Palaeodietary study of Sanxingcun Site, Jintan, Jiangsu

C and N stable isotope ratios of 19 human bones in Sanxingcun Site, Jintan, Jiangsu Province, were measured to explore the lifestyle and social economic structure. Although the bone collagen degraded to different extents, the atomic ratio of C/N was located in the range of 2.9-3.6, indicating that they were preserved very well. Average δ13C value (20.05±0.21‰), average δ 15N value (9.69 ±0.33‰) and poor positive correlation between each other suggested that rice agriculture was dominant with hunt-ing-fishing supplemented in human lifestyle. Poor negative correlation between δ 15N values and C3 percentages of foods implied relative independence of rice agriculture and hunting-fishing. Compared to Hemudu Site and Qingpu Site, rice agriculture was developed further, but hunting-fishing decreased. The mode for people in Sanxingcun Site to get the meat was still in the initial exploitation.     

Large selenium isotopic variations and its implication in the Yutangba Se deposit, Hubei Province, China

The selenium isotopic ratios have been measured in the Yutangba Se deposit, Hubei Province, China. The results show that the δ 82/76SeNIST values vary from -12.77‰ to 4.93‰, which is the largest Se iso- topic variation found so far in natural terrestrial samples. The sample Ytb-5 of high-selenium carbona-ceous shale has the lightest Se isotopic composition with a δ 82/76SeNIST value of -12.77‰. On the basis of variations of Se isotope in the deposit along with other geological and geochemical evidence, the "redox model" is suggested to favor the explanation of the occurrence of native Se in the deposit. The application to the Yutangba Se deposit with the discovery of large Se isotopic fractionation for natural samples indicates the potential of Se isotope as a new geochemical tracer.     

Comparison of the carbon isotope composition of total organic carbon and long-chain <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkanes from surface soils in eastern China and their significance

Surface soil samples collected over a high spatial resolution in eastern China were analyzed for carbon isotope composition （δ^13C） of total organic carbon （TOC） and higher plant-derived long-chain n-alkanes, with the latter reported as weighted mean values. The two sets of δ^13C values are significantly correlated and show similar trends in spatial variation. The spatial distribution of δ^13C shows less negative values in the mid-latitudes between 31°N and 40°N and more negative ones at higher and lower latitudes. This is consistent with previously reported carbon isotope data from surface soil phytoliths in the same region and suggests that the mid-latitude area provides relatively favorable growing condi- tions for C4 plants. Furthermore, δ^13C values of both TOC and long-chain n-alkanes from 12 surface soil samples collected from a small grassland in north China displayed similar carbon isotope values and the difference between paired δ^13C of a soil samples remains relatively constant. Our data demonstrate that in eastern China, soil δ^13C composition of both TOC and long-chain n-alkanes is effective indicators of C3/C4 ratios of the prevailing vegetation. This work suggests that -22‰ and -32‰ are good es- timated end members for the weighted mean δ^13C values of long-chain n-alkanes （C27, C29 and C31 n-alkanes） from soils under dominant C4 or C3 vegetation, allowing us to reconstruct paleovegetation trends.     

Foliar δ^13C and δ^15N values of C3 plants in the Ethiopia Rift Valley and their environmental controls

The foliar C and N stable isotopic compositions （δ^13C and δ^15N） and the relationships between these compositions and environmental factors of C3 plants in the Ethiopia Rift Valley were investigated. There were three distribution patterns for foliar δ^13C with mean values of -26.7‰±0.4‰, -29.7‰ ±0.6‰ , and -26.9‰± 1.2‰ in cold-moist, temperate-moist, and arid-hot environments, respectively. The δ^15N values ranged from -1.4‰ ±1.7‰ to 14.3‰ ± 0.1‰, with higher values under arid-hot conditions and the lowest values in plants growing at higher altitudes under cold-moist conditions. A strong negative relationship between mean annual precipitation and δ^15N explained more than half of the observed variation in the δ^15N values （r2= 0.54, P 〈 0.001）; a modest positive relationship was also found between δ^15N and temperature （r2 = 0.32, P 〈 0.01）. A weakly positive relationship existed between δ^13C and temperature, and changes in δ^13C values with precipitation and altitude followed quadratic curves. This suggests a shift in the effects of water and heat conditions caused by altitude on carbon isotopic discrimination.     

Preliminary evidence indicating Dome A （Antarctica） satisfying preconditions for drilling the oldest ice core

Lowest temperature and snow accumulation rate are preconditions for retrieving the oldest ice core from the polar ice sheets. The 10-m depth firn temperature at Dome A, the summit of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, recorded by an automatic weather station （AWS） was -58.3℃ in 2005 and -58.2℃ in 2006, respectively. The 10-m firn temperature is an approximation of the annual mean air temperature （AMAT）, and this is the lowest AMAT that has been recorded on the surface of the Earth. The stable isotopic ratios （δ^18O and δD） of surface snow at Dome A are also lower than at other ice sheet domes along the East Antarctic Ice Divide such as Dome C, Dome F, Dome B and Vostok. These facts indicate that Dome A is the ＂pole of cold＂ on the Earth. The total amount of snow accumulation rate in 2005 and 2006 was only 0.16 cm, equaling 0.016 m water equivalent per year, the lowest precipitation ever recorded from Antarctica. Preliminary evidences indicate that Dome A is a candidate site for recovering the oldest ice core.     

Tracing the major source area of the mountainous runoff generation of the Heihe River in northwest China using stable isotope technique

Based on the data of δ^18O in precipitation during the period of April 2006 through May 2007 in the upper catchment of the main stream of the Heihe River in the Qilian Mountains, we found that there existed an evident altitude effect on δ^18O in precipitation, and the δ^18O-altitude gradient was -0.18‰/100 m. When δ^18O in river water at the outlet of the mountainous drainage area of the main stream of the Heihe River was combined with the δ^18O-altitude relation, it was realized that the mountainous runoff was generated mostly at high altitudes. Using two component models, we revealed that 80.2% of the annual total mountainous runoff amount was generated at the alpine permafrost-snow-ice zone with an altitude of above 3600 m a.s.I.     

Diet control on carbon isotopic composition of land snail shell carbonate

Carbon isotope compositions for both the carbonate shells and soft bodies (organic tissue) of living land snails collected mostly from the Loess Plateau, China have been measured. The result shows that δ 13C values range from -13.1‰ to -4.3‰ for the aragonite shell samples and from -26.8‰ to -18.0‰ for the soft body samples. Although the shells are enriched in 13C relative to the bodies averagely by 14.2(±0.8)‰, the shell δ 13Ca values are closely correlated to the body δ 13Corg values, expressed as δ 13Ca = 1.021 δ 13Corg 14.38 (R = 0.965; N = 31). This relationship indicates that δ 13Ca is primarily a function of the isotopic composition of the snail diets since previous studies have proved that the snail body is the same as their food in carbon isotope composition. In other words, carbon isotope compo-sition of the carbonate shell can be used as a proxy to estimate the dietary 13C abundance of the land snails. The data also support that the 13C enrichment of the carbonate shells results mainly from the equilibrium fractionations between the metabolic CO2, HCO3-in the hemolymph and shell aragonite, and partially from kinetic fractionations when snail shells form during their activity.     

Authigenic sulfide minerals and their sulfur isotopes in sediments of the northern continental slope of the South China Sea and their implications for methane flux and gas hydrate formation

This is a report of the study of the authigenic sulfide minerals and their sulfur isotopes in a sediment core (NH-1) collected on the northern continental slope of the South China Sea, where other geo-physical and geochemical evidence seems to suggest gas hydrate formation in the sediments. The study has led to the findings: (1) the pyrite content in sediments was relatively high and its grain size relatively large compared with that in normal pelagic or hemipelagic sediments; (2) the shallowest depth of the acid volatile sulfide (AVS) content maximum was at 437.5 cm (>2 μmol/g), which was deeper than that of the authigenic pyrite content maximum (at 141.5-380.5 cm); (3) δ 34S of authigenic pyrite was positive (maximum: 15‰) at depth interval of 250-380 cm; (4) the positive δ 34S coincided with pyrite enrichment. Compared with the results obtained from the Black Sea sediments by Jorgen-sen and coworkers, these observations indicated that at the NH-1 site, the depth of the sulfate-methane interface (SMI) would be or once was at about 437.5-547.5 cm and the relatively shallow SMI depth suggested high upward methane fluxes. This was in good agreement with the results obtained from pore water sulfate gradients and core head-space methane concentrations in sediment cores collected in the area. All available evidence suggested that methane gas hydrate formation may exist or may have existed in the underlying sediments.     

Recent temperature increase recorded in an ice core in the source region of Yangtze River

Interests on climate change in the source region of Yangtze River have been raised since it is a region with the greatest warming over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). A 70-year history of precipitation δ~(18)O has been recovered using an ice core record retrieved in a plat portion of the firn area in the Guoqu Glacier (33°34′37.8″N, 91°10′35.3″E, 5720 m a.s.l.), Mt. Geladaindong (the source region of Yangtze River), in November, 2005. By using a significant positive relationship between ice core δ~(18)O record and summer air temperature (July to September) from the nearby meteorological stations, a history of summer air temperature has been reconstructed for the last 70 years. Summer temperature was relatively low in 1940s and high in 1950s to the middle of 1960s. The lowest temperature occurred in the middle of 1970s. Temperature was low in 1980s and dramatically increased since 1990s, keeping the trend to the begin-ning of the 21st century. The warming rate recorded in the ice core with 0.5℃/10 a since 1970s is much higher that that in the central TP and the Northern Hemisphere (NH), and it becomes 1.1℃/10 a since 1990s which is also higher than these from the central TP and the NH, reflecting an accelerated warm-ing and a more sensitive response to global warming in the high elevation region.     

Study of altitudinal lapse rates of δ18O in precipitation/river water with seasons on the southeast Tibetan Plateau

Seasonal δ^18O variation in water on the southeast Tibetan Plateau has been studied, showing the consistent variation pattern of δ^18O with altitude indicative of relevant atmospheric circulation processes. Study shows a similar variation pattern of fixed-site river water δ^18O with that of the precipitation δ^18O in southeast Tibet. δ^18O in regional rivers in southeast Tibet demonstrates a gradual depletion with increasing altitude, though the rates vary seasonally. The most depleted river ^18O occurs during the monsoon period, with the lowest δ^18O/altitude lapse rate. The river ^18O during the westerly period is also depleted, together with low δ^18O/altitude lapse rate. The pre-monsoon rivers witness the most enriched ^18O with least significant correlation coefficient with the linear regression, whilst the postmonsoon rivers witness the largest δ^18O/altitude lapse rate. Different coherence of seasonal δ^18O variation with the altitude effect is attributed to different moisture supplies. Though sampling numbers vary with seasons, the δ^18O-H linear correlation coefficients all reach the 0.05 confidence level, thus witnessing the variation features of δ^18O in seasonal river water due to the influence of atmospheric general circulation and land surface processes revealed from the altitudinal lapse rates.     

Transmission of oxygen isotope signals of precipitation-soil water-drip water and its implications in Liangfeng Cave of Guizhou,China

According to systemically monitoring results of oxygen （hydrogen） isotope compositions of precipitation, soil waters, soil CO2, cave drip waters and their corresponding speleothems in Liangfeng Cave （LFC） in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, it is found that local precipitation is the main source of soil waters and drip waters, and that the amplitudes of those δ18O values of three waters （precipitation, soil water and drip water） decrease in turn in the observed year, which are 0‰ to -10‰, -2‰ to -9‰ and -6‰ to -8‰, respectively. Moreover, the δ18O values for three waters show a roughly simultaneous variation, namely, that those values are lighter in the rainy seasons, weightier in the dry seasons, and that the average δ18O value of drip waters is about 0.3‰ weightier than that of precipitation, which is modified by surface evaporation processes. We also find that oxygen isotope equilibrium is reached or neared in the formation processes of speleothems in LFC system, and that it is feasible to reconstruct paleotemperature and paleoprecipitation by using δ18O values of speleothems. However, it should be noted that surface evaporation would affect the oxygen isotope values in the study area.     

Water isotope variations in the snow pack and summer precipitation at July 1 Glacier, Qilian Mountains in northwest China

This paper presents the stable isotope data of the snow pack and summer precipitation collected at the July 1 Glacier, Qilian Mountains in northwest China and analyses their relationships with meteorologi- cal factors. On an event scale, there is no temperature effect on the δ 18O values in the summer pre- cipitation, whereas the amount effect is shown to be clear. By tracing the moisture transport history and comparing the precipitation with its isotopic composition, it is shown that this amount effect not only reflects the change in moisture trajectory, which is related to the monsoon activities, but is also associated with the cooling degree of vapor in the cloud, the evaporation of falling raindrops and the isotopic exchange between the falling drops and the atmospheric vapor. As very little precipitation occurs in winter, the snow pack profile mainly represents the precipitation in the other three seasons. There are low precipitation δ 18O ratios in summer and high ratios in spring and autumn. The Meteoric Water Line (MLW) for the summer precipitation is δ D = 7.6 δ 18O 13.3, which is similar to that at Delingha, located in the south rim of the Qilian Mountains. The MWL for the snow pack is δ D = 10.4 δ 18O 41.4, showing a large slope and intercept. The deuterium excess (d) of the snow pack is positively correlated with δ 18O, indicating that both d and δ 18O decrease from spring to summer and increase from early autumn to early spring. This then results in the high slope and intercept of the MWL. Sea- sonal fluctuations of d in the snow pack indicate the change of moisture source and trajectory. During spring and autumn, the moisture originates from continental recycling or rapid evaporation over rela- tively warm water bodies like Black, Caspian and Aral Seas when the dry westerly air masses pass over them, hence very high d values in precipitation are formed. During summer, the monsoon is responsi- ble for the low d values. This indicates that the monsoon can reach the western part of the Qilian Mountains.     

Characterization of Fe-S minerals influenced by buried ancient woods in the intertidal zone, East China Sea

An ancient wood layer dated at about 5600 cal. a BP by AMS14C dating was discovered in the intertidal zone, East China Sea. Samples affected by ancient woods, including fresh coast bedrock, weathering bedrock, seepage water from coast, seepage water from ancient wood layer, intertidal seawater, fresh water, beach mud, ancient wood barks and ancient peat, were collected for geochemical analysis. The beach mud and the bacteriogenic iron oxides （BIOS） in coastal seepage water were analyzed by min- eralogical and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM）-selected area electron dif- fraction （SAED） analysis. Inorganic sulfur compositions and b＇34S of the ancient peat and the beach mud were determined. The results showed that Fe, Mn, S （SO~-） were enriched in the intertidal area at different levels, very likely caused by fermentation of ancient woods. The presence of abundant iron- oxidizing bacteria （FeOB） and sulfate-reducing bacteria （SRB） in this intertidal zone was confirmed by HRTEM-SAED observation, and these bacteria were involved in Fe-S cycle to induce extracellular biomineralization. The negative ~4Sv.cDT （--2.9%o） likely indicated the biogenic origin of iron-sulfide minerals in the beach mud at high sulfate reduction rate （SRR）. These findings are helpful for under- standing the biogeochemical Fe-S cycle and biomineralization process at high organic matter deposition rate and high SRR in the intertidal zone, estuary, or near shoreline.     

Climatic significance of δ18O records from precipitation on the western Tibetan Plateau

Analysis of daily precipitation samples for stable oxygen isotopes （δ^18O） collected at the Shiquanhe and Gerze （Gaize, Gertse） stations in the Ngari （Ali） region on the western Tibetan Plateau indicates that air temperature affects the δ^18O variations in precipitation at these stations. In summer, Shiquanhe and Gerze show strongly similar trends in precipitation δ^18O, especially in simultaneous precipitation events. Moreover, both stations experienced low δ^18O values in precipitation during the active monsoon period, resulting from the southwest monsoon （the summer phase of the Indian monsoon）. However, during the break monsoon period （during the summer rainy season, when the monsoon circulation is disrupted）, δ^18O values in summer precipitation remain relatively high and local moisture recycling generally controls the moisture sources. Air temperature correlations with δ^18O strengthen during the non-monsoon period （January--June, and October--December） due to continental air masses and the westerlies. In addition, evaporation also influences the δ^18O variations in precipitation. The observed temporal and spatial variations of δ^18O in precipitation on the western Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions show that the late May and early June-the late August and early September time frame provides an important period for the transportation of moisture from various sources on the Tibetan Plateau, and that the region of the West Kunlun-Tanggula Ranges acts as a significant climatic divide on the Plateau, perhaps for all of western China.     

Petrographic and geochemical characterization of seep carbonate from Alaminos Canyon,Gulf of Mexico

Seep carbonates were collected from the Alaminos Canyon lease area, Gulf of Mexico. The carbonates are present as slabs and blocks. Bivalve shell and foraminifer are the dominant bioclasts in carbonate. Pores are common and usually filled with acicular aragonite crystals. XRD investigation shows that aragonite is the dominate mineral （98%）. Peloids, clotted microfabirc and botryoidal aragonite are developed in carbonate and suggest a genesis linked with bacterial degradation of the hydrocarbons. The δ^13C value of bioclasts in carbonate is from -4.9‰ to -0.6‰, indicating that the carbon source is mainly from sea water as well as the small portion incorporation of the seep hydrocarbon. The microcrystalline and sparite aragonite shows the δ^13C value from -31.3‰ to -23.4‰, suggesting that their carbon is derived mainly from microbial degradation of crude oil. ^14C analyses give the radiocarbon age of about 10 ka. Rare earth elements （REE） analyses of the 5% HNO3-treated solution of the carbonates show that the total REE content of the carbonates is low, that is from 0.752 to 12.725 μg·g^-1. The shale-normalized REE patterns show significantly negative Ce anomalies. This suggests that cold seep carbonate is most likely formed in a relatively aerobic environment.     

The biomarkers of 2,6,10,15, 19-pentamethylicosenes and their carbon isotopic composition in the sediments from the Gulf of Mexico

The methanogenic archaea and sulfate reduction bacteria are flourishing in the sediments associated with gas venting and gas hydrate settings on the sea floor, where the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) me-diated by these bacteria is the dominant path…     

Variation of soil Δδ13C values in Xifeng loess-paleosol sequence and its paleoenvironmental implication

The carbon isotopic compositions of soil organic matter （SOM） and total carbonate （TC） in Xifeng Ioess-paleosol sequence have been studied. The δ^13CsoM values vary from -23.8‰ to -20.2‰, which are higher in interglacial than in glacial stages. Contrary to δ^13Csoi values, the δ^13CTc values vary from -8.5‰ to -3.6‰ and are lower in interglacial than in glacial stages. The differences （△δ^13C） between the δ^13CsoM and δ^13CTc values vary from 14.1‰ to 19.4‰. Our results from the Xifeng loesspaleosol sequence indicate that the △δ^13C values represent the ratio of primary carbonate （PC） to secondary carbonate （SC）. The △δ^13C values were high in the loess stages, and the maximal PC-to-SC ratio can reach 6：4. But in the paleosol stages, the △δ^13C values were low, with a small proportion of PC. The △δ^13C values in Ioess-paleosol sequence also indicate the contributions of the dust to the loess sediment in the Chinese Loess Plateau because the dust contains the PC.     

Holocene climatic and environmental changes recorded in Baahar Nuur Lake core in the Ordos Plateau, Inner Mongolia of China

A 5.3 m lake core was drilled in Baahar Nuur Lake in the Ordos Plateau, and measurements of meangrain size, organic δ 13C (δ 13Corg), organic carbon content (TOC), C/N, carbonate content, carbonate δ 13C(δ 13Ccar) and δ 18O (δ 18Ocar) were conducted for retrieving the Holocene chronosequence of climaticchanges based on 15 AMS 14C dates. The record documented four major stages of climate change inthe Ordos Plateau: (IV) a cold and dry condition before ～7.65 14C ka BP; (III) a warm and humid stagebetween ～7.65 and ～5.40 ka BP; (II) a generally drier and cooler climate since ～5.40 ka BP with twohumid events occurring from ～4.70 to ～4.60 ka BP and from ～4.20 to ～3.70 ka BP, and (I) a dry climatecharacterized by complete desiccation of the lake after 3.70 ka BP. Stage III can be further divided intothree sub-stages: (IIIa) a warm and humid episode from ～7.65 to ～6.70 ka BP, (IIIb) a warm and relativelydry episode from ～6.70 to ～6.20 ka BP, and (IIIc) the magthermal and maghumid episode of the Holo-cene from ～6.20 to ～5.40 ka BP.     

Latitudinal shift and tilt of the ring current during magnetic storms

The equatorial ring current (ERC) theory suggested that the distribution of global disturbed horizontal geomagnetic field only depends on the cosine of station’s latitude. However, we always observe a larger ΔH at higher latitude stations than lower ones, implying that the ERC could tilt or/and shift with respect to the equatorial plane during intense storms. In this paper, we analyze 11 intense magnetic storms from 2000 to 2004, and introduce two configurational factors to characterize the topology of storm time ring current. The results show that ERC has occasionally deviated off equatorial plane with both tilt angle δ_t≈13°―25° and latitude shift δ_s≈0°―21.8°. The ground disturbed field distribution should be improved as ΔH_k = ΔH_maxcos(φ_k-δ ), which agree well with the geomagnetic observations.     

Variability of snail growing season at the Chinese Loess Plateau during the last 75 ka

Knowledge of seasonal climate change is one of the key issues facing Quaternary paleoclimatic studies and estimating seasonal climate change is difficult,especially changes such as seasonal length on glacial-interglacial timescales.The stable isotope composition from seasonal land snail shells provides the potential to reveal seasonal climatic features.Two modern land snail species,cold-aridiphilous Pupilla aeoli and thermo-humidiphilous Punctum orphana,were collected from different climatic zones in 18 localities across the Chinese Loess Plateau,spanning 11 degrees of longitude and covering a range of 1000 km2.The duration of the snail growing season(temperature ≥10℃) was shorter(202 ± 6 d) in the eastern Loess Plateau compared with in the western Loess Plateau(162 ±7 d).The δ13C of P.aeoli shells was ?9.1‰ to ?4.7‰ and ?5.0‰ to 0.3‰ for δ18O.For P.orphana,the δ13C ranged from ?9.1‰ to ?1.9‰ and ?8.9‰ to ?2.9‰ for δ18O.Both the δ13C and δ18O differences between the two snail species were reduced from the east to the western Loess Plateau(2.8‰ to 0.2 ± 1.1‰ for δ13C and 4.7‰ to 2.9 ± 1.3‰ for δ18O).These isotopic differences roughly reflect the difference in the growing season lengths between the east and west Loess Plateau indicating that the duration of the snail growing season shortens by 15 d or 19 d if the difference decreases by 1‰ in δ13C or δ18O,respectively.Thus,the difference in δ13C and δ18O between both snail species can be used to reveal the length of the snail growing season in the past.Based on our investigation,the length of the snail growing seasons from the Xifeng region during the last 75 ka was reconstructed.During the mid-Holocene(8-3 ka),the mean isotopic difference from both snail species reached maximum values of 2.6 ± 0.7‰ and 2.1 ± 1.4‰ for δ13C and δ18O,respectively.This was followed by MIS 3 that ranged from 2.5 ± 0.4‰ for δ13C and 1.6 ± 0.8‰ for δ18O.The Last Glacial Maximum changed by only 0.2‰ and 0.4‰ for δ13C and δ18O,respectively.Therefore,we estimate that the duration of the snail growing seasons to be ～200 ± 10 d during the mid-Holocene,190 ± 6 d in MIS 3 and 160 ± 3 d during the last glacial period.