TY - JOUR
T1 - Isotope analyses of molecular and total organic carbon from Miocene sediments
AU - Pagani, Mark
AU - Freeman, Katherine H.
AU - Arthur, Michael A.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank J. Hedges and one anonymous reviewer for their helpful critiques. Special thanks to Denny Walizer and Gabriel Montemurro for all their invaluable help in processing samples. Samples for this project were provided by DSDP/ODP. This research was funded by grants from NSF and JOI/USSAC.
PY - 2000/1
Y1 - 2000/1
N2 - Carbon-isotope compositions of n-alkanes, pristane and phytane, and total organic carbon were measured and compared against isotopic trends of coeval alkadienones from Miocene sediments containing very low organic-carbon contents. Compound-specific isotope analysis of n-alkanes and isoprenoid lipids, in conjunction with abundance distributions of n-alkanes reveal the influence of terrestrially derived organic carbon at all sites analyzed. In general, n-alkanes are derived from allochthonous sources with the exception of n-C37 from site 516, which appears genetically related to coeval alkadienones. Further, pristane and phytane from pelagic sites 608 and 516 apparently derive from terrestrial sources as well, although a marine origin cannot be excluded. δ(TOC) values lack a coherent relationship to %TOC and δ13C(37:2). Differential alteration and mixing of diverse isotopic signals most likely contribute to temporal variation and spatial differences in δ(TOC). Therefore, when working with sediments from oligotrophic settings, we do not recommend δ(TOC) as an indicator of phytoplankton δ13C values. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
AB - Carbon-isotope compositions of n-alkanes, pristane and phytane, and total organic carbon were measured and compared against isotopic trends of coeval alkadienones from Miocene sediments containing very low organic-carbon contents. Compound-specific isotope analysis of n-alkanes and isoprenoid lipids, in conjunction with abundance distributions of n-alkanes reveal the influence of terrestrially derived organic carbon at all sites analyzed. In general, n-alkanes are derived from allochthonous sources with the exception of n-C37 from site 516, which appears genetically related to coeval alkadienones. Further, pristane and phytane from pelagic sites 608 and 516 apparently derive from terrestrial sources as well, although a marine origin cannot be excluded. δ(TOC) values lack a coherent relationship to %TOC and δ13C(37:2). Differential alteration and mixing of diverse isotopic signals most likely contribute to temporal variation and spatial differences in δ(TOC). Therefore, when working with sediments from oligotrophic settings, we do not recommend δ(TOC) as an indicator of phytoplankton δ13C values. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00151-9
DO - 10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00151-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0034080721
SN - 0016-7037
VL - 64
SP - 37
EP - 49
JO - Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
JF - Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
IS - 1
ER -