Constraining carbon sources and growth rates of freshwater microbialites in Pavilion Lake using 14C analysis

Abstract

This study determined the natural abundance isotopic compositions ((13)C, (14)C) of the primary carbon pools and microbial communities associated with modern freshwater microbialites located in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada. The Delta(14)C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was constant throughout the water column and consistent with a primarily atmospheric source. Observed depletions in DIC (14)C values compared with atmospheric CO(2) indicated effects due either to DIC residence time and/or inputs of (14)C-depleted groundwater. Mass balance comparisons of local and regional groundwater indicate that groundwater DIC could contribute a maximum of 9-13% of the DIC. (14)C analysis of microbial phospholipid fatty acids from microbialite communities had Delta(14)C values comparable with lake water DIC, demonstrating that lake water DIC was their primary carbon source. Microbialite carbonate was also primarily derived from DIC. However, some depletion in microbialite carbonate (14)C relative to lake water DIC occurred, due either to residence time or mixing with a (14)C-depleted carbon source. A detrital branch covered with microbialite growth was used to estimate a microbialite growth rate of 0.05 mm year(-1) for the past 1000 years, faster than previous estimates for this system. These results demonstrate that the microbialites are actively growing and that the primary carbon source for both microbial communities and recent carbonate is DIC originating from the atmosphere. While these data cannot conclusively differentiate between abiotic and biotic formation mechanisms, the evidence for minor inputs of groundwater-derived DIC is consistent with the previously hypothesized biological origin of the Pavilion Lake microbialites.