RT Journal Article
T1 Triple oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of gypsum hydration water for quantitative paleo-humidity reconstruction
A1 Gázquez, Fernando
A1 Morellón Marteles, Mario
A1 Bauska, Thomas
A1 Herwartz, Daniel
A1 Surma, Jakub
A1 Moreno, Ana
A1 Staubwasser, Michael
A1 Valero Garcés, Blas
A1 Delgado Huertas, Antonio
A1 Hodell, David
AB Atmospheric relative humidity is an important parameter affecting vegetation yet paleo-humidity proxies are scarce and difficult to calibrate. Here we use triple oxygen (δ^17 O and δ^18 O) and hydrogen (δD) isotopes of structurally-bound gypsum hydration water (GHW) extracted from lacustrine gypsum to quantify past changes in atmospheric relative humidity. An evaporation isotope-mass-balance model is used together with Monte Carlo simulations to determine the range of climatological conditions that simultaneously satisfy the stable isotope results of GHW, and with statistically robust estimates of uncertainty. We apply this method to reconstruct the isotopic composition of paleo-waters of Lake Estanya (NE Spain) and changes in normalized atmospheric relative humidity (RHn) over the last glacial termination and Holocene (from ∼15 to 0.6 cal. kyrs BP). The isotopic record indicates the driest conditions occurred during the Younger Dryas (YD; ∼12–13 cal. kyrs BP). We estimate a RHn of ∼40–45% during the YD, which is ∼30–35% lower than today. Because of the southward displacement of the Polar Front to ∼42°N, it was both windier and drier during the YD than the Bølling–Allerød period and Holocene. Mean atmospheric moisture gradually increased from the Preboreal to Early Holocene (∼11 to 8 cal. kyrs BP, 50–60%), reaching 70–75% RHn from ∼7.5 cal. kyrs BP until present-day. We demonstrate that combining hydrogen and triple oxygen isotopes in GHW provides a powerful tool for quantitative estimates of past changes in relative humidity
PB Elsevier
SN 0012-821X
YR 2018
FD 2018
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95569
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95569
LA eng
NO Gázquez, Fernando, et al. «Triple Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes of Gypsum Hydration Water for Quantitative Paleo-Humidity Reconstruction». Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 481, enero de 2018, pp. 177-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.10.020.
NO European Commission
DS Docta Complutense
RD 31 dic 2025