An 11,000-year record of depositional environmental change based upon particulate organic matter and stable isotopes (C and N) in a lake sediment in southeastern Brazil

Author(s):Show less -

Lorente, Flavio Lima ^[1] ; Ruiz Pessenda, Luiz Carlos ^[1] ; Oboh-Ikuenobe, Francisca ^[2] ; Buso Junior, Antonio Alvaro ^[1] ; Rossetti, Dilce de Fatima ^[3] ; Fonseca Giannini, Paulo Cesar ^[4] ; Lisboa Cohen, Marcelo Cancela ^[5] ; de Oliveira, Paulo Eduardo ^[4] ; Mayle, Francis Edward ^[6] ; Francisquini, Mariah Izar ^[1] ; Franca, Marlon Carlos ^[5] ; Bendassolli, Jose Albertino ^[1] ; Macario, Kita ^[7]

Affiliation

^[1] Ctr Nucl Energy Agr CENA, Ave Centenario 303, BR-13416000 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Missouri Univ Sci & Technol, Rolla, MO - USA

^[3] Natl Inst Space Res, Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Fed Univ Para, Belem, PA - Brazil

^[6] Univ Reading, Reading, Berks - England

^[7] Fluminense Fed Univ, Niteroi, RJ - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of South American Earth Sciences; v. 84, p. 373-384, JUL 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct an 11,000-year history of depositional environmental change in southeastern Brazil, based upon the integration of particulate organic matter and stable isotope (C and N) data from a 136-cm sediment core from Lake Canto Grande. These proxies are used to explore the evolution of terrestrial and marine influence on the lake. Isotopic (delta C-13: 27.87 parts per thousand to 31.9 parts per thousand; delta N-15: 0.07 parts per thousand-4.9 parts per thousand) and elemental (total organic carbon - TOC: 0.58%-37.19%; total nitrogen - TN: 0.08 parts per thousand-1.73%; C/N: 0.3 to 54.7) values recorded in Lake Canto Grande suggest that the sedimentary organic matter was derived from mostly C-3 land plants and freshwater phytoplankton. Particulate organic matter and cluster analyses distinguished four associations characterized by the predominance of amorphous organic matter, followed by phytoclasts and palynomorphs. These results indicate two different phases of lake evolution. The first phase (136 - 65 cm; 10,943 cal yr. B.P. to 8529 cal yr. B.P.) is recorded by sand layers interbedded with mud, which contain amorphous organic matter (AOM, 45-59%) and phytoclasts (opaques - OP: 6-18%; non-opaques - NOP: 17-23%) which indicate a floodplain area. The second phase (65-0 cm; -8529 cal yr. B.P. to -662 cal yr. B.P.) comprises mud, AOM (68-86%) and palynomorphs (PAL, 8-16%) related to lake establishment comparable to modern conditions. Thus, characterizing particulate organic matter, in combination with stable isotopes, proved to be invaluable proxies for lacustrine paleoenvironmental change through the Holocene. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/00995-7 - Interdisciplinary paleoenvironmental studies in the Espirito Santo State coast
• Grantee: Luiz Carlos Ruiz Pessenda
• Support type: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants