The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia
Tufa is a fresh-water surface calcium carbonate deposit precipitated at or near ambient temperature, and commonly contains the remains of macro- and microphytes. Many Holocene tufas are found along the Zrmanja River, Dalmatian karst, Croatia. In this work we present radiocarbon dating results of old...
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| author | Jadranka Barešić Sanja Faivre Andreja Sironić Damir Borković Ivanka Lovrenčić Mikelić Russel N. Drysdale Ines Krajcar Bronić |
| author_facet | Jadranka Barešić Sanja Faivre Andreja Sironić Damir Borković Ivanka Lovrenčić Mikelić Russel N. Drysdale Ines Krajcar Bronić |
| author_sort | Jadranka Barešić |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tufa is a fresh-water surface calcium carbonate deposit precipitated at or near ambient temperature, and commonly contains the remains of macro- and microphytes. Many Holocene tufas are found along the Zrmanja River, Dalmatian karst, Croatia. In this work we present radiocarbon dating results of older tufa that was found for the first time at the Zrmanja River near the Village of Sanaderi. Tufa outcrops were observed at different levels, between the river bed and up to 26 m above its present level. Radiocarbon dating of the carbonate fraction revealed ages from modern, at the river bed, up to 40 kBP ~20 m above its present level. These ages fit well with the hypothesis that the Zrmanja River had a previous surface connection with the Krka River, and changed its flow direction toward the Novigrad Sea approximately 40 kBP (Marine Isotope Stage 3). Radiocarbon AMS dating of tufa organic residue yielded a maximum conventional age of 17 kBP for the highest outcrop position indicating probable penetration of younger organic material to hollow tufa structures, as confirmed by radiocarbon analyses of humin extracted from the samples. Stable carbon isotope composition (<i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C) of the carbonate fraction of (−10.4 ± 0.6)‰ and (−9.7 ± 0.8)‰ for the Holocene and the older samples, respectively, indicate the autochthonous origin of the carbonate. The δ<sup>13</sup>C values of (−30.5 ± 0.3)‰ and (−29.6 ± 0.6)‰ for organic residue, having ages <500 BP and >5000 BP, respectively, suggest a unique carbon source for photosynthesis, mainly atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, with an indication of the Suess effect in δ<sup>13</sup>C during last centuries. The oxygen isotopic composition (<i>δ</i><sup>18</sup>O) agrees well with deposition of tufa samples in two stages, the Holocene (−8.02 ± 0.72‰) and “old” (mainly MIS 3 and the beginning of MIS 2) (−6.89 ± 0.34‰), suggesting a ~4 °C lower temperature in MIS 3 compared to the current one. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:38:38Z |
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| id | doaj.art-571591b4c43348fe8de56b2600d3f4c6 |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:38:38Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-571591b4c43348fe8de56b2600d3f4c62023-11-22T13:16:01ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632021-09-0111937610.3390/geosciences11090376The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, CroatiaJadranka Barešić0Sanja Faivre1Andreja Sironić2Damir Borković3Ivanka Lovrenčić Mikelić4Russel N. Drysdale5Ines Krajcar Bronić6Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaRuđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaRuđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaRuđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaSchool of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3010, AustraliaRuđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaTufa is a fresh-water surface calcium carbonate deposit precipitated at or near ambient temperature, and commonly contains the remains of macro- and microphytes. Many Holocene tufas are found along the Zrmanja River, Dalmatian karst, Croatia. In this work we present radiocarbon dating results of older tufa that was found for the first time at the Zrmanja River near the Village of Sanaderi. Tufa outcrops were observed at different levels, between the river bed and up to 26 m above its present level. Radiocarbon dating of the carbonate fraction revealed ages from modern, at the river bed, up to 40 kBP ~20 m above its present level. These ages fit well with the hypothesis that the Zrmanja River had a previous surface connection with the Krka River, and changed its flow direction toward the Novigrad Sea approximately 40 kBP (Marine Isotope Stage 3). Radiocarbon AMS dating of tufa organic residue yielded a maximum conventional age of 17 kBP for the highest outcrop position indicating probable penetration of younger organic material to hollow tufa structures, as confirmed by radiocarbon analyses of humin extracted from the samples. Stable carbon isotope composition (<i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C) of the carbonate fraction of (−10.4 ± 0.6)‰ and (−9.7 ± 0.8)‰ for the Holocene and the older samples, respectively, indicate the autochthonous origin of the carbonate. The δ<sup>13</sup>C values of (−30.5 ± 0.3)‰ and (−29.6 ± 0.6)‰ for organic residue, having ages <500 BP and >5000 BP, respectively, suggest a unique carbon source for photosynthesis, mainly atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, with an indication of the Suess effect in δ<sup>13</sup>C during last centuries. The oxygen isotopic composition (<i>δ</i><sup>18</sup>O) agrees well with deposition of tufa samples in two stages, the Holocene (−8.02 ± 0.72‰) and “old” (mainly MIS 3 and the beginning of MIS 2) (−6.89 ± 0.34‰), suggesting a ~4 °C lower temperature in MIS 3 compared to the current one.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/9/376radiocarbon datingcarbonate and organic fractionhuminC and O stable isotope compositiontufahard-water effect |
| spellingShingle | Jadranka Barešić Sanja Faivre Andreja Sironić Damir Borković Ivanka Lovrenčić Mikelić Russel N. Drysdale Ines Krajcar Bronić The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia Geosciences radiocarbon dating carbonate and organic fraction humin C and O stable isotope composition tufa hard-water effect |
| title | The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia |
| title_full | The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia |
| title_fullStr | The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia |
| title_short | The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia |
| title_sort | potential of tufa as a tool for paleoenvironmental research a study of tufa from the zrmanja river canyon croatia |
| topic | radiocarbon dating carbonate and organic fraction humin C and O stable isotope composition tufa hard-water effect |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/9/376 |
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