Abstract
SEDIMENTARY organic geochemical properties have long been used to characterize sedimentary organic matter sources1–8, but the characterizations are often not unique. There are at least four plausible mechanisms to account for the large (∼3–6%.) glacial-to-interglacial climatic variations in the sedimentary organic-carbon isotopic composition (δ 13Corg) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. They are: temperature-dependent C isotopic fractionation by phytoplankton, mixing of C3-photosynthetic terrigenous and marine organic matter, mixing of C3- and C4-photosynthetic organic matter and diagenetic alteration of the originally sedimented material. In a 208.7-m Deep Sea Drilling Project hydraulic-piston core (DSDP 619) from the Pigmy Basin in the northern Gulf of Mexico, we find that paired analyses of δ 13Corg and N/C are consistent with the hypothesis that the sedimentary organic carbon in the Pigmy Basin is a glacial-interglacial climati-cally determined mixture of C3-photosynthetic terrigenous and marine organic matter9, confirming the model of Sackett5.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Redfield, A. C., Ketchum, B. H. & Richards, F. A. in The Sea, Vol. 2 (ed. Hill, M. N.) 26–77 (Wiley, New York, 1962).
Waksman, S. A. Soil Sci. 36, 125–147 (1933).
Brenner, S., Ikan, R., Agron, N. A. & Nissembaum, A. Soil Sci. 125, 226–232 (1978).
Craig, H. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 3, 53–92 (1953).
Sackett, W. M. Mar. Geol. 2, 173–185 (1964).
Rogers, M. A. & Koons, C. B. Trans. Gulf Coast Ass. geol. Soc. 19, 529–534 (1969).
Sackett, W. M. & Rankin, J. G. J. geophys. Res. 75, 4557–4560 (1970).
Neuman, J. W., Parker, P. L. & Behrens, E. W. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 37, 225–238 (1973).
Jasper, J. P. thesis, Mass. Inst. Tech./Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., WHOI-88-28 (1988).
Bouma, A. H. Mem. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. 34, 567–581 (1983).
Bouma, A. H., Stelting, C. E. & Leg 96 Sedimentologists Init. Rep. DSDP 96, 563–576 (1986).
Williams, D. F. & Kohl, B. Init. Rep. DSDP 96, 671–676 (1986).
Broecker, W. S. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 46, 1689–1705 (1982).
Broecker, W. S. & van Donk, J. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 8, 169–198 (1970).
Emiliani, C. J. Geol. 63, 538–578 (1955).
Brunner, C. A. Quat. Res. 17, 105–119 (1982).
Brunner, C. A. & Cooley, J. F. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 87, 681–686 (1976).
Jasper, J. P. & Gagosian, R. B. Palaeoceanography (in the press).
Fry, B., Jeng, W.-L., Scalan, R. S. & Parker, P. L. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 42, 1299–1302 (1978).
Roy Benedict, C., Wong, W. W. L. & Wong, J. H. H. Pl. Physiol. 35, 512–517 (1980).
Snedecor, G. W. & Cochran, W. G. Statistical Methods (Iowa State University Press, 1978).
Deines, P. in Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry Vol. 1 (eds Fritz, P. & Fontes, J.) (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1980).
Spiker, E. C. & Hatcher, P. G. Org. Geochem. 5, 283–290 (1984).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jasper, J., Gagosian, R. Glacial–interglacial climatically forced δ13C variations in sedimentary organic matter. Nature 342, 60–62 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342060a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/342060a0
This article is cited by
-
Contents and stable isotopic compositions of organic carbon and total nitrogen in the surface sediment of two coastal bays in Korea
Ocean Science Journal (2011)
-
Organic geochemical record of environmental changes in Lake Dianchi, China
Journal of Paleolimnology (2010)
-
A carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur elemental and isotopic study in dated sediment cores from the Louisiana Shelf
Geo-Marine Letters (2009)
-
Sources and contribution of terrigenous organic carbon to surface sediments in the Gulf of Mexico
Nature (1997)
-
Insights into deposition of Lower Cretaceous black shales from meager accumulation of organic matter in Albian sediments from ODP site 763, Exmouth Plateau, Northwest Australia
Geo-Marine Letters (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
