A Survey of the 14C Content of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon in Chinese Lakes

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 705-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taibei Liu ◽  
Weijian Zhou ◽  
Peng Cheng ◽  
G S Burr

AbstractWe present radiocarbon (14C) measurements of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from surface waters of 11 lakes, widely distributed in China. Surface lake water DIC F14C values show distinct differences, and we relate these to the physical exchange character (“open” or “closed”) of each lake. Open lakes studied here generally have lower DIC F14C values than closed lakes. We present a simple model of a lake water cycle to calculate an average residence time for each lake. Comparisons between lake DIC F14C and average residence time shows that the DIC F14C increases with the average residence time and reflects a steady-state.

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Ota ◽  
Yusuke Yokoyama ◽  
Yosuke Miyairi ◽  
Shinya Yamamoto ◽  
Toshihiro Miyajima

Lakes are sensitive recorders of anthropogenic activities, as human society often develops in their vicinity. Lake sediments thus have been widely used to reconstruct the history of environmental changes in the past, anthropogenic, or otherwise, and radiocarbon dating provides chronological control of the samples. However, specific values of radiocarbon in different carbon reservoirs due to the different pathways of radiocarbon from the upper atmosphere to the lake, called the radiocarbon reservoir age, is always difficult to evaluate because of dynamic processes in and around lakes. There are few systematic studies on radiocarbon reservoir ages for lakes owing to the complex radiocarbon transfer processes for lakes. Here, we investigate lake waters of the Fuji Five Lakes with monthly monitoring of the radiocarbon reservoir effects. Radiocarbon from dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) for groundwater and river water is also measured, with resulting concentrations (Δ14C) at their lowest at Lake Kawaguchi in August 2018 (–122.4 ± 3.2‰), and at their highest at Lake Motosu in January 2019 (–22.4 ± 2.5‰), despite a distance of 25 km. However, winter values in both lakes show similar trends of rising Δ14C (about 20‰). Our lake water DIC Δ14C results are compared to previously published records obtained from sediments in Lake Motosu and Lake Kawaguchi. These suggest that total organic carbon and compound-specific radiocarbon found in sediments are heavily influenced by summer blooms of aquatic organisms that fix DIC in water. Thus, future studies to conduct similar analyses at the various lakes would be able to provide further insights into the carbon cycle around inland water, namely understanding the nature of radiocarbon reservoir ages.


Radiocarbon ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen M Druffel

Radiocarbon measurements on a 109-year-old (1868-1977) core of Montastrea annularis coral from Glover Reef, Belize, in the Gulf of Honduras, reveal uptake of fossil fuel CO2 and bomb 14C by surface ocean waters. The history of Δ14C values revealed by this Belize growth agree remarkably well with results for coral growth from the Florida Straits. It is concluded that these corals are reliable recorders of 14C concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIOC) in surface waters representative of the Gulf Stream.


1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 263-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothee C.E Bakker ◽  
Hein J.W de Baar ◽  
Edwin de Jong

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 561-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Li ◽  
Mingrui Qiang ◽  
Yanxiang Jin ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Aifeng Zhou ◽  
...  

AbstractTerrestrial plant remains in the sediments of lakes from semi-arid and arid regions are rare and therefore the establishment of a sediment chronology depends on accurate assessment of the reservoir effect of the lake water. In a study of Genggahai Lake in the Gonghe Basin, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, we used accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating to determine the age of (1) dissolved inorganic carbon in the water (DICLW), (2) macrophyte remains in the uppermost samples of core sediments, (3) living P. pectinatus in the lake, and (4) dissolved inorganic carbon of spring water in the catchment. The results show that the ages of the DICLW (910 14C yr BP on average) were much younger than the ages of the groundwater (6330 14C yr BP on average), which may result mainly from CO2 exchange between the lake water and the atmosphere. In addition, the 14C ages of DICLW and macrophyte remains in the uppermost core sediments varied from site to site within the lake, which we ascribe to the different photosynthesis rates of Chara spp. and vascular plants. The higher photosynthesis rate of Chara spp. decreases lake-water pCO2, which leads to more atmospheric CO2 being absorbed by the lake water, and thereby greatly reducing the age of carbon species in areas dominated by Chara spp. Although Genggahai Lake is well mixed, the differences between the apparent ages of the lake water are significantly modulated by the photosynthesis intensity of submerged plants.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kotaro Nakata ◽  
Takuma Hasegawa ◽  
Teruki Iwatsuki ◽  
Toshihiro Kato

AbstractDissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in groundwater is used to estimate the residence time based on radiocarbon concentration. DIC is usually extracted by a gas-strip or precipitation (SrCO3 or BaCO3) method. In this study, the gas-strip and precipitation methods of DIC were applied to both artificially prepared NaHCO3 solutions and natural groundwater to estimate the certainty of the two methods for 14C dating. 14C values obtained by the gas-strip method for NaHCO3 solutions with distinct salinity, DIC, and 14C concentrations were close to the theoretically predicted 14C value based on the 14C value of NaHCO3 powder. Conversely, the 14C value obtained by the precipitation method always showed higher values than the predicted values. The difference in 14C value between the gas-strip and precipitation methods was assumed to be caused by the contamination of modern carbon in the NaOH solution used in the precipitation method. The contamination of modern carbon derived from the NaOH solution during precipitation was found to range from less than 1 mg/L to about 1 mg/L. The applicability of the precipitation method for groundwater should be considered carefully according to the DIC, 14C concentration of groundwater, and purpose of the study being conducted.


Radiocarbon ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Taylor

Rivers and shallow groundwater are deep groundwater precursors. Their dissolved inorganic carbon content (DIC) and its isotopic composition are end members in the evolution of these properties in confined situations, and are therefore essential information when applying carbon isotopes as tracers of groundwater processes and determining aquifer residence times using 14C.During studies of regional aquifer systems in New Zealand, a simple model has been developed to explain the isotopic compositions of DIC encountered in rivers and shallow groundwater. The model format incorporates a diagrammatic approach, providing a framework for tracing the subsequent evolution of DIC in both precipitation- and river-recharged aquifers under closed conditions.DIC concentration of rivers continuously adjusts toward chemical and isotopic equilibrium between direct addition of CO2 to the water (via plant respiration and decay of dead organic material) and exchange of CO2 across the river-air interface. In the shallow groundwater situation, the gaseous reservoir is soil CO2, generally at significantly higher partial pressure. In both cases, calcite dissolution or other processes may be an additional source of DIC directly added to the bicarbonate and dissolved CO2 components; while these may add or remove DIC, steady-state isotopic concentrations are considered to be determined only by the dynamic balance between directly added CO2 and gas exchange. This model allows the calculation of steady states, using selectable parameters in river or groundwater situations. These appear as straight lines in 13C or 14C vs. 1/DIC, or total 14C vs. DIC plots, into which the experimental data can be inserted for interpretation. In the case of 14C, the steady-state balance is very often complicated by the presence of an old component in the directly added DIC; the understanding achieved via the 13C patterns is helpful in recognizing this.Data from four contrasting aquifer systems in New Zealand. The success of the approach has depended crucially on DIC concentrations measured very accurately on the isotope samples, rather than separate chemical analyses.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2B) ◽  
pp. 821-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Stiller ◽  
Aaron Kaufman ◽  
Israel Carmi ◽  
Genia Mintz

The source of endogenic organic and inorganic carbon in lacustrine sediments is the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the lake water. The relation between the radiocarbon levels of DIC in Lake Kinneret and of CO2 in the atmosphere has been investigated. The ratio of the former to the latter was found to be 0.814 ± 0.013. This ratio is used for calibrating the age of the sediment according to the natural fluctuations in the atmospheric levels of 14C that occurred during the past 10,000 years.


1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1183-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Murray ◽  
Peter H. Rich

The benthic respiration of Crystal Lake, Connecticut, was modeled with two respiratory quotients, the volumetric respiratory quotient (VRQ) and the fundamental respiratory quotient (FRQ). The VRQ is defined as the quotient of the increase in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the decrease in dissolved oxygen (DO) resulting from respiration at a given depth. Those changes are relative to concentrations determined early in spring. The FRQ is the slope of the regression of DIC against DO at all depths not chronically anoxic. Respiratory quotients describe the predominance of anaerobic over aerobic metabolism and should, therefore, predict the accumulation of the products of anaerobic metabolism (i.e., Fe2+, H2S). VRQs successfully predicted the increase in reduced products in the hypolimnion of Crystal Lake. FRQs successfully predicted the rate of increase of reduced products early in stratification. FRQ was unsuccessful in predicting the continued accumulation of reducing products later in the summer, which may reflect a steady state between the production of DIC and reduced products and the diffusion of oxygen across the thermocline, or may reflect methodological constraints imposed by the calculation of FRQ. Both models were successful to a limited extent in predicting the accumulation of the products of anaerobic metabolism.


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