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Title: Towards Organic Carbon Isotope Records from Stalagmites: Coupled δ13C and 14C Analysis Using Wet Chemical Oxidation
Abstract Speleothem organic matter can be a powerful tracer for past environmental conditions and karst processes. Carbon isotope measurements (δ 13 C and 14 C) in particular can provide crucial information on the provenance and age of speleothem organic matter, but are challenging due to low concentrations of organic matter in stalagmites. Here, we present a method development study on extraction and isotopic characterization of speleothem organic matter using a rapid procedure with low laboratory contamination risk. An extensive blank assessment allowed us to quantify possible sources of contamination through the entire method. Although blank contamination is consistently low (1.7 ± 0.34 – 4.3 ± 0.86 μg C for the entire procedure), incomplete sample decarbonation poses a still unresolved problem of the method, but can be detected when considering both δ 13 C and 14 C values. We test the method on five stalagmites, showing reproducible results on samples as small as 7 μg C for δ 13 C and 20 μg C for 14 C. Furthermore, we find consistently lower non-purgeable organic carbon (NPOC) 14 C values compared to the carbonate 14 C over the bomb spike interval in two stalagmites from Yok Balum Cave, Belize, suggesting overprint of a pre-aged or even fossil source of carbon on the organic fraction incorporated by these stalagmites.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
0827305
PAR ID:
10302542
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Radiocarbon
Volume:
61
Issue:
03
ISSN:
0033-8222
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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