Late Cretaceous fluvial hydrology and dinosaur behavior in southern Utah, USA: Insights from stable isotopes of biogenic carbonate

2019 ◽  
Vol 516 ◽  
pp. 152-165
Author(s):  
Victoria F. Crystal ◽  
Erica S.J. Evans ◽  
Henry Fricke ◽  
Ian M. Miller ◽  
Joseph J.W. Sertich
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Biogenic Carbonate

Correlation of Grassy Lake and Cedar Lake ambers using infrared spectroscopy, stable isotopes, and palaeoentomology

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1061-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan C. McKellar ◽  
Alexander P. Wolfe ◽  
Ralf Tappert ◽  
Karlis Muehlenbachs
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Fourier Transform ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Geochemical Fingerprinting ◽  
Long Distance Transport ◽  
Distance Transport

The Late Cretaceous Grassy Lake and Cedar Lake amber deposits of western Canada are among North America’s most famous amber-producing localities. Although it has been suggested for over a century that Cedar Lake amber from western Manitoba may be a secondary deposit having originated from strata in Alberta, this hypothesis has not been tested explicitly using geochemical fingerprinting coupled to comparative analyses of arthropod faunal content. Although there are many amber-containing horizons associated with Cretaceous coals throughout Alberta, most are thermally mature and brittle, thus lacking the resilience to survive long distance transport while preserving intact biotic inclusions. One of the few exceptions is the amber found in situ at Grassy Lake. We present a suite of new analyses from these and other Late Cretaceous ambers from western Canada, including stable isotopes (H and C), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, and an updated faunal compendium for the Grassy and Cedar lakes arthropod assemblages. When combined with amber’s physical properties and stratigraphic constraints, the results of these analyses confirm that Cedar Lake amber is derived directly from the Grassy Lake amber deposit or an immediate correlative equivalent. This enables the palaeoenvironmental context of Grassy Lake amber to be extended to the Cedar Lake deposit, making possible a more inclusive survey of Cretaceous arthropod faunas.

scholarly journals Stable isotopes and predation marks shed new light on ammonoid habitat depth preferences

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Machalski ◽  
Krzysztof Owocki ◽  
Zofia Dubicka ◽  
Oksana Malchyk ◽  
Weronika Wierny
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
Planktic Foraminifera ◽  
Habitat Depth ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Geochemical Studies ◽  
Stable Isotope Data

AbstractAmmonoids are extinct cephalopods with external shells which predominated in many late Paleozoic and Mesozoic marine ecosystems. Stable isotope data from ammonoid shells constitute primary tools for understanding their palaeohabitats. However, in most sedimentary successions globally the aragonitic shells of ammonoids are dissolved during fossilisation process and therefore not available for geochemical studies. We overcome this taphonomic bias by analysing the better preservable calcitic elements of the ammonoid jaws (aptychi). We study moulds and aptychi of two successive members, temporal subspecies in our interpretation, of a scaphitid evolutionary lineage from a Late Cretaceous chalk succession in Poland. In order to reconstruct their habitat depth preferences, we apply the powerful combination of stable isotope data from aptychi and co-occurring benthic and planktic foraminifera with an analysis of predation marks preserved on scaphitid specimens. On this basis we conclude that the populations of the older subspecies led a nektic, and those of the younger subspecies, a nektobenthic lifestyle. The shift in habitat depth preferences took place probably as a response of local populations to the shallowing of the sea. Previous studies largely assumed stable depth preferences for ammonoid species, genera and even higher clades. Our study casts doubts over such generalizations by pointing out that ammonoids could have been more flexible in their depth-related behaviour than anticipated.

scholarly journals Origin and Evolution of Saline Spring Water in North and Central Laos Based on Hydrochemistry and Stable Isotopes (δD, δ18O, δ11B, and δ37Cl)

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3568
Author(s):  
Xiwei Qin ◽  
Haizhou Ma ◽  
Xiying Zhang ◽  
Xiasong Hu ◽  
Guorong Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Carbonate Rocks ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Atmospheric Precipitation ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Geochemical Type ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Deep Circulation ◽  
Saline Springs

This paper discusses the origin and evolution of saline springs in north and central Laos, based on chemical and stable isotopes (δD, δ18O, δ11B, and δ37Cl). All the saline springs in this study are of the Na–Cl geochemical type. The geochemical and water isotope values suggest that the saline springs in this study are mainly derived from meteoric water and/or ice and snow melt from the surrounding mountains and that they also experienced strong evaporation and intense rock–water interactions. The ionic ratios, characteristic coefficients, ternary Ca–SO4–HCO3 phase diagrams, and saturation indices of minerals show that the dissolution of halite, sulfate, and carbonate rocks may be the solute sources for saline springs in this study, whereas the underground brines in the Thakhek potash mining area are geochemically influenced by the dissolution of carnallite and sylvite. The global geothermal δ11B–Cl/B relationship and δ11B values (5.50 to 36.01‰) of saline springs suggest a continental origin of B. This B is most likely derived from marine carbonate rocks and marine evaporates (gypsum and halite) of the late Cretaceous, which is similar to the saline springs of the Nangqen–Qamdo–Simao Salt Basin. The δ37Cl value (−0.12 to +0.79) and the Cl/Br ratio (4076 to 9853) show that dissolution of late cretaceous marine halite layers, atmospheric precipitation, and water–rock interactions between volcanic rocks, mudstones, and sandstone can restrict the δ37Cl values in saline springs. Results from silica geothermometry and multi–mineral equilibrium diagrams indicate that the reservoir temperatures for the saline springs range from 87–137 °C and experience deep circulation. Hydrochemical characteristic coefficients suggest that saline springs in the Muang Say basin may have leached sylvinite and carnallite and that the potash exploration prospect in this area is relatively good.

scholarly journals Stable isotopes, niche partitioning and the paucity of elasmosaur remains in the Maastrichtian type area

2016 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne S. Schulp ◽  
Renée Janssen ◽  
Remy R. van Baal ◽  
John W.M. Jagt ◽  
Eric W.A. Mulder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Diving Behaviour ◽  
Foraging Area ◽  
Type Area

AbstractRemains of elasmosaurid plesiosaurs are exceedingly rare in the type-Maastrichtian strata (Late Cretaceous, southeast Netherlands and northeast Belgium), in stark contrast to relatively common skeletal remains of mosasaurs. Here, we present an analysis of δ13C stable isotope values for tooth enamel of two elasmosaur teeth from the type Maastrichtian. The δ13C signal is a proxy for foraging area, trophic level and diving behaviour, the net value of which in these rare elasmosaurs turns out to be not noticeably different from that for the much commoner mosasaurs in the type Maastrichtian. Therefore, the rarity of elasmosaurs in the area probably reflects a primary near-absence of such reptiles during the latest Cretaceous, rather than a taphonomic artefact.

scholarly journals Biogenic carbonate mercury and marine temperature records reveal global influence of Late Cretaceous Deccan Traps

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle W. Meyer ◽  
Sierra V. Petersen ◽  
Kyger C Lohmann ◽  
Joel D. Blum ◽  
Spencer J. Washburn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Central India ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Deccan Traps ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Biogenic Carbonate ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Temperature Records ◽  
Clumped Isotope

AbstractThe climate and environmental significance of the Deccan Traps large igneous province of west-central India has been the subject of debate in paleontological communities. Nearly one million years of semi-continuous Deccan eruptive activity spanned the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, which is renowned for the extinction of most dinosaur groups. Whereas the Chicxulub impactor is acknowledged as the principal cause of these extinctions, the Deccan Traps eruptions are believed to have contributed to extinction patterns and/or enhanced ecological pressures on biota during this interval of geologic time. We present the first coupled records of biogenic carbonate clumped isotope paleothermometry and mercury concentrations as measured from a broad geographic distribution of marine mollusk fossils. These fossils preserve evidence of simultaneous increases in coastal marine temperatures and mercury concentrations at a global scale, which appear attributable to volcanic CO2 and mercury emissions. These early findings warrant further investigation with additional records of combined Late Cretaceous temperatures and mercury concentrations of biogenic carbonate.

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