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In chemical elements with three or more stable isotopes, mass-dependent stable isotope fractionation is expressed by co-varying isotope ratios. In the three-isotope space ((δ’m2/δ’m1)/(( δ’m3/δ’m1)) these plot along a line with a slope (β), the so called ‘terrestrial fractionation line’. This partitioning of stable isotopes results from both kinetic and equilibrium reactions that are characterized by specific β-values.
For the natural range of isotope ratios of ‘novel’ stable isotope systems such as Si, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu this information cannot be accessed because samples fall close to the delta-zero standard where the current measurement precision is too low to resolve small differences in β. We present a new approach to resolve deviations from a reference slope β by standard-sample bracketing against material offset from the natural range. We use this approach to explore the isotope fractionation mechanism in the mammalian food web. We have analyzed Mg stable isotope ratios in bone bioapatite of herbivore, omnivore and carnivore mammals. Positive shifts in δ26/24Mg along the trophic chain (from herbivore to carnivore) together with β= 0.513 suggest the presence of two isotope fractionation mechanisms operating during biomineralization. While positive shifts in δ26/24Mg are in favor of equilibrium isotope fractionation process, the proximity of β to the theoretically calculated β(kinetic) of typically 0.511 suggests the presence of a second component that fractionates stable isotopes kinetically. The herein presented approach is applicable to any element with 3+ stable isotopes analyzed by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
In most chemical reactions, stable isotopes are fractionated in a mass-dependent manner, yielding correlated isotope ratios in elements with three or more stable isotopes. The proportionality between isotope ratios is set by the triple isotope fractionation exponent θ that can be determined precisely for, e.g., sulfur and oxygen by IRMS, but not for metal(loid) elements due to the lower precision of MC-ICP-MS analysis and smaller isotopic variations. Here, using Mg as a test case, we compute a complete metrologically robust uncertainty budget for apparent θ values and, with reference to this, present a new measurement Approach that reduces uncertainty on θ values by 30%. This approach, namely, direct educt-product bracketing (sample−sample bracketing), allows apparent θ values of metal(loid) isotopes to be determined precisely enough to distinguish slopes in three-isotope space. For the example of Mg, we assess appropriate quality Control standards for interference-to-signal ratios and Report apparent θ values of carbonate−seawater pairs. We determined apparent θ values for marine biogenic carbonates, where the foraminifera Globorotalia menardii yields 0.514 ± 0.005 (2 SD), the coral Porites, 0.515 ± 0.006 (2 SD), and two specimens of the giant clam Tridacna gigas, 0.508 ± 0.007 (2 SD) and 0.509 ± 0.006 (2 SD), documenting differences in the uptake pathway of Mg among marine calcifiers. The capability to measure apparent θ values more precisely adds a new dimension to metal(loid) δ values, with the potential to allow us to resolve different modes of fractionation in industrial and natural processes.
The Cambrian explosion, the rapid appearance of most animal phyla in the geological record, occurred concurrently with bottom seawater oxygenation. Whether this oxygenation Event was triggered through enhanced nutrient supply and organic carbon burial forced by increased continental weathering, or by species engaging in ecosystem engineering, remains a fundamental yet unresolved question. Here we provide evidence for several simultaneous developments that took place over the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: expansion of siliceous sponges, decrease of the dissolved organic carbon pool, enhanced organic carbon burial, increased phosphorus removal and seawater oxygenation. This evidence is based on Silicon and carbon stable isotopes, Ge/Si ratios, REE-geochemistry and redox-sensitive elements in a chert-shale succession from the Yangtze Platform, China. According to this reconstruction, sponges have initiated seawater oxygenation by redistributing organic carbon oxidation through filtering suspended organic matter from seawater. The resulting increase in dissolved oxygen levels potentially triggered the diversification of eumetazoans.
During R/V Meteor cruise 141/1, pore fluids of near surface sediments were investigated to find indications for hydrothermal activity in the Terceira Rift (TR), a hyperslow spreading center in the Central North Atlantic Ocean. To date, submarine hydrothermal fluid venting in the TR has only been reported for the D. João de Castro seamount, which presently seems to be inactive. Pore fluids sampled close to a volcanic cone at 2,800‐m water depth show an anomalous composition with Mg, SO4, and total alkalinity concentrations significantly higher than seawater and a nearby reference core. The most straightforward way of interpreting these deviations is the dissolution of the hydrothermally formed mineral caminite (MgSO4 0.25 Mg (OH)2 0.2H2O). This interpretation is corroborated by a thorough investigation of fluid isotope systems (δ26Mg, δ30Si, δ34S, δ44/42Ca, and 87Sr/86Sr). Caminite is known from mineral assemblages with anhydrite and forms in hydrothermal recharge zones only under specific conditions such as high fluid temperatures and in altered oceanic crust, which are conditions generally met at the TR. We hypothesize that caminite was formed during hydrothermal activity and is now dissolving during the waning state of the hydrothermal system, so that caminite mineralization is shifted out of its stability zone. Ongoing fluid circulation through the basement is transporting the geochemical signal via slow advection toward the seafloor.
The continuous improvement of analytical procedures using multi-collector technologies in ICP-mass spectrometry has led to an increased demand for isotope standards with improved homogeneity and reduced measurement uncertainty. For magnesium, this has led to a variety of available standards with different quality levels ranging from artefact standards to isotope reference materials certified for absolute isotope ratios. This required an intercalibration of all standards and reference materials, which we present in this interlaboratory comparison study. The materials Cambridge1, DSM3, ERMAE143, ERM-AE144, ERM-AE145, IRMM-009 and NIST SRM 980 were cross-calibrated with expanded measurement uncertainties (95% confidence level) of less than 0.030‰ for the δ25/24Mg values and less than 0.037‰ for the δ26/24Mg values. Thus, comparability of all magnesium isotope delta (δ) measurements based on these standards and reference materials is established. Further, ERM-AE143 anchors all magnesium δ-scales to absolute isotope ratios and therefore establishes SI traceability, here traceability to the SI base unit mole. This applies especially to the DSM3 scale, which is proposed to be maintained. With ERM-AE144 and ERM-AE145, which are product and educt of a sublimation-condensation process, for the first time a set of isotope reference materials is available with a published value for the apparent triple isotope fractionation exponent θapp, the fractionation relationship ln α(25/24Mg)/ln α(26/24Mg).
In chemical elements with three or more stable isotopes, mass-dependent stable isotope fractionation yields correlated isotope ratios, m2/m1 and m3/m1. In three-isotope space, i.e. in a δ’m2/δ’m1 vs. δ’m3/δ’m1 plot, data align along a slope θ, the so called ‘triple isotope fractionation exponent’ that scales the two isotope ratios. Theoretical calculations predict small differences in θ for kinetic- and equilibrium isotope fractionation (Young et al. 2002) and thus the precise measurement of θ allows constraining the reaction mechanism. However, due to an apparent lack of precision of stable isotope analysis by MC-ICP-MS, θ is merely used as analytical quality control, i.e. for demonstration that samples and standards plot within their analytical precision in the range of theoretical θ-values originating in δ-zero.
We show how θ can be determined precisely enough by MC-ICP-MS to distinguish kinetic- and equilibrium isotope fractionation, even when isotopic differences between samples are low. For low magnitudes of isotope fractionation, we exploit new, isotopically fractionated isotope standard materials (Vogl et al. 2016). We determine quality norms regarding interferences and measurement conditions to warrant trueness and to maximize precision. We exemplary explore the measurement of the three-isotope composition of Mg stable isotopes, budget the uncertainty of θ-values, and report the first θ-values of carbonate-water pairs and bioapatite. Our measurement approach adds a new dimension to isotope data beyond the δ-scale that has a high potential to reveal different modes of (bio)mineral precipitation in the sedimentary and biological record and thus to contribute solving conundrums in the Earth and Life Sciences.
Bulk enstatite chondrites (EC) and their achondritic counterpart, the aubrites, have the lightest measured Si isotope composition of all rocks in the solar system. Some authors proposed that the enrichment of 28Si in EC metal by equilibrium or kinetic isotope fractionation processes in the solar nebula may have led to the negative δ30/28Si of bulk EC. Because EC are also depleted in refractory elements, loss of a heavy Si component with refractory elements might be an alternative explanation. To further constrain their genesis, we analysed for the first time in situ Si-isotope ratios simultaneously with major- and trace element abundances in silicate and metal phases of Sahara 97072 (EH3) and Indarch (EH4).
Knowledge about feeding behavior is essential to determine trophic interactions and reconstruct predator-prey relationships in modern and past foodwebs. Traditionally, nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) of collagen are used to quantify the ingestion of animal protein, however collagen usually does not preserve over geological time scales. To infer the diet of extinct vertebrates from fossil material more resistant dietary proxies such as Ca and Mg isotopes are needed, which are major elements in the bioapatite of bones and teeth. Magnesium is a bio-essential element that replaces calcium in the bioapatite lattice and bone and enamel δ26Mg values of extant mammals increase systematically along the foodchain [1, 2].
The existing δ26Mg data, however, is scarce, in particular with respect to carnivores, thus still limiting the capability of this dietary proxy to reliably determine trophic differences between plant- and animal-feeders. To better constrain trophic-level effects recorded in Mg isotopes, we analyzed δ26Mg of bioapatite from modern mammals with a focus on faunivores, both carnivores and as yet unexplored insectivores.
The trophic level effect of δ26Mg is influenced by the geological substrate which causes isotope variability in δ26Mg of faunal remains between different ecosystems [1, 2]. Therefore, as first-order proxy for sample provenance and to assess potential influences of the bedrock substrate of the animals´ habitats on δ26Mg of bones and teeth, we measured the 87Sr/86Sr on the same specimens. This information will enable us to refine trophic level effects and determine whether δ26Mg can be used to distinguish different faunivores isotopically. This will be of paramount importance for dietary reconstructions of trophic niches in fossil foodwebs.
[1] Martin et al. (2014) Geochmica Cosmochimica Acta 130, 12-20. [2] Martin et al. (2015) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, 430-435.