Terrigenous plant wax inputs to the Arabian Sea : implications for the reconstruction of winds associated with the Indian Monsoon

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B. V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69 (2005): 2547-2558, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2005.01.001.We have determined the accumulation rates and carbon isotopic compositions (δ13C) of long-chain (C24–C32) terrigenous plant wax fatty acids in 19 surface sediment samples geographically distributed throughout the Arabian Sea in order to assess the relationship between plant wax inputs and the surrounding monsoon wind systems. Both the accumulation rate data and the δ13C data show that there are three primary eolian sources of plant waxes to the Arabian Sea: Africa, Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula. These sources correspond to the three major wind systems in this region: the summer (Southwest) monsoon, the winter (Northeast) monsoon, and the summer northwesterlies that blow over the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, plant waxes are fluvially supplied to the Gulf of Oman and the Eastern African margin by nearby rivers. Plant wax δ13C values reflect the vegetation types of the continental source regions. Greater than 75% of the waxes from Africa and Asia are derived from C4 plants. Waxes delivered by northwesterly winds reflect a greater influence (25–40%) of C3 vegetation, likely derived from the Mesopotamian region. These data agree well with previously published studies of eolian dust deposition, particularly of dolomite derived from the Arabian Peninsula and the Mesopotamian region, in surface sediments of the Arabian Sea. The west-to-east gradient of plant wax δ13C and dolomite accumulation rates are separately useful indicators of the relationship between the northwesterly winds and the winds of the Southwest monsoon. Combined, however, these two proxies could provide a powerful tool for the reconstruction of both southwest monsoon strength as well as Mesopotamian aridity.This work was supported by a SGER grant from the National Science Foundation to D.O. and a Schlanger Ocean Drilling Fellowship to K.D

Leaf water deuterium enrichment shapes leaf wax n-alkane δD values of angiosperm plants II: observational evidence and global implications

Leaf wax n-alkanes are long-chain hydrocarbons that can persist in sedimentary records over geological timescales. Since their hydrogen isotopic composition (expressed as a δD value) can be correlated to the δD values of precipitation, leaf wax n-alkane δD values have been advocated as new and powerful proxies for paleohydrological research. The exact type of hydrological information that is recorded in the δD values of leaf wax n-alkanes remains, however, unclear. In a companion paper we provide experimental evidence showing that the δD values of leaf wax n-alkanes of angiosperm plants grown under controlled environmental conditions not only reflect δD values of precipitation – as has often been assumed – but that evaporative deuterium (D)-enrichment of leaf water has an additional critical effect on their δD values. Here we present a detailed observational study that illustrates that evaporative D-enrichment of leaf water also affects the δD values of leaf wax n-alkanes in plants from natural ecosystems along a 1500 km climate gradient in Northern Australia. Based on global simulations of leaf water D-enrichment we show that the effects of evaporative D-enrichment of leaf water on leaf wax n-alkane δD values is relevant in all biomes but that it is particularly important in arid environments. Given the combined influence of precipitation δD values and leaf water D-enrichment we argue that leaf wax n-alkane δD values contain an integrated signal that can provide general hydrological information, e.g. on the aridity of a catchment area. We also suggest that more specific hydrological information and even plant physiological information can be obtained from leaf wax n-alkanes if additional indicators are available to constrain the plant- and precipitation-derived influences on their δD values. As such, our findings have important implications for the interpretation of leaf wax n-alkane δD values from paleohydrological records. In addition, our investigations open the door to employ δD values of leaf wax n-alkanes as new ecohydrological proxies in contemporary plant and ecosystem sciences

Environmental influences over the last 16 ka on compound-specific delta C-13 variations of leaf wax n-alkanes in the Hani peat deposit from northeast China

Compound-specific carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of leaf wax n-alkanes (C21-C33 odd carbon numbered n-alkanes) were measured in the Hani peat sequence from northeast China. These data were compared with lipid biomarker compositions to assess changes in local vegetation and paleoclimate for the last 16 ka The δ13C values of n-alkanes range between -36.6 and -30.7‰, showing that the compounds originate from C3 plants. Much larger variations (∼5.4‰) in the n-alkane δ13C values than those of atmospheric CO2 during the last 16 ka (< 0.5‰) indicate that the isotopic values were affected by environmental factors in addition to the postglacial δ13C variations in the atmospheric reservoir. The stratigraphic records of δ13C reveal decoupled fluctuations among the individual n-alkanes, particularly between 15.5 to 11.4 ka. Synchronous excursions in the δ13C offsets among individual n-alkanes (Δδ13C) and lipid biomarker paleoplant proxies (Paq, and C23/C31 and C27/C31) from 14.9 to 13.2 ka and 12.7 to 11.6 ka suggest that vegetational changes are the most likely causes for the decoupled δ13C variations. Parallel fluctuations of the δ13C values of terrestrial higher plant-derived C29 and C31 n-alkanes and the n-alkane average chain-length (ACL) from 11 to 6 ka indicate that the δ13C variations responded to net evaporation changes. Negative shifts in the n-alkane δ13C values coinciding with the ACL decreases at 10.5-9.3 ka and 8.1 ka indicate the short-term onset and fluctuations of the summer monsoon strength in eastern China during the early Holocene

High-latitude vegetation and climate changes during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition inferred from a palynological record from Lake El'gygytgyn, NE Russian Arctic

A continuous pollen record from Lake El'gygytgyn (northeastern Russian Arctic) provides detailed information concerning the regional vegetation and climate history during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT), between 1091 ka (end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 32) and 715 ka (end of MIS 18). Pollen-based qualitative vegetation reconstruction along with biome reconstruction indicate that the interglacial regional vegetation history during the MPT is characterized by a gradual replacement of forest and shrub vegetation by open herbaceous communities (i.e. tundra/cold steppe). The pollen spectra reveal seven vegetation successions that have clearly distinguishable glacial-interglacial cycles. These successions are represented by the intervals of cold deciduous forest (CLDE) biome scores changing from high to low, which are basically in phase with the variations of obliquity from maxima to minima. The dominating influence of obliquity forcing on vegetation successions contradicts with the stronger power of eccentricity, as demonstrated by the result of wavelet analysis based on landscape openness reconstruction. This discrepancy shows that a single index is insufficient for catching signals of all the impacting factors. Comparisons with vegetation and environmental changes in the Asian interior suggest that global cooling during the MPT was probably the key force driving long-term aridification in the Arctic region. The accelerated aridification after MIS 24-22 was probably caused by the additional effect of the Tibetan Plateau uplift, which played an important role on intensification of the Siberian High and westerly jet systems

Predicting leaf waxn-alkane2H/1H ratios: controlled water source and humidity experiments with hydroponically grown trees confirm predictions of Craig-Gordon model

The extent to which both water source and atmospheric humidity affect ?2H values of terrestrial plant leaf waxes will affect the interpretations of ?2H variation of leaf waxes as a proxy for hydrological conditions. To elucidate the effects of these parameters, we conducted a long-term experiment in which we grew two tree species, Populus fremontii and Betula occidentalis, hydroponically under combinations of six isotopically distinct waters and two different atmospheric humidities. We observed that leaf n-alkane ?2H values of both species were linearly related to source water ?2H values, but with slope differences associated with differing humidities. When a modified version of the Craig–Gordon model incorporating plant factors was used to predict the ?2H values of leaf water, all modelled leaf water values fit the same linear relationship with n-alkane ?2H values. These observations suggested a relatively constant biosynthetic fractionation factor between leaf water and n-alkanes. However, our calculations indicated a small difference in the biosynthetic fractionation factor between the two species, consistent with small differences calculated for species in other studies. At present, it remains unclear if these apparent interspecies differences in biosynthetic fractionation reflect species-specific biochemistry or a common biosynthetic fractionation factor with insufficient model parameterization.<br/