High-precision 14C measurements of parenchyma-rich Hymenolobium petraeum tree species confirm bomb-peak atmospheric levels and reveal local fossil-fuel CO2 emissions in the Central Amazon.

Atmospheric radiocarbon (14C) recorded in tree rings has been widely used for atmospheric 14C calibration purposes and climate studies. But atmospheric 14C records have been limited along tropical latitudes. Here we report a sequence from 1938 to 2007 of precisely measured 14C dates in tree rings of the parenchyma-rich Hymenolobium petraeum tree species (Porto Trombetas, 1°S, 56°W) from the Central Brazilian Amazon. H. petraeum has discernible growth ring boundaries that allow dating techniques to be employed to produce calendrical dates. Bomb-peak tree-ring 14C reconstruction coincides with the broader changes associated with reported values of the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric 14C curve (SH zone 3; values within the ±2σ interval), suggesting that inter-hemispheric air-mass transport of excess-14C injected into the stratosphere during intensive atmospheric nuclear tests is relatively uniform across distinct longitudinal regions. From the early 1980s onwards, H. petraeum had lower 14C values than other pantropical 14C records. Through 14C-based estimation, we found a strong influence of fossil-fuel CO2 contributions from Porto Trombetas mining operations and shipping traffic on inland waterways. An increase of at least 6.3 ± 0.8 ppm of fossil-fuel CO2 has been detected by 14C. Our findings invite further 14C analyses using tree rings of tropical tree species as a potential tracer for a wide range of environmental sources of atmospheric 14C-variability.

North Atlantic forcing of tropical Indian Ocean climate.

The response of the tropical climate in the Indian Ocean realm to abrupt climate change events in the North Atlantic Ocean is contentious. Repositioning of the intertropical convergence zone is thought to have been responsible for changes in tropical hydroclimate during North Atlantic cold spells, but the dearth of high-resolution records outside the monsoon realm in the Indian Ocean precludes a full understanding of this remote relationship and its underlying mechanisms. Here we show that slowdowns of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during Heinrich stadials and the Younger Dryas stadial affected the tropical Indian Ocean hydroclimate through changes to the Hadley circulation including a southward shift in the rising branch (the intertropical convergence zone) and an overall weakening over the southern Indian Ocean. Our results are based on new, high-resolution sea surface temperature and seawater oxygen isotope records of well-dated sedimentary archives from the tropical eastern Indian Ocean for the past 45,000 years, combined with climate model simulations of Atlantic circulation slowdown under Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 3 boundary conditions. Similar conditions in the east and west of the basin rule out a zonal dipole structure as the dominant forcing of the tropical Indian Ocean hydroclimate of millennial-scale events. Results from our simulations and proxy data suggest dry conditions in the northern Indian Ocean realm and wet and warm conditions in the southern realm during North Atlantic cold spells.

Orbital modulation of subtropical versus subantarctic moisture sources in the southeast Pacific mid-latitudes.

Reconstructing rainfall variability and moisture sources is a critical aspect to understand past and future hydroclimate dynamics. Here, we use changes in the deuterium content of land-plant leaf waxes from two marine sediment cores located off Chile to reconstruct changes in rainfall amount and variation in moisture sources over the last ~50 ka. The records indicate increased moisture in central Chile during precession maxima, but an obliquity modulation is evident in southern Chile. While the southern westerly winds are the dominant factor of precipitation in southern Chile by bringing moisture and perturbations from the extratropics, the subtropics represent an additional moisture source during precession maxima due to a stronger subtropical jet increasing moisture transport from the tropics to the mid-latitudes. These findings imply that a combination of orbital modulation of moisture sources and rainfall amount explains the last glacial moisture maximum and early Holocene moisture minimum in south-central Chile.

A novel post-1950 CE atmospheric 14C record for the tropics using absolutely dated tree rings in the equatorial Amazon.

In this study, we present a comprehensive atmospheric radiocarbon (14C) record spanning from 1940 to 2016, derived from 77 single tree rings of Cedrela odorata located in the Eastern Amazon Basin (EAB). This record, comprising 175 high-precision 14C measurements obtained through accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), offers a detailed chronology of post-1950 CE (Common Era) 14C fluctuations in the Tropical Low-Pressure Belt (TLPB). To ensure accuracy and reliability, we included 14C-AMS results from intra-annual successive cuts of the tree rings associated to the calendar years 1962 and 1963 and conducted interlaboratory comparisons. In addition, 14C concentrations in 1962 and 1963 single-year cuts also allowed to verify tissue growth seasonality. The strategic location of the tree, just above the Amazon River and estuary areas, prevented the influence of local fossil-CO2 emissions from mining and trade activities in the Central Amazon Basin on the 14C record. Our findings reveal a notable increase in 14C from land-respired CO2 starting in the 1970s, a decade earlier than previously predicted, followed by a slight decrease after 2000, signaling a transition towards the fossil fuel era. This shift is likely attributed to changes in reservoir sources or global atmospheric dynamics. The EAB 14C record, when compared with a shorter record from Muna Island, Indonesia, highlights regional differences and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of global 14C variations at low latitudes. This study not only fills critical spatial gaps in existing 14C compilations but also aids in refining the demarcation of 14C variations over South America. The extended tree-ring 14C record from the EAB is pivotal for reevaluating global patterns, particularly in the context of the current global carbon budget, and underscores the importance of tropical regions in understanding carbon-climate feedbacks.

A source of isotopically light organic carbon in a low-pH anoxic marine zone.

Geochemical and stable isotope measurements in the anoxic marine zone (AMZ) off northern Chile during periods of contrasting oceanographic conditions indicate that microbial processes mediating sulfur and nitrogen cycling exert a significant control on the carbonate chemistry (pH, AT, DIC and pCO2) of this region. Here we show that in 2015, a large isotopic fractionation between DIC and POC, a DIC and N deficit in AMZ waters indicate the predominance of in situ dark carbon fixation by sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification in addition to anammox. In 2018, however, the fractionation between DIC and POC was significantly lower, while the total alkalinity increased in the low-pH AMZ core, suggesting a predominance of heterotrophic processes. An isotope mass-balance model demonstrates that variations in the rates of sulfur- and nitrogen-mediated carbon fixation in AMZ waters contribute ~7-35% of the POC exported to deeper waters. Thus, dark carbon fixation should be included in assessments of future changes in carbon cycling and carbonate chemistry due to AMZ expansion.

Radiocarbon bomb-peak signal in tree-rings from the tropical Andes register low latitude atmospheric dynamics in the Southern Hemisphere.

South American tropical climate is strongly related to the tropical low-pressure belt associated with the South American monsoon system. Despite its central societal role as a modulating agent of rainfall in tropical South America, its long-term dynamical variability is still poorly understood. Here we combine a new (and world's highest) tree-ring 14C record from the Altiplano plateau in the central Andes with other 14C records from the Southern Hemisphere during the second half of the 20th century in order to elucidate the latitudinal gradients associated with the dissemination of the bomb 14C signal. Our tree-ring 14C record faithfully captured the bomb signal of the 1960's with an excellent match to atmospheric 14C measured in New Zealand but with significant differences with a recent record from Southeast Brazil located at almost equal latitude. These results imply that the spreading of the bomb signal throughout the Southern Hemisphere was a complex process that depended on atmospheric dynamics and surface topography generating reversals on the expected north-south gradient in certain years. We applied air-parcel modeling based on climate data to disentangle their different geographical provenances and their preformed (reservoir affected) radiocarbon content. We found that air parcel trajectories arriving at the Altiplano during the bomb period were sourced i) from the boundary layer in contact with the Pacific Ocean (41%), ii) from the upper troposphere (air above the boundary layer, with no contact with oceanic or continental carbon reservoirs) (38%) and iii) from the Amazon basin (21%). Based on these results we estimated the ∆14C endmember values for the different carbon reservoirs affecting our record which suggest that the Amazon basin biospheric 14C isoflux could have been reversed from negative to positive as early as the beginning of the 1970's. This would imply a much faster carbon turnover rate in the Amazon than previously modelled.

A late Pleistocene human footprint from the Pilauco archaeological site, northern Patagonia, Chile.

The present study describes the discovery of a singular sedimentary structure corresponding to an ichnite that was excavated at the paleo-archaeological site Pilauco (Osorno, Chile). The trace fossil is associated with megafauna bones, plant material and unifacial lithic tools. Here we present a detailed analysis of the Pilauco ichnite and associated sedimentary structures, as well as new radiocarbon data. The ichnological analysis confidently assigns the trace to the ichnospecies Hominipes modernus-a hominoid footprint usually related to Homo sapiens. Some particular characteristics of the Pilauco trace include an elongated distal hallux, lateral digit impressions obliterated by the collapsed sediment, and sediment lumps inside and around the trace. In order to evaluate the origin of the ichnite, trackmaking experiments are performed on re-hydrated fossil bed sediments. The results demonstrate that a human agent could easily generate a footprint morphology equivalent to the sedimentary structure when walking on a saturated substrate. Based on the evidence, we conclude that the trackmaker might well have been a bare-footed adult human. This finding, along with the presence of lithic artifacts in the same sedimentary levels, might represent further evidence for a pre-Clovis South American colonization of northern Patagonia, as originally proposed for the nearby Monte Verde site.

The pre-Columbian introduction and dispersal of Algarrobo (Prosopis, Section Algarobia) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.

Archaeological and palaeoecological studies throughout the Americas have documented widespread landscape and environmental transformation during the pre-Columbian era. The highly dynamic Formative (or Neolithic) period in northern Chile (ca. 3700-1550 yr BP) brought about the local establishment of agriculture, introduction of new crops (maize, quinoa, manioc, beans, etc.) along with a major population increase, new emergent villages and technological innovations. Even trees such as the Algarrobos (Prosopis section Algarobia) may have been part of this transformation. Here, we provide evidence that these species were not native to the Atacama Desert of Chile (18-27°S), appearing only in the late Holocene and most likely due to human actions. We assembled a database composed of 41 taxon specific AMS radiocarbon dates from archaeobotanical and palaeoecological records (rodent middens, leaf litter deposits), as well an extensive bibliographical review comprising archaeobotanical, paleoecological, phylogenetic and taxonomic data to evaluate the chronology of introduction and dispersal of these trees. Although Algarrobos could have appeared as early as 4200 yr BP in northernmost Chile, they only became common throughout the Atacama over a thousand years later, during and after the Formative period. Cultural and natural factors likely contributed to its spread and consolidation as a major silvicultural resource.

Carbon isotope records reveal precise timing of enhanced Southern Ocean upwelling during the last deglaciation.

The Southern Ocean plays a prominent role in the Earth's climate and carbon cycle. Changes in the Southern Ocean circulation may have regulated the release of CO2 to the atmosphere from a deep-ocean reservoir during the last deglaciation. However, the path and exact timing of this deglacial CO2 release are still under debate. Here we present measurements of deglacial surface reservoir ¹4C age changes in the eastern Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, obtained by ¹4C dating of tephra deposited over the marine and terrestrial regions. These results, along with records of foraminifera benthic-planktic ¹4C age and δ¹³C difference, provide evidence for three periods of enhanced upwelling in the Southern Ocean during the last deglaciation, supporting the hypothesis that Southern Ocean upwelling contributed to the deglacial rise in atmospheric CO2. These independently dated marine records suggest synchronous changes in the Southern Ocean circulation and Antarctic climate during the last deglaciation.