Late Glacial temperature and precipitation changes in the lowland Neotropics by tandem measurement of δ18O in biogenic carbonate and gypsum hydration water

Abstract

We applied a new method to reconstruct paleotemperature in the tropics during the last deglaciation by measuring oxygen isotopes of co-occurring gypsum hydration water and biogenic carbonate in sediment cores from two lakes on the Yucatan Peninsula. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope values of interstitial and gypsum hydration water indicate that the crystallization water preserves the isotopic signal of the lake water, and has not undergone post-depositional isotopic exchange with sediment pore water. The estimated lake water δ18O is combined with carbonate δ18O to calculate paleotemperature. Three paired measurements of 1200-yr-old gypsum and gastropod aragonite from Lake Chichancanab, Mexico, yielded a mean temperature of 26°C (range 23–29.5°C), which is consistent with the mean and range of mean annual temperatures (MAT) in the region today. Paired measurements of ostracods, gastropods, and gypsum hydration water samples were measured in cores from Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, spanning the Late Glacial and early Holocene period (18.5–10.4ka). The lowest recorded temperatures occurred at the start of Heinrich Stadial (HS) 1 at 18.5ka. Inferred temperatures from benthic ostracods ranged from 16 to 20°C during HS 1, which is 6–10°C cooler than MAT in the region today, whereas temperatures derived from shallow-water gastropods were generally warmer (20–25°C), reflecting epilimnetic temperatures. The derived temperatures support previous findings of greater tropical cooling on land in Central America during the Late Glacial than indicated by nearby marine records. Temperature increased in two steps during the last deglaciation. The first occurred during the Bolling-Allerod (B-A; from 14.7 to 13ka) when temperature rose to 20–24°C towards the end of this period. The second step occurred at 10.4ka near the beginning of the Holocene when ostracod-inferred temperature rose to 26°C, reflecting modern hypolimnetic temperature set during winter, whereas gastropod-derived temperature attained 30°C, reflecting modern summer epilimnetic temperature.