Neodymium and Strontium isotopes as source indicators for terrigenous sediments deposited in NE Brazil

Itxaso Ruiz; Leopoldo Pena

doi:10.21701/bolgeomin.129.4.003

Authors

Itxaso Ruiz Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Count
Leopoldo Pena Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics, University of Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21701/bolgeomin.129.4.003

Keywords:

Neodymium (Nd), paleoclimate, sedimentary basin, source, Strontium (Sr)

Abstract

This study investigates the sedimentary origin of materials deposited by the Amazon River over the last 30 kyr BP and reconstructs the precipitation pattern of the source area at the time of the erosion. For this purpose, fifteen samples of a down-core sediment record from the French Guiana margin have been used to analyse neodymium (Nd) and strontium (Sr) isotope ratios. The sample results (Sr: 0.71385±0.00166; ε_Nd: -11.67±0.55) suggest that the western Amazon basin catchment area is the main source of the terrigenous material, and point to the Solimões river basin as the most probable origin. This study also discusses the strong coherence between the registered millennial events and the atmospheric settings of the region, which indicate humid land conditions for the Heinrich Stadials 1 and 2 compared to the Last Glacial Maximum, and during the Last Glacial Maximum compared to the early Holocene.

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