Articles | Volume 12, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3913-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3913-2015
Research article
 | 
29 Jun 2015
Research article |  | 29 Jun 2015

Coupling δ2H and δ18O biomarker results yields information on relative humidity and isotopic composition of precipitation – a climate transect validation study

M. Tuthorn, R. Zech, M. Ruppenthal, Y. Oelmann, A. Kahmen, H. F. del Valle, T. Eglinton, K. Rozanski, and M. Zech

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AR by Michael Zech on behalf of the Authors (03 Jun 2015)  Author's response    Manuscript
ED: Publish as is (06 Jun 2015) by Yakov Kuzyakov
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Short summary
Stable water isotopes (18O/16O and 2H/1H) are invaluable proxies for paleoclimate research. Here we use a coupled 18O/16O and 2H/1H biomarker approach based on plant-derived sugars and n-alkanes. Applying this innovative approach to a topsoil transect allows for (i) calculating the deuterium-excess of leaf water as a proxy for relative humidity and (ii) calculating the plant source water isotopic composition (~precipitation). The approach is validated by the presented climate transect results.
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