Is my C isotope excursion global, local, or both? Insights from the Mg and Ca isotopic composition of primary, diagenetic, and authigenic carbonates

Abstract:

The C isotopic composition of ancient limestones and dolomites is a widely used proxy for the global geochemical cycles of carbon and oxygen in the ocean-atmosphere system and a critical tool for chemostratigraphy in Precambrian rocks. Although relatively robust to diagenesis, the C isotopic composition of bulk carbonates can be reset when conditions favor high water-to-rock ratios or fluids with high C concentrations and distinct isotopic compositions. Authigenic carbonates and different pools of primary carbonate (e.g. calcite vs. aragonite) may also bias the C isotopic composition of bulk carbonates if they are both abundant and isotopically distinct. New approaches to quantifying contributions from diagenesis, authigenesis, and mixing of primary carbonates to the C isotopic composition of bulk sedimentary carbonates are needed.

Here we present preliminary Mg and Ca isotope data sets of primary, diagenetic, and authigenic carbonates, both modern and ancient. We show that recrystallization, dolomitization, and authigenesis produce Mg and Ca isotope fingerprints that may be used to identify and characterize these processes in ancient carbonate sediments.