Terrestrial biomarker isotope records of late Quaternary climate and source-to-sink sediment transport processes in southwestern Taiwan

Chang, Queenie; Hren, Michael T.; Lin, A. T.; Tabor, Clay; Yu, Shun-Wen; Eley, Yvette; Harris, Gregory

doi:10.2475/04.2021.01

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The sea surface temperature of the South China Sea decreased by ~3°C from 3 Ma to the present ( 33 ); however, temperatures were possibly cooler during peak glacial intervals. Global climate model simulations and biomarker δ 2 H data both show that regional warming of 4° to 6°C from the last glacial maximum to interglacial produces a change in precipitation/leaf wax δ 2 H of <10‰ ( 34 ). Thus, Pliocene to recent climate variability is unlikely to produce a substantial change in base-level precipitation δ 2 H during the time scale of our data.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alteration typically shifts ACL and CPI. Southern Coastal Range sediments have undergone a short burial duration and minimal heating in very low paleo-geotherm condition (14°C/km) in the sedimentary basin ( 61 ), and both ACL and CPI (table S1) show no evidence of alteration degradation with minimal change through the sequence and similar values to Late Pleistocene to modern marine sediments ( 34 ). These factors support the preservation of primary isotopic signatures of fluvially transported leaf waxes from the evolving orogen.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid topographic growth of the Taiwan orogen since ~1.3–1.5 Ma

et al. 2023

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We present the first paleotopographic reconstruction of Taiwan by measuring the hydrogen isotope composition of leaf waxes (δ 2 H n C29 ) preserved in 3-Ma and younger sediments of the southern Coastal Range. Plant leaf waxes record the δ 2 H of precipitation during formation, which is related to elevation. Leaf waxes produced across the orogen are transported and deposited in adjacent sedimentary basins, providing deep-time records of the source elevation of detrital organic matter. δ 2 H n C29 exported from the southern Taiwan orogen decreased by more than 40‰ since ~1.3–1.5 Ma, indicating an increase of >2 kilometers in the organic source elevation. The increase in organic source elevation is best explained by rapid surface uplift of the southern Central Range at around ~1.3–1.5 Ma and indicates that this part of the orogen was characterized by maximum elevations of at least 3 km at this time. Further increase in organic source elevation from ~0.85 to ~0.3 Ma indicates continued topographic growth to modern elevations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid topographic growth of the Taiwan orogen since ~1.3–1.5 Ma

et al. 2023

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Organic Molecular Paleohypsometry: A New Approach to Quantifying Paleotopography and Paleorelief

Hren

Ouimet

2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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Stable isotope paleoaltimetry is one of the most commonly used approaches for quantifying the paleoelevation history of an orogen yet this methodology is often limited to arid to semi-arid climates, mountain systems with a clear orographic rainshadow and terrestrial basins. We present a new approach to reconstructing past topography and relief that uses the catchment-integrated signature of organic molecular biomarkers to quantify the hypsometry of fluvially-exported biomass. Because terrestrially-produced biomolecules are synthesized over the full range of global climate conditions and can be preserved in both terrestrial and marine sediments, the geochemistry of fluvially-transported sedimentary biomarkers can provide a means of interrogating the evolution of topography for a range of environments and depositional settings, including those not well suited for a traditional isotope paleoaltimetry approach. We show an example from Taiwan, a rapidly eroding tropical mountain system that is characterized by high rates of biomass production and short organic residence time and discuss key factors that can influence molecular isotope signal production, transport and integration. Data show that in high relief catchments of Taiwan, river sediments can record integration of biomass produced throughout the catchment. Sedimentary biomarker δ2HnC29 in low elevation river deposition sites is generally offset from the δ2HnC29 value observed in local soils and consistent with an isotope composition of organics produced at the catchment mean elevation. We test the effect of distinct molecular production and erosion functions on the expected δ2HnC29 in river sediments and show that elevation-dependent differences in the production and erosion of biomarkers/sediment may yield only modest differences in the catchment-integrated isotopic signal. Relating fluvial biomarker isotope records to quantitative estimates of organic source elevations in other global orogens will likely pose numerous challenges, with a number of variables that influence molecular production and integration in a river system. We provide a discussion of important parameters that influence molecular biomarker isotope signatures in a mountain system and a framework for employing a molecular paleohypsometry approach to quantifying the evolution of other orogenic systems.

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Terrestrial biomarker isotope records of late Quaternary climate and source-to-sink sediment transport processes in southwestern Taiwan

Cited by 2 publications

References 125 publications

Rapid topographic growth of the Taiwan orogen since ~1.3–1.5 Ma

Rapid topographic growth of the Taiwan orogen since ~1.3–1.5 Ma

Organic Molecular Paleohypsometry: A New Approach to Quantifying Paleotopography and Paleorelief

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