In-situ cosmogenic 36Cl denudation rates of carbonates in Guizhou karst area

This study quantifies surface denudation of carbonate rocks by the first application of in-situ cosmogenic36Cl in China. Concentrations of natural Cl and in-situ cosmogenic36Cl in bare carbonates from Guizhou karst areas were measured with isotope dilution by accelerator mass spectrometer. The Cl concentration varied from 16 to 206 ppm. The 36Cl concentrations were in range of (0.8-2.4)106 atom g-1 , resulting in total denudation rates of 20-50 mm ka-1 that averaged over a 104-105 a timescale. The 36Cl-denudation rates showed roughly a negative correlation with the local mean temperature. This preliminary observation may suggest the variations of proportions of chemical weathering and physical erosion in denudation process, depending upon local climatic conditions.     

Boron isotopic fractionation during incorporation of boron into Mg（OH）2

Experiments of boron incorporated into Mg（OH）2 from magnesium-free synthetic seawater were carried out at various pH values, in order to investigate the adsorption species and the variation of isotopic fractionation of boron on Mg（OH）2. The results showed that the incorporation of boron into Mg（OH）2 was very rapid and reached the equilibrium after 4 h. The [B]s and the partition coefficient Kd between Mg（OH）2 and final solution decreased with the increasing pH. The maximum values of [B]s and Kd were much higher than that of boron adsorbed on metal oxide or clay minerals, indicating that the incorporation capability of boron into Mg（OH）2 was very strong. When the adsorption reached the equilibrium, the δ 11Bfsw was lower than δ 11Bisw. The boron isotopic fractionation αs-fsw was between 1.0186 and 1.0220 with an average of 1.0203. All these indicated that 11B incorporated into Mg（OH）2 preferentially due to B（OH）3 incorporation into Mg（OH）2 preferentially. The deposition reaction of B（OH）3 with Mg（OH）2 was the direct reason for B（OH）3 incorporation into Mg（OH）2. During the boron incorporation into Mg（OH）2, the isotopic fractionation characteristic of boron was decided by the simultaneous existence of adsorption of boron on Mg（OH）2 and the deposition reaction of H3BO3 with Mg（OH）2. Different from the fact that only B（OH）4-species incorporated into bio-carbonate, B（OH）3 and B（OH）4 incorporated into Mg（OH）2 simultaneously, and B（OH）3 incorporated into it preferentially. The lower pH is, the more incorporated fraction of B（OH）3 will be. Mg（OH）2 exists widely in madrepore, which influences the quantitative correspondence of the boron isotopic composition δ 11Bcarb of corals on the pH of the seawater badly, and brings serious uncertainty to the δ 11Bcarb as the indicator of the ancient seawater pH.     

Dissolved inorganic carbon and its isotopic differentiation in cascade reservoirs in the Wujiang drainage basin

Three cascade reservoirs, built in different periods of time in the Wujiang drainage basin, were investigated in this study. Samples were taken at the surface and also at 20, 40, 60, 80 m depths in front of the dams in April, July, October of 2006 and January of 2007. Chemical parameters were calculated and the concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon [DIC] and its isotopic composition （δ613CDIC） were determined. In surface waters, the δ613CDIC values are high in summer and autumn and low in winter and spring, while the DIC concentrations are relatively low in summer and autumn and relatively high in winter and spring. In the water column, the DIC concentrations increase while δ613CDIC values decrease with water depth. DIC in various reservoirs is significantly different in isotopic composition from that in natural rivers, but is close to that in natural lakes. In addition, in surface waters, the δ613CDIC values tend to become lower whereas the nutrition level tends to become higher with increasing age of the reservoirs. The conclusion is that after dam blocking, changes took place in the hydrochemical properties of river water, and the impounding rivers developed toward lakes and swamps. In addition, differentiation in DIC isotopic composition may be used to some extent to trace the evolution process of a reservoir.     

Stable carbon isotopes in the shell of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corbicula fluminea</Emphasis> (Müller 1774): Implications for understanding environmental changes in drainage basins

Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is a primary constituent of the aquatic geochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems. Changes in DIC concentration and its isotopic composition are closely associated with environmental changes in the drainage basin. Thus, a better understanding of DIC may lead to improved characterization of environmental changes. Corbicula fluminea (Müller 1774), a bivalve native to southeast Asia and a dominant invasive species in many aquatic environments around the world, has the potential to record DIC information, particularly because of its sequential skeletal deposition. Analysis of the stable carbon isotope composition (δ ¹³C) of the shell and the aquatic DIC in the Xijiang River drainage basins in southern and western China allowed us to determine that changes in δ ¹³C in the skeleton significantly correlated with those of DIC (P < 0.01, r = 0.63). These results indicate that the isotopic signature of the shell reflects that δ ¹³C of the DIC in ambient water. The temporal resolution was at the seasonal scale. Metabolic effect does not change the co-variation, even though it makes the shell δ ¹³C 1.4‰ lower statistically than that of DIC. δ ¹³C of DIC in creeks of some watershed areas may experience large temporal changes characterization of these changes requires high sampling resolution of the shell. This problem makes the clams in these areas less preferable for reconstruction of environmental changes. The present findings provide the basis for recovering paleoenvironmental changes and carbon cycles in a watershed through analysis of fossil shells of C. fluminea, which are common in some lacustrine and/or riverine sediment sequences.