Title
Control of seasonal and inter-annual rainfall distribution on the Strontium-Neodymium isotopic compositions of suspended particulate matter and implications for tracing ENSO events in the Pacific coast (Tumbes basin, Peru)
Date Issued
01 January 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
The geochemistry of riverine sediments exported to the oceans is important for paleo-hydro-climatic reconstruction. However, climate reconstruction requires a good understanding of the relationship between geochemistry and hydrological variability and sediment sources. In this study, we analyzed the major elements, the strontium‑neodymium radiogenic isotopes signatures (87Sr/86Sr and εNd) and the mineralogy of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) sampled monthly during two hydrologic years (2007–2008, a wet year, and 2010–2011, a normal hydrological year) upstream the Tumbes River outlet. The hydroclimate of this Ecuador-Peru binational basin is particularly sensitive to ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) events. While mineralogy (dominated by illite) and the chemical alteration index (from 75 to 82) remain almost constant along the two hydrological years, 87Sr/86Sr (0.7115 to 0.7176) and εNd (−7.8 to −1.9) signatures are particularly sensitive to discharge and SPM concentration variations. Along the hydrological year, two sources control the εNd variability: (1) volcanic rocks, which dominate during the dry season, and (2) plutonic/metamorphic sources, whose contribution increases during the wet season. This behavior is confirmed by the correlation between εNd signature and the monthly rainfall contribution from volcanic area (R = 0.58; p-value < 0.01), and also with the daily discharge at the outlet (R = -0.73; p-value < 0.01). For most of the samples, 87Sr/86Sr is less variable along the hydrological year. However, two exceptional high discharge and SPM concentration conditions sampled exhibit more radiogenic (higher) 87Sr/86Sr signatures when plutonic/metamorphic rocks derived sediments are released in sufficient quantities to notably change the SPM isotopic Sr value of the Tumbes River. Hence, this study demonstrates that 87Sr/86Sr and εNd signatures can be used as powerful proxies for paleoclimate reconstructions based on sediment core's analysis in relation with spatial rainfall distribution and intensity in Pacific sedimentary basins submitted to the diversity of ENSO events.
Volume
185
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Física nuclear Oceanografía, Hidrología, Recursos hídricos Meteorología y ciencias atmosféricas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85075485904
Source
Global and Planetary Change
ISSN of the container
09218181
Sponsor(s)
Funding text 1 This study was supported by the Peruvian Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas PPR-068 program “Reducción de Vulnerabilidad y Atención de Emergencias por Desastres”, INNÓVATE PERÚ (www. innovateperu.gob.pe ) and FONDECYT through the projects “Monitoreo, caracterización identifcación de las principales fuentes de erosión y sedimentos durante fuertes crecidas o eventos extremos El Niño en las cuencas binacionales Puyango-Tumbes y Zarumilla” and “Monitoreo de Sedimentos Ante Riesgos y Desastres (MoSARD)”, respectively. This work was also funded by the French Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) and the French Institut des Sciences de l'Univers (INSU) through the HYBAM Observatory which is part of the Research Infrastructure OZCAR (French network of Critical Zone Observatories: Research and Applications), by French Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) ANR-15-JCLI-0003-03 BELMONT FORUM PACMEDY and by the Programme “Emergences” of the City of Paris “Chemical weathering of sediments inlarge tropical floodplains” ( agreement205DDEEES165 ). We especially thank Pascal Fraizy, Philippe Vauchel, William Santini, Elisa Armijos, Nore Arevalo, the SENAMHI (Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología — Lima Peru and La Paz Bolivia), the UNALM (Universidad Nacional Agraria de La Molina, Lima — Peru) and all members of the SO HYBAM (Hydrogeodynamics of the Amazon basin), for providing hydrological and SPM sampling and concentration data. We also thank Mathieu Benoit for his help in TIMS analyses, Michel Thibaut for the DRX analyses both from the GET Laboratory and Sandrine Caquineau from the LOCEAN laboratory for her help in semi-quantitative analyses on DRX data. We also thank Nicole Fernandez for the English proofreading of this manuscript. We also thank Jamie Woodward (University of Manchester) and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments along the review process.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología del Perú Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear Scopus