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Assessment of δ 13 C and C/N ratios in bulk organic matter as palaeosalinity indicators in Holocene and Lateglacial isolation basin sediments, northwest Scotland
Author(s) -
Mackie Elizabeth A. V.,
Lloyd Jeremy M.,
Leng Melanie J.,
Bentley Michael J.,
Arrowsmith Carol
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/jqs.1081
Subject(s) - holocene , younger dryas , geology , structural basin , physical geography , radiocarbon dating , δ13c , holocene climatic optimum , vegetation (pathology) , period (music) , oceanography , geomorphology , stable isotope ratio , paleontology , geography , medicine , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , acoustics
Carbon isotopes (δ 13 C) and C/N ratios from bulk organic matter have recently been used as alternative proxies for relative sea‐level (RSL) reconstruction where there are problems associated with conventional biological indictors. A previous study on a single isolation basin (Upper Loch nan Eala) in northwest Scotland has shown a clear relationship between δ 13 C, C/N ratios and palaeosalinity from Younger Dryas and Holocene aged sediments. In this paper we present results of δ 13 C and C/N ratio analyses from other isolation basins in northwest Scotland over the Holocene and the Lateglacial period in order to validate this technique. The results from the Holocene sequences support the earlier findings that this technique can be used to identify RSL change from isolation basins over the Holocene in this region. The relationship between δ 13 C, C/N ratios and RSL change is not apparent in sediments of Lateglacial age. Other environmental variables such as atmospheric CO 2 concentration, poor vegetation development and temperature influence δ 13 C values during this period. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.