Premium
Carbon isotopes in aquatic plants, Long Valley Caldera, California as records of past hydrothermal and magmatic activity
Author(s) -
Reid John B.,
Reynolds Jesse L.,
Connolly Nathan T.,
Getz Shari L.,
Polissar Pratigya J.,
Winship Lawrence J.,
Hainsworth Laura J.
Publication year - 1998
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 - 10.1029/98gl01854
Subject(s) - caldera , geology , pumice , crater lake , impact crater , geochemistry , rhyolite , isotopes of carbon , hydrology (agriculture) , volcano , total organic carbon , ecology , volcanic rock , physics , geotechnical engineering , astronomy , biology
Hot and cold springs contribute “dead” ( 14 C free) dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to the Owens River and Hot Creek. Headwaters aquatic plants have modern 14 C, but live plants downstream of the intracaldera springs are depleted in 14 C, (as low as 19% modern, with apparent ages up to 13.3 kyrs). In an abandoned meander of the upper Owens River, preserved streambed plants are buried by 600 year old Inyo Craters pumice. Apparent 14 C ages of these plants exceed true ages by ∼ 1100 years indicating that they also incorporated dead DIC as they grew. The preserved plants are downstream of Big Springs, whose elevated dead DIC may represent magmatic ‘CO 2 . The buried plants incorporated ∼10% dead carbon, although modern plants here have ∼50% dead carbon, suggesting that more magmatic CO 2 is now entering the upper Owens River than at the time of the Inyo Craters eruptions 600 years ago.