Abstract
Abstract In order to test the assertion that the carbon-isotopic composition of the ancient atmosphere (δ13CO2) can be reconstructed from the carbon-isotopic composition of fossil terrestrial plant tissues across a variety of environments, the δ13C value of land-plant tissues isolated from modern fluvial sediments was compared to that of today's atmosphere. Plant stem and leaf fragments were isolated from organic carbon-rich sediments of the Black River in Jamaica, which drains a basin containing only C3 ecosystems. Sediment was sampled at 12 sites along a dissolved salt-content gradient, from the coastal plain to near its mouth, which allowed evaluation of the effect of salt influence on the organic carbon-isotope signature. Many properties of the sediment varied systematically with salt content (e.g., mass-percent carbonate, abundance of palynomorphs, δ13C and δ18O values of carbonate), confirming a significant and increasing marine influence closer to the mouth of the river. The δ13C value of total org...
Published Version
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