An experiment to assess the effects of diatom dissolution on oxygen isotope ratios

作者：Smith Andrew C^*; Leng Melanie J; Swann George E A; Barker Philip A; Mackay Anson W; Ryves David B; Sloane Hilary J; Chenery Simon R N; Hems Mike

来源：Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2016, 30(2): 293-300.

DOI：10.1002/rcm.7446

RATIONALE: Current studies which use the oxygen isotope composition from diatom silica (delta O-18(diatom)) as a palaeoclimate proxy assume that the delta O-18(diatom) value reflects the isotopic composition of the water in which the diatom formed. However, diatoms dissolve post mortem, preferentially losing less silicified structures in the water column and during/after burial into sediments. The impact of dissolution on delta O-18(diatom) values and potential misinterpretation of the palaeoclimate record are evaluated.
METHODS: Diatom frustules covering a range of ages (6 samples from the Miocene to the Holocene), environments and species were exposed to a weak alkaline solution for 48 days at two temperatures (20 degrees C and 4 degrees C), mimicking natural dissolution post mucilage removal. Following treatment, dissolution was assessed using scanning electron microscope images and a qualitative diatom dissolution index. The diatoms were subsequently analysed for their delta O-18 values using step-wise fluorination and isotope ratio mass spectrometry.
RESULTS: Variable levels of diatom dissolution were observed between the six samples; in all cases higher temperatures resulted in more frustule degradation. Dissolution was most evident in younger samples, probably as a result of the more porous nature of the silica. The degree of diatom dissolution does not directly equate to changes in the isotope ratios; the delta O-18(diatom) value was, however, lower after dissolution, but in only half the samples was this reduction outside the analytical error (2 sigma analytical error = 0.46 parts per thousand).
CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that dissolution can have a small negative impact on delta O-18(diatom) values, causing reductions of up to 0.59 parts per thousand beyond analytical error (0.46 parts per thousand) at natural environmental temperatures. These findings need to be considered in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions using delta O-18(diatom) values, especially when interpreting variations in these values of <1 parts per thousand.

• 出版日期2016-1-30