Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate?
Detailed stable carbon isotope and molecular investigations were undertaken on a number of archaeological and fossil wood specimens to provide insights into their use as rigorous independent palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental parameters. The isotope data revealed large differences amongst the ma...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2002
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/31605 |
id |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/31605 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/31605 2023-07-23T04:15:42+02:00 Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? Bergen, P.F. van Poole, I.J. 2002 image/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/31605 en eng 0031-0182 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/31605 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Aardwetenschappen stable carbon isotopes pyrolysis fossil wood palaeoclimate lignin cellulose Article 2002 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-01T23:32:03Z Detailed stable carbon isotope and molecular investigations were undertaken on a number of archaeological and fossil wood specimens to provide insights into their use as rigorous independent palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental parameters. The isotope data revealed large differences amongst the material with the oldest specimens being least depleted in 13C. Although natural variation could account for some of the observed differences, the isotope values of the archaeological and Tertiary specimens are most probably related to the absolute abundance of polysaccharides present and the degree of lignin alteration. The molecular data, based on pyrolysis, of the Antarctic Cretaceous conifer specimens revealed only transformed lignin, with virtually no intact lignin building blocks (2- methoxyphenols) preserved, and no evidence of polysaccharides. This degree of chemical alteration is suggested here to be one of the main causes for the 13C enriched values of these conifer specimens. These results show the importance of combining detailed molecular information on individual wood components with stable carbon isotope data for palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental studies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Utrecht University Repository Antarctic The Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
topic |
Aardwetenschappen stable carbon isotopes pyrolysis fossil wood palaeoclimate lignin cellulose |
spellingShingle |
Aardwetenschappen stable carbon isotopes pyrolysis fossil wood palaeoclimate lignin cellulose Bergen, P.F. van Poole, I.J. Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? |
topic_facet |
Aardwetenschappen stable carbon isotopes pyrolysis fossil wood palaeoclimate lignin cellulose |
description |
Detailed stable carbon isotope and molecular investigations were undertaken on a number of archaeological and fossil wood specimens to provide insights into their use as rigorous independent palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental parameters. The isotope data revealed large differences amongst the material with the oldest specimens being least depleted in 13C. Although natural variation could account for some of the observed differences, the isotope values of the archaeological and Tertiary specimens are most probably related to the absolute abundance of polysaccharides present and the degree of lignin alteration. The molecular data, based on pyrolysis, of the Antarctic Cretaceous conifer specimens revealed only transformed lignin, with virtually no intact lignin building blocks (2- methoxyphenols) preserved, and no evidence of polysaccharides. This degree of chemical alteration is suggested here to be one of the main causes for the 13C enriched values of these conifer specimens. These results show the importance of combining detailed molecular information on individual wood components with stable carbon isotope data for palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental studies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bergen, P.F. van Poole, I.J. |
author_facet |
Bergen, P.F. van Poole, I.J. |
author_sort |
Bergen, P.F. van |
title |
Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? |
title_short |
Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? |
title_full |
Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? |
title_fullStr |
Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? |
title_sort |
stable carbon isotopes of wood: a clue to palaeoclimate? |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/31605 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_relation |
0031-0182 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/31605 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1772176646878527488 |