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Can stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes from Australian subfossil Chironomus head capsules be used as proxies for past temperature change?

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Abstract

This paper presents the first systematic investigation of stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) from the subfossil chironomid head capsules (HCs) of a single taxon (Chironomus). The study focuses on sixteen south-eastern Australian lakes and investigates the potential of Chironomus spp. HC stable isotopes to reconstruct past temperature changes from these lakes. The relationship between δ18O values of Chironomus spp. HCs from Australian oligotrophic to mesotrophic lakes in humid areas and air temperature appears robust (r = 0.88) and in line with results from European lakes. Similar results were obtained for δ2H values and temperature (r = 0.94). For lakes that are located in semi-arid and sub-humid areas that have high evaporation compared to precipitation, and often long water residence time, the temperature relationship is not robust. This is due to the evaporative enrichment of δ18O values in lake water and the effect of salinity and higher nutrient status. Vital effects may also play a role. The overall findings of this study are that both Chironomus spp. HC δ18O and δ2H are potentially valuable tools for reconstructing temperature in cooler, low nutrient and low salinity lakes of Australia. In warmer, sub-humid to semi-arid regions, δ18O and δ2H may provide valuable information about past changes in hydrological conditions.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for field work and sample analyses of this work was provided through Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant DP110103081. We thank the Forensic and Scientific Services (FSS), Queensland Health for water chemistry analyses; Lydia Mackenzie, Abdollah Jarihani for field assistance; the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (DPIWE), the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP) for the permission of sample collection. We also thank Dr. Matthew Jones (Nottingham) for the general discussion about stable isotopes and our data; Tanya Katzman (Purdue) for the assistance in training on the PSI lab high Temperature Conversion Elemental Analyzer (TC/EA) equipment. We thank 2 anonymous reviewers and the editors for their insights and useful comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, University of Queensland, Level 4, Chamberlain Building (35), St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Jie Christine Chang, James Shulmeister & Craig Woodward

  2. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 Beijing E Rd, Xuanwu, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China

    Jie Christine Chang

  3. Institute for Environmental Research, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, New Illawarra Rd, Lucas Heights, NSW, 2234, Australia

    Craig Woodward

  4. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Dr., West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Greg Michalski

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  1. Jie Christine Chang
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Correspondence to Jie Christine Chang.

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Chang, J.C., Shulmeister, J., Woodward, C. et al. Can stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes from Australian subfossil Chironomus head capsules be used as proxies for past temperature change?. J Paleolimnol 56, 331–348 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-016-9920-4

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