General
Carbon has two stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. In nature, the 12C isotope comprises 98.89% of all carbon and 13C makes up the remaining 1.11%. A variety of physico-chemical processes whose rates are mass-dependent, such as kinetic reactions involving diffusion, and temperature-controlled equilibrium reactions serve to “fractionate” the isotopes into proportions slightly different from the bulk averages. These isotopes are therefore most useful when used in tandem as isotope ratios (13C/12C) in order to explore paleoclimates and paleoenvironments. Carbon isotopes are preserved and expressed in the bulk composition of a wide variety of materials such as shells, speleothems, bones, leaves, peat, soils, sediments, wood, and food, and more recently in the composition of specific compounds or biomarkers contained therein. In some cases, the climate influence may be quite direct, but in many others the isotopic variations are less direct, linked to climate effects on the global...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Bert, D., Leavitt, S.W., and Dupouey, J.-L., 1997. Variations of wood δ 13C and water-use efficiency of Abies alba during the last century. Ecology, 78, 1588–1596.
Böhm, F., Haase-Schramm, A., Eisenhauer, A., Dullo, W.-C., Joachimski, M.M., Lehnert, H., and Reitner, J., 2002. Evidence for preindustrial variations in the marine surface water carbonate system from coralline sponges. Geochem. Geophys. Geosys., 3(3), 10.1029/2001GC000264.
Cerling, T.E., Ehleringer, J.R., and Harris, J.M., 1998. Carbon dioxide starvation, the development of C4 ecosystems, and mammalian evolution. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond B, 353, 159–171.
Coltrain, J., and Leavitt, S.W., 2002. Climate and diet in Fremont prehistory: Economic variability and abandonment of maize agriculture in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Am. Antiquity, 67, 453–485.
Coplen, T.B., 1996. New guidelines for reporting stable hydrogen, carbon and oxygen isotope-ratio data. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 602, 3359–3360.
Coplen, T.B., Winograd, I.J., Landwehr, J.M., and Riggs, A.C., 1994. 500,000-year stable carbon isotopic record from Devils Hole, Nevada. Science, 263, 361–365.
Ehleringer, J.R., Cerling, T.E., and Helliker, B.R., 1997. C4 photosynthesis, atmospheric CO2, and climate. Oecologia, 112, 285–299.
Emiliani, C., 1972. Quaternary paleotemperatures and the duration of the high-temperature intervals. Science, 178, 398–401.
Farquhar, G.D., 1983. On the nature of carbon isotope discrimination in C4 species. Aust. J. Plant Physiol., 10, 205–226.
Farquhar, G.D., O’Leary, M.H., and Berry, J.A., 1982. On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Aust. J. Plant Physiol., 9, 121–137.
Frappier, A., Sahagian, D., Gonzalez, L.A., and Carpenter, S.J., 2002. El Niño events recorded by stalagmite carbon isotopes. Science, 298, 565.
Hoefs, J., 1987. Stable Isotope Geochemistry. New York: Springer.
Hinrichs, K.-U., Hmelo, L.R., and Sylva, S.P., 2003. Molecular fossil record of elevated methane levels in Late Pleistocene coastal waters. Science, 299, 1214–1217.
Huang, Y., Street-Perrott, F.A., Metcalfe, S.E., Brenner, M., Moreland, M., and Freeman, K.H., 2001. Dominant control on glacial-interglacial variations in C3 and C4 plant abundance. Science, 293, 1647–1651.
Kennett, J.P., Cannariato, K.G., Hendy, I.L., and Behl, R.J., 2000. Carbon isotopic evidence for methane hydrate instability during Quaternary interstadials. Science, 288, 128–133.
Leavitt, S.W., and Long, A., 1989. Drought indicated in carbon-13/carbon-12 ratios of southwestern tree rings. Water Resour. Bull., 25, 341–347.
Monger, H.C., Cole, D.R., Gish, J.W., and Giordano, T.H., 1998. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in Quaternary soil carbonates as indicators of ecogeomorphic changes in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA. Geoderma, 82, 137–172.
Pagani, M., Freeman, K.H., and Arthur, M.A., 1999. Late Miocene atmospheric CO2 concentrations and the expansion of C4 grasses. Nature, 285, 876–879.
Quade, J., and Cerling, T.E., 1995. Expansion of C4 grasses in the late Miocene of northern Pakistan: Evidence from stable isotopes in paleosols. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 115, 91–116.
Quay, P.D., Tilbrook, B., and Wong, C.S., 1992. Oceanic uptake of fossil fuel CO2: Carbon-13 evidence. Science, 256, 74–79.
Robertson, I., Switsur, V.R., Carter, A.H.C., Barker, A.C., Waterhouse, J.S., Briffa, K.R., and Jones, P.D., 1997. Signal strength and climate relationships in 13C/12C ratios of tree ring cellulose from oak in east England. J. Geophys. Res., 102, 19507–19516.
Shackleton, N.J., and Kennett, J.P., 1975. Paleotemperature history of the Cenozoic and initiation of Antarctic glaciation: Oxygen and carbon isotope analysis in the DSDP sites 277, 279 and 281. Initial Rep. DSDP, 29, 743–755.
Shackleton, N.J., Hall, M.A., Line, J., and Shuxi, X., 1983. Carbon isotope data in core V19-30 confirm reduced carbon dioxide concentrations in the ice age atmosphere. Nature, 306, 319–322.
Swart, P.K., Leder, J.J., Szmant, A., and Dodge, R.E., 1996. The origin of variations in the isotopic record of scleractinian corals: I Carbon. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta, 60, 2871–2886.
Van de Water, P.K., Leavitt, S.W., and Betancourt, J.B., 1994. Trends in stomatal density and 13C/12C leaves during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Science, 264, 239–243.
Zachos, J., Pagani, M., Sloan, L., Thomas, E., and Billups, K., 2001. Trends, rhythms, and aberrations in global climate 65 Ma to present. Science, 292, 686–693.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag
About this entry
Cite this entry
Leavitt, S.W. (2009). Carbon Isotopes, Stable. In: Gornitz, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_32
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4551-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4411-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences