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  • Multi-Substrate Radiocarbon Data Constrain Detrital and Reservoir Effects in Holocene Sediments of the Great Salt Lake, Utah
Title: Multi-Substrate Radiocarbon Data Constrain Detrital and Reservoir Effects in Holocene Sediments of the Great Salt Lake, Utah
ABSTRACT The radiocarbon ( 14 C) content of simultaneously deposited substrates in lacustrine archives may differ due to reservoir and detrital effects, complicating the development of age models and interpretation of proxy records. Multi-substrate 14 C studies quantifying these effects remain rare, however, particularly for large, terminal lake systems, which are excellent recorders of regional hydroclimate change. We report 14 C ages of carbonates, brine shrimp cysts, algal mat biomass, total organic carbon (TOC), terrestrial macrofossils, and n -alkane biomarkers from Holocene sediments of the Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah. 14 C ages for co-deposited aquatic organic substrates are generally consistent, with small offsets that may reflect variable terrestrial organic matter inputs to the system. Carbonates and long-chain n -alkanes derived from vascular plants, however, are ∼1000–4000 14 C years older than other substrates, reflecting deposition of pre-aged detrital materials. All lacustrine substrates are 14 C-depleted compared to terrestrial macrofossils, suggesting that the reservoir age of the GSL was > 1200 years throughout most of the Holocene, far greater than the modern reservoir age of the lake (∼300 years). These results suggest good potential for multi-substrate paleoenvironmental reconstruction from Holocene GSL sediments but point to limitations including reservoir-induced uncertainty in 14 C chronologies and attenuation and time-shifting of some proxy signals due to detrital effects.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1755125
PAR ID:
10136029
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Radiocarbon
Volume:
61
Issue:
4
ISSN:
0033-8222
Page Range / eLocation ID:
905 to 926
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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