Variations in terrigenous matter transport evaluated by plant terpenoid analysis in the Neogene eastern equatorial Pacific sediment
Abstract
We analyze land plant biomarkers in sediments recovered during the IODP Expeditions 320/321, the Pacific Equatorial Age Transect (PEAT), to reconstruct variations in terrestrial input in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, as well as to evaluate transport systems of terrigenous matter from land to ocean. We used the Neogene sediments (23-0.23 Ma) recovered from site U1337. We could identify cadalene (sesquiterpenoid), as well as series of aromatic abietane type diterpenoids (e.g. retene) from most samples. These terpenoids are derived from biomolecules that constitute plant resin and supportive tissues. Plant-derived compounds in deep-sea sediments are considered that initially transported via fluvial process, followed by redistribution by gravity flow to the deeper part. Although, the typical pelagic setting of site U1337, even far from land across the mid-ocean-ridge, exclude such pathway. Therefore, the variations in mass accumulation rate (MAR) of plant terpenoids in this site depend eolian transportation and can be used as an indicator of change in atmospheric circulation. The increasing spikes in MAR of plant terpenoids were observed in the horizons of 16 Ma, 14 Ma, 12 Ma, 10 Ma, 9 - 8 Ma, 7 Ma and 2.5 - 1Ma. It is found that some of the spikes, 14 Ma, 7 Ma, 2.5 - 1 Ma correspond to the East Antarctica Ice Sheet event (EAIS), the Biogenic bloom event, and the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG), respectively. Furthermore, the degree of aromatization in diterpenoids, which represented by retene to the sum of abietane type diterpenoids, tends to increase concurrently with the MAR of total plant terpenoids. The aromatization of plant terpenoids take place under thermal maturation after deposition as well as in earlier processes such as biomass burning. In the U1337 sediments, the degree of aromatization of diterpenoids was uncorrelated with the age or depositional depth, suggesting its variations retain potential for paleoclimatic application. For example, more arid and cool condition in hinterland likely result in higher proportion of retene via enhanced occurrence of wildfire. Hence, the trends of variation in the MAR of the plant terpenoids were possibly concordant with the Neogene global paleoclimatic fluctuations.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFMPP51B2123N
- Keywords:
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- 1055 GEOCHEMISTRY / Organic and biogenic geochemistry;
- 4904 PALEOCEANOGRAPHY / Atmospheric transport and circulation