LORENTE, FLÁVIO LIMA, PESSENDA, LUIZ CARLOS RUIZ, OBOH-IKUENOBE, FRANCISCA, BUSO, ANTONIO ALVARO, ROSSETTI, DILCE DE FÁTIMA, GIANNINI, PAULO CÉSAR FONSECA, COHEN, MARCELO CANCELA LISBOA, DE OLIVEIRA, PAULO EDUARDO, MAYLE, FRANCIS EDWARD, FRANCISQUINI, MARIAH IZAR, FRANÇA, MARLON CARLOS, BENDASSOLLI, JOSÉ ALBERTINO, Macario, Kita

JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES, v. 84, p. 373-384, 2018

07/04/2018

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct an 11,000-year history of depositional environmental change in southeastern Brazil, based upon the integration of particulate organic matter and stable isotope (C and N) data from a 136-cm sediment core from Lake Canto Grande. These proxies are used to explore the evolution of terrestrial and marine influence on the lake. Isotopic (δ13C: −27.87‰ to −31.9‰; δ15N: −0.07‰–4.9‰) and elemental (total organic carbon - TOC: 0.58%–37.19%; total nitrogen - TN: 0.08%–1.73%; C/N: 0.3 to 54.7) values recorded in Lake Canto Grande suggest that the sedimentary organic matter was derived from mostly C3 land plants and freshwater phytoplankton. Particulate organic matter and cluster analyses distinguished four associations characterized by the predominance of amorphous organic matter, followed by phytoclasts and palynomorphs. These results indicate two different phases of lake evolution. The first phase (136 - 65 cm; ∼10,943 cal yr. B.P. to ∼8529 cal yr. B.P.) is recorded by sand layers interbedded with mud, which contain amorphous organic matter (AOM, 45–59%) and phytoclasts (opaques - OP: 6–18%; non-opaques – NOP: 17–23%) which indicate a floodplain area. The second phase (65–0 cm; ∼8529 cal yr. B.P. to ∼662 cal yr. B.P.) comprises mud, AOM (68–86%) and palynomorphs (PAL, 8–16%) related to lake establishment comparable to modern conditions. Thus, characterizing particulate organic matter, in combination with stable isotopes, proved to be invaluable proxies for lacustrine paleoenvironmental change through the Holocene.

10.1016/j.jsames.2018.04.006