement (1800s) forest composition and structure from the upper Midwestern US (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and most of Michigan), using 19th Century Public Land Survey System (PLSS), with estimates of relative composition, above-ground biomass, stem density, and basal area for 28 tree types. This mapping is more robust than past efforts, using spatially varying correction factors to accommodate sampling design, azimuthal censoring, and biases in tree selection.</p><p>Changes in Forest Structure</p><p>We compare pre-settlement to modern forests using US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data to show the prevalence of lost forests (pre-settlement forests with no current analog), and novel forests (modern forests with no past analogs). Differences between pre-settlement and modern forests are spatially structured owing to differences in land-use impacts and accompanying ecological responses. Modern forests are more homogeneous, and ecotonal gradients are more diffuse today than in the past. Novel forest assemblages represent 28% of all FIA cells, and 28% of pre-settlement forests no longer exist in a modern context. Lost forests include tamarack forests in northeastern Minnesota, hemlock and cedar dominated forests in north-central Wisconsin and along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and elm, oak, basswood and ironwood forests along the forest-prairie boundary in south central Minnesota and eastern Wisconsin. Novel FIA forest assemblages are distributed evenly across the region, but novelty shows a strong relationship to spatial distance from remnant forests in the upper Midwest, with novelty predicted at between 20 to 60km from remnants, depending on historical forest type. The spatial relationships between remnant and novel forests, shifts in ecotone structure and the loss of historic forest types point to significant challenges for land managers if landscape restoration is a priority. The spatial signals of novelty and ecological change also point to potential challenges in using modern spatial distributions of species and communities and their relationship to underlying geophysical and climatic attributes in understanding potential responses to changing climate. The signal of human settlement on modern forests is broad, spatially varying and acts to homogenize modern forests relative to their historic counterparts, with significant implications for future management.</p></div