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Paleoclimatic implications of an 850‐year oxygen‐isotope record from the northern Tibetan Plateau
Author(s) -
Holmes Jonathan A.,
Zhang Jiawu,
Chen Fahu,
Qiang Mingrui
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl032228
Subject(s) - isotopes of oxygen , carbonate , geology , plateau (mathematics) , precipitation , δ18o , stable isotope ratio , ice core , paleoclimatology , oxygen 18 , physical geography , geochemistry , oceanography , climate change , chemistry , geography , mathematical analysis , physics , mathematics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , meteorology
Oxygen‐isotope records from the sediments of hydrologically‐closed lakes are commonly interpreted in terms of changing effective precipitation. We compare an 850‐year‐long oxygen‐isotope record derived from ostracode carbonate from the sediments of Sugan Lake, in the northern Tibetan Plateau, with tree‐ring and ice core evidence for changing temperature, precipitation and isotopic composition of the lake's inflow. Taking into account all of these independent records, we show that variations in the carbonate δ 18 O values could not have been the result of varying effective precipitation alone: changes in water temperature and in the δ 18 O of source waters also played a significant role. Where independent records of temperature, precipitation or the isotopic composition of input waters are unavailable, care should be taken to avoid simplistic interpretations of carbonate stable isotope records, as these may contribute to incorrect paleoclimatic reconstructions.