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| Titel |
Late Pliocene - Early Pleistocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on stable isotope compositions of Stephanorhinus sp. and Mammut sp. teeth |
| VerfasserIn |
Péter Szabó, János Kovács, Laszlo Kocsis, Mihály Gasparik, Torsten Vennemann, Attila Demény, Attila Virág |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2014
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 16 (2014) |
| Datensatznummer |
250093616
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2014-8514.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Stable isotope measurements of skeletal apatite from herbivorous mammals are often used to
provide information on the terrestrial paleoenvironment and paleoclimate. In this study fossil
teeth of Stephanorhinus Kretzoi 1942 (rhinoceros) and Mammut Blumenbach 1799
(mastodon), amongst others, were investigated from the Carpathian Basin. According to the
biostratigraphy, the age of the samples has a range from Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene.
Reconstructing paleoclimate and paleoenvironment of this era is important as it can be an
analogue for the future climate. Oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions were measured
from the tooth enamel, because it is believed to be the most resistant to diagenetic
alteration (e.g., Kohn & Cerling, 2002). The carbon isotopic composition in the
carbonate fraction of apatite can be related to the diet of the animal (Kohn & Cerling,
2002). Hence, it can reflect the photosynthetic pathway (C3 or C4) of the plants
consumed by these herbivores. The δ18O values were determined in the phosphate
fraction of apatite. In the case of large mammals that are obligate drinkers, the
δ18O values closely track those of the environmental water (Bryant & Froelich,
1995). Knowing the δ18O values of environmental water and relating it to local
precipitation, the mean annual temperature (MAT) of the site can be calculated (Dansgaard,
1964).
The δ13C values range from -10 to -15 o(VPDB). The result clearly shows that these
animals consumed C3 plants. Most of the δ13C values indicate mixed grassland-open
woodland rather than a closed canopy forest. Although there is variation in the δ18O values
(mean 14.2 ± 1.0 o VSMOW, n=17), most of the samples would support a MAT range of
8-12 °C. This is in good agreement with other proxies for the localities and time period
(Kovács et al., 2013).
Bryant, D.J. & Froelich, P.N. (1995) A model of oxygen-isotope fractionation in
bodywater of large-mammals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59, 4523-4537.
Dansgaard, W. (1964) Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16, 436–468.
Kohn, M.J. & Cerling, T.E. (2002) Stable isotope compositions of biological apatite.
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 48, 455-488.
Kovács, J. et al. (2013) Clay Mineralogy of Red Clay Deposits from the Central
Carpathian Basin (Hungary): Implications for Plio/Pleistocene Chemical Weathering and
Paleoclimate. Turkish J. Earth. Sci. 22, 414–426. |
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