Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica
Carbon incorporated into diatom frustule walls is protected from degradation enabling analysis for carbon isotope composition (δ13Cdiatom). This presents potential for tracing carbon cycles via a single photosynthetic host with well-constrained ecophysiology. Improved understanding of environmental...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34521/ |
| _version_ | 1848794872984633344 |
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| author | Webb, Megan Barker, Philip A. Wynn, Peter M. Heiri, Oliver van Hardenbroek, Maarten Pick, Frances Russell, James M. Stott, Andy W. Leng, Melanie J. |
| author_facet | Webb, Megan Barker, Philip A. Wynn, Peter M. Heiri, Oliver van Hardenbroek, Maarten Pick, Frances Russell, James M. Stott, Andy W. Leng, Melanie J. |
| author_sort | Webb, Megan |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Carbon incorporated into diatom frustule walls is protected from degradation enabling analysis for carbon isotope composition (δ13Cdiatom). This presents potential for tracing carbon cycles via a single photosynthetic host with well-constrained ecophysiology. Improved understanding of environmental processes controlling carbon delivery and assimilation is essential to interpret changes in freshwater δ13Cdiatom. Here relationships between water chemistry and δ13Cdiatom from contemporary regional data sets are investigated. Modern diatom and water samples were collected from river catchments within England and lake sediments from across Europe. The data suggest dissolved, biogenically produced carbon supplied proportionately to catchment productivity was critical in the rivers and soft water lakes. However, dissolved carbon from calcareous geology overwhelmed the carbon signature in hard water catchments. Both results demonstrate carbon source characteristics were the most important control on δ13Cdiatom, with a greater impact than productivity. Application of these principles was made to a sediment record from Lake Tanganyika. δ13Cdiatom co-varied with δ13Cbulk through the last glacial and Holocene. This suggests carbon supply was again dominant and exceeded authigenic demand. This first systematic evaluation of contemporary δ13Cdiatom controls demonstrates that diatoms have the potential to supply a record of carbon cycling through lake catchments from sediment records over millennial timescales. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:23:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-34521 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:23:06Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-345212020-05-04T20:03:01Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34521/ Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica Webb, Megan Barker, Philip A. Wynn, Peter M. Heiri, Oliver van Hardenbroek, Maarten Pick, Frances Russell, James M. Stott, Andy W. Leng, Melanie J. Carbon incorporated into diatom frustule walls is protected from degradation enabling analysis for carbon isotope composition (δ13Cdiatom). This presents potential for tracing carbon cycles via a single photosynthetic host with well-constrained ecophysiology. Improved understanding of environmental processes controlling carbon delivery and assimilation is essential to interpret changes in freshwater δ13Cdiatom. Here relationships between water chemistry and δ13Cdiatom from contemporary regional data sets are investigated. Modern diatom and water samples were collected from river catchments within England and lake sediments from across Europe. The data suggest dissolved, biogenically produced carbon supplied proportionately to catchment productivity was critical in the rivers and soft water lakes. However, dissolved carbon from calcareous geology overwhelmed the carbon signature in hard water catchments. Both results demonstrate carbon source characteristics were the most important control on δ13Cdiatom, with a greater impact than productivity. Application of these principles was made to a sediment record from Lake Tanganyika. δ13Cdiatom co-varied with δ13Cbulk through the last glacial and Holocene. This suggests carbon supply was again dominant and exceeded authigenic demand. This first systematic evaluation of contemporary δ13Cdiatom controls demonstrates that diatoms have the potential to supply a record of carbon cycling through lake catchments from sediment records over millennial timescales. Wiley 2016-05 Article PeerReviewed Webb, Megan, Barker, Philip A., Wynn, Peter M., Heiri, Oliver, van Hardenbroek, Maarten, Pick, Frances, Russell, James M., Stott, Andy W. and Leng, Melanie J. (2016) Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica. Journal of Quaternary Science, 31 (4). pp. 300-309. ISSN 1099-1417 carbon cycling; diatom frustule carbon; Lake Tanganyika; palaeoclimate; stable carbon isotopes http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.2837/abstract doi:10.1002/jqs.2837 doi:10.1002/jqs.2837 |
| spellingShingle | carbon cycling; diatom frustule carbon; Lake Tanganyika; palaeoclimate; stable carbon isotopes Webb, Megan Barker, Philip A. Wynn, Peter M. Heiri, Oliver van Hardenbroek, Maarten Pick, Frances Russell, James M. Stott, Andy W. Leng, Melanie J. Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica |
| title | Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica |
| title_full | Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica |
| title_fullStr | Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica |
| title_short | Interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica |
| title_sort | interpretation and application of carbon isotope ratios in freshwater diatom silica |
| topic | carbon cycling; diatom frustule carbon; Lake Tanganyika; palaeoclimate; stable carbon isotopes |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34521/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34521/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34521/ |