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Isotopic evidence for temporal variation in proportion of seasonal precipitation since the last glacial time in the inland Pacific Northwest of the USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Akinori Takeuchi ,
Angela J. Goodwin ,
Bryan G. Moravec ,
Peter B. Larson  and
C. Kent Keller
Akinori Takeuchi*
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 642812, Pullman WA 99164-2812, USA
Angela J. Goodwin
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 642812, Pullman WA 99164-2812, USA
Bryan G. Moravec
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 642812, Pullman WA 99164-2812, USA
Peter B. Larson
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 642812, Pullman WA 99164-2812, USA
C. Kent Keller
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 642812, Pullman WA 99164-2812, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author.

E-mail address:[email protected] (A. Takeuchi).

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Abstract

Large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns determine the quantity and seasonality of precipitation, the major source of water in most terrestrial ecosystems. Oxygen isotope (δ18O) dynamics of the present-day hydrologic system in the Palouse region of the northwestern U.S.A. indicate a seasonal correlation between the δ18O values of precipitation and temperature, but no seasonal trends of δ18O records in soil water and shallow groundwater. Their isotope values are close to those of winter precipitation because the Palouse receives ∼ 75% of its precipitation during winter. Palouse Loess deposits contain late Pleistocene pedogenic carbonate having ca. 2 to 3‰ higher δ18O values and up to 5‰ higher carbon isotope (δ13C) values than Holocene and modern carbonates. The late Pleistocene δ18O values are best explained by a decrease in isotopically light winter precipitation relative to the modern winter-dominated infiltration. The δ13C values are attributed to a proportional increase of atmospheric CO2 in soil CO2 due to a decrease in soil respiration rate and 13C discrimination in plants under much drier paleoclimate conditions than today. The regional climate difference was likely related to anticyclonic circulation over the Pleistocene Laurentide and Ice Sheet.

Keywords

Stable isotopesHydrologic cyclePaleoclimatePedogenic carbonateLate QuaternaryNorth America
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 72 , Issue 2 , September 2009 , pp. 198 - 206
Copyright
University of Washington

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Footnotes

1 Current address: Environmental Chemistry Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan.
2 Current address: School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.

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