Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic evidence for Late Cenozoic environmental change in Northern China

Ciner, Burcu; Wang, Yan; Deng, Tao; Flynn, Lawrence J.; Hou, Sukuan; Wu, Wenzhong

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.10.009

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…6). This agrees with current evidence that, in Asia, C 4 plants only began to be noticeable components of terrestrial biomass from the Late Miocene [42,44].…”

Section: Environmental Significance Of Geochemical Proxiessupporting

confidence: 92%

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Lake geochemistry reveals marked environmental change in Southwest China during the Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum

Lebreton-Anberrée

et al. 2016

Science Bulletin

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The Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO; *15-17 Ma) was one of the short-term climatic warm events that punctuated the Cenozoic long-term cooling trend. Because there are very few terrestrial records of this event, most of our understanding comes from marine cores. In this report, we first present new palaeomagnetic data that revises the dating of our 400 m-thick lacustrine section in Wenshan (Yunnan), previously thought to be Late Miocene. These new data suggest an older age, ca. 15.2-16.5 Ma, coinciding with the MMCO. We measured d 13 C on bulk organic matter (d 13 C org ), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and C/N ratios at a high sample resolution to: (1) reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental changes in the lake catchment area, and (2) infer mechanisms responsible for these changes. Our results show that all four geochemical parameters demonstrate that a strong environmental change occurred around the middle of the section, shortly after the C5Cn/C5Br geomagnetic reversal and the Early/Middle Miocene boundary at 15.97 Ma. We propose that the environmental shift may be due to a combination of a change in climate, which became cooler, together with a change in organic matter cycling within the lake. This study provides a new insight into the MMCO and demonstrates that although the MMCO was generally a warm event, it was also a time of climatic instability and abrupt environmental changes.Keywords Yunnan Á Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum Á Bulk organic carbon isotopes (d 13 C org ) Á C/N ratio Á TOC Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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“…6). This agrees with current evidence that, in Asia, C 4 plants only began to be noticeable components of terrestrial biomass from the Late Miocene [42,44].…”

Section: Environmental Significance Of Geochemical Proxiessupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Second, our d 13 C org values do not show any significant contribution to the vegetation biomass from C 4 plants, which started to be important components of the flora only since the start of the Late Miocene [42][43][44], suggesting that the age of the Wenshan sediments predates the Late Miocene.…”

Section: Chronology Constructionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Lake geochemistry reveals marked environmental change in Southwest China during the Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum

Lebreton-Anberrée

et al. 2016

Science Bulletin

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“…High precipitation and warm temperatures favor C 4 plants, which are naturally more abundant in summer. Therefore, an inverse relationship between d 13 C and d 18 O values is expected (Higgins and MacFadden, 2004;Wang et al, 2008b;Biasatti et al, 2010;Yang et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2012;Ciner et al, 2015).…”

Section: Serial Isotopic Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

When the woolly rhinoceroses roamed East Asia: a review of isotopic paleoecology of the genus Coelodonta from the Tibetan Plateau to northern Eurasia

Ma,

Wang,

Deng

2024

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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East Asia, being the evolutionary center of Coelodonta, offers a unique opportunity to explore the spatiotemporal paleoecologies of this genus. This study utilized bulk and serial stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses on the Coelodonta nihowanensis and other ungulates from the Longdan fauna as well as two modern goats in the Linxia Basin, aiming to explore the paleoecology of C. nihowanensis at the periphery of the Tibetan Plateau during the Early Pleistocene. The isotopic results of these mammals indicated that C3 vegetation was possibly a major component of the local environment in the Linxia Basin, which was influenced by a seasonal summer monsoon. C. nihowanensis specimens in the Longdan fauna were possibly mixed feeders, as indicated by the wide distribution of their δ13C values and the intermediate δ18O values compared to other coexisting ungulates. Moreover, the comparison of the δ13C and δ18O values of similar taxa from the Linxia and Nihewan basins has revealed spatiotemporal differences in the paleoclimate and paleoenvironments of these two regions throughout the Early Pleistocene. This provides a holistic framework for understanding the paleoecology of the C. nihowanensis. The isotopic results of the C. nihowanensis in the Linxia and Nihewan basins suggested varied foraging ecologies across different sites and time spans during the Early Pleistocene. This underscores the adaptability of the C. nihowanensis to diverse environments from west to east in northern China. By scrutinizing the evolutionary ecological history of the woolly rhinoceroses from its ancestor, Coelodonta thibetana, to its final form, Coelodonta antiquitatis, this study sheds light on the ecological adaptation of this genus from the Pliocene to Late Pleistocene, spanning its migration from the Tibetan Plateau to northern Eurasia.

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“…A large number of isotopic paleodiet records from the Upper Miocene of China have been published, yielding data for the Gyirong Basin (Wang et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2012), Zhada Basin (Wang et al, 2013), Kunlun Pass Basin (Wang et al, 2008b), Qaidam Basin (Zhang et al, 2012a), Linxia Basin (Wang and Deng, 2005;Biasatti et al, 2010;Biasatti et al, 2018), Fugu Area (Li et al, 2020), and Yushe Basin (Ciner et al, 2015). These well-dated records from various locations provide a basis for conducting a regional comparison of paleoclimatic changes on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.…”

Section: Comparison With Contemporaneous Linxia Basin Faunamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent decades, many stable isotope studies have been conducted on fossil materials from Miocene to Pliocene strata of the Tibetan Plateau (Wang and Deng, 2005;Biasatti et al, 2010;Biasatti et al, 2012;Biasatti et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2012a;Deng et al, 2012;Ciner et al, 2015). Previous studies have focused mostly on issues of ecosystem structure and regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleodietary and Paleoclimatic Reconstruction of Hipparion Fauna at ∼9 Ma From the Xunhua Basin on the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Song

Sun

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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Stable isotope analysis is pivotal for investigating the paleodiet and paleoecology of ancient mammals. Recently, a ∼9-Myr-old Hipparion fauna was discovered at an elevation of ∼2,200 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in the Xunhua Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. These fossils can provide key evidence for the ecosystem structure and regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Here we present carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of 56 bulk and 85 serial tooth enamel samples from this fauna, which includes Hipparion platyodus Selve, Chilotherium sp. and Gazella gaudryi Schlosser. The enamel−δ13°C values display a wide range of variation (−11.4 to −5.0‰), with a mean value of −8.9 ± 1.0‰, indicating that the fauna consumed mainly C3 plants. However, the heaviest δ13C value of Hipparion (−5.0‰) suggests at least some consumption of C4 plants. Combined with pollen records, we infer that the Hipparion fauna in the Xunhua Basin was living in forest-grassland setting at ∼9 Ma. The reconstructed paleo-meteoric δ18O values of the Xunhua Basin at ∼9 Ma are lower than the mean annual δ18O of present-day precipitation in this region, suggesting a wetter climate or stronger monsoonal influence than today. Hipparion fauna in the Xunhua Basin yield significantly higher mean values of δ13C and δ18O than contemporary fossils in the Linxia Basin to the east, which is attributed to rapid uplift of the Jishi Shan, blocking water vapor transport by the East Asian Summer Monsoon and making the climate of the Xunhua Basin relatively drier.

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Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic evidence for Late Cenozoic environmental change in Northern China

Cited by 14 publications

References 81 publications

Lake geochemistry reveals marked environmental change in Southwest China during the Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum

Lake geochemistry reveals marked environmental change in Southwest China during the Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum

When the woolly rhinoceroses roamed East Asia: a review of isotopic paleoecology of the genus Coelodonta from the Tibetan Plateau to northern Eurasia

Paleodietary and Paleoclimatic Reconstruction of Hipparion Fauna at ∼9 Ma From the Xunhua Basin on the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

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