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| Titel |
Measuring and utilizing the hydrogen isotopic composition of deep-sea corals |
| VerfasserIn |
Samuel Davin, Claude Hillaire-Marcel, Evan Edinger, Yves Gelinas |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2016
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 18 (2016) |
| Datensatznummer |
250121856
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2016-722.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Despite the widespread use of hydrogen isotopic analysis of bioarchives in paleoenvironmental
reconstructions, no previously-published work has yet attempted to measure or utilize the
hydrogen isotopic composition (δD) of deep-sea corals. Geographically ubiquitous and with
lifespans on the scale of hundreds of years, δD measurements of deep-sea corals have the
potential to elucidate physical paleoceanographic parameters at well-resolved spatial and
temporal resolutions.
We present a method for the determination of annually-resolved δD from deep-sea corals
measured from gorgonin, a complex proteinaceous material making up the horny skeleton of
gorgonian corals. We address the issue of exchangeable hydrogen in gorgonin by
controlling the isotopic composition of exchangeable hydrogen using a heated batch
dual-equilibration technique. Coupled with δ15N measurements, we attempt to
identify the relationships between trophic feeding levels, physical oceanographic
parameters, and the δD of gorgonin from corals collected from chemically distinct ocean
basins.
Preliminary results from 43 samples indicate reproducible measurements on coral species
Primnoa pacifica, Primnoa resedaeformis, and Keratoisis grayii with bulk δD values ranging
from -40‰ to -110‰ and bulk δ15N values ranging from +13‰ to +17‰Ḟinal results will
include a full suite of non-exchangeable δD values and δ15N of corals from the Labrador Sea
and from the Gulf of Alaska. |
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