A Paleogene Silicon Stable Isotope Record: Long-Term Carbon and Silicon Cycling Interaction Revealed By Sponges and Radiolarians

Abstract:

Silicon and carbon cycling are related both on short time scales via the uptake of carbon dioxide and dissolved silica (DSi) by diatoms, and on geological time scales via weathering of silicate rocks consuming carbon dioxide. Long-term changes in oceanic silicon cycling and DSi concentration have been mostly attributed to the evolution of siliceous organisms, especially the colonization of the surface waters by diatoms and their diversification. Thus, impacts of geological mechanisms and changes in carbon cycling have been, in our opinion, overlooked. During the past decade, progress has been made in using silicon isotopes in marine archives to investigate the paleo-silicon cycle. Silicon isotope fractionation in siliceous sponges is closely related to ambient DSi concentration. It follows from this relationship that sponge spicules from marine sediment cores provide a good proxy for reconstructing the paleo-DSi concentration and isotopic composition. The Paleogene period (65.5 to 23Ma) is highly relevant for studying the long-term silicon and carbon cycling relationship due to radiance of diatoms, high variability in the carbon cycle and initiation of the Himalayan orogeny.

Here, we will present a sponge spicules and radiolarian silicon isotopes record from ODP Leg 171B (Blake Nose, Western North Atlantic) spanning most of the Paleogene. Our data show similar patterns in both foraminiferal carbon and spicule silicon stable isotopes, providing information on the mechanisms coupling the long-term silicon and carbon cycle.