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G-Cubed: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems

 

Keywords

  • Coralline sponges
  • carbon isotopes
  • CO2
  • Caribbean
  • Little Ice Age
  • ocean surface water
  • industrial period
  • 13C Suess effect

Index Terms

  • Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Stable isotopes
  • Global Change: Oceans
  • Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Carbon cycling
  • Information Related to Geographic Region: Atlantic Ocean
Abstract
Cited By (15)
 

Abstract

GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS, VOL. 3, 1019, 13 PP., 2002
doi:10.1029/2001GC000264 [Citation]

Evidence for preindustrial variations in the marine surface water carbonate system from coralline sponges

F. Böhm

GEOMAR, Forschungszentrum für Marine Geowissenschaften, Wischhofstr. 1-3, Kiel, D-24148 Germany

A. Haase-Schramm

GEOMAR, Forschungszentrum für Marine Geowissenschaften, Wischhofstr. 1-3, Kiel, D-24148 Germany

A. Eisenhauer

GEOMAR, Forschungszentrum für Marine Geowissenschaften, Wischhofstr. 1-3, Kiel, D-24148 Germany

W.-C. Dullo

GEOMAR, Forschungszentrum für Marine Geowissenschaften, Wischhofstr. 1-3, Kiel, D-24148 Germany

M. M. Joachimski

Institut für Geologie, Universität Erlangen, Schlossgarten 5, Erlangen, D-91054 Germany

H. Lehnert

Thetis-Institut für biomolekulare Naturstoffforschung, Notkestr. 85, Hamburg, D-22607 Germany

J. Reitner

Geobiologie - Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum Göttingen GZG, Goldschmidtstr. 3, Göttingen, D-37077 Germany

Coralline sponge skeletons are excellent tools for reconstructing the carbon isotope history of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in tropical surface waters. Carbon isotope records from coralline sponges clearly reflect the industrial 12C increase in atmospheric CO2 with a precision that permits quantitative interpretations. We find from a set of δ13C records of four Caribbean sponge specimens that the isotopic response of surface water DIC to the changing isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2 varied dynamically during the last century, depending on the rate of atmospheric change. Three of our sponges provide 600 year long δ13C records. For the first time, we can reconstruct surface water δ13CDIC for the full history of the industrial CO2 release as well as the preceding preindustrial period back to the beginning of the Little Ice Age. This provides a well-founded estimate of the anthropogenically uninfluenced, preindustrial background level of surface water 13C/12C ratios. Our records show small but systematic variations that appear to be linked to the climate fluctuations of the Little Ice Age.

Received 28 October 2001; accepted 30 January 2002; published 21 March 2002.

Citation: Böhm, F., A. Haase-Schramm, A. Eisenhauer, W.-C. Dullo, M. M. Joachimski, H. Lehnert, and J. Reitner (2002), Evidence for preindustrial variations in the marine surface water carbonate system from coralline sponges, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 3(3), 1019, doi:10.1029/2001GC000264.

Cited By

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