Chlorine-36 in fossil rat urine: An archive of cosmogenic nuclide deposition during the past 40,000 years

Science

Volumn 277, Issue 5325, 1997, Pages 538-541

  Plummer, Mitchell A ^a   Phillips, Fred M ^a   Fabryka Martin, June ^b   Turin, H J ^b   Wigand, Peter E ^c   Sharma, Pankaj ^d  

^a NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

^b LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^c DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE   (United States)

^d PURDUE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ALUMINUM 26; BERYLLIUM 10; CARBON 14; CHLORINE; CHLORINE 36; HELIUM 3; UNCLASSIFIED DRUG;

CHLORINE-36; COSMOGENIC NUCLIDE; FOSSIL RAT URINE; PALAECLIMATE; QUATERNARY;

ARCHEOLOGY; ARTICLE; CALIBRATION; COSMIC RADIATION; FOSSIL; GEOLOGY; MAGNETIC FIELD; NONHUMAN; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RAT; UNITED STATES;

ANIMALS; ATMOSPHERE; CARBON RADIOISOTOPES; CHLORINE; COSMIC RADIATION; FOSSILS; NEVADA; RADIOISOTOPES; SIGMODONTINAE; TIME FACTORS;

EID: 0030874145     PISSN: 00368075     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1126/science.277.5325.538     Document Type: Article

References (66)

1. W. F. Libby, Radiocarbon Dating (Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1952); H. W. Bentley et al., Water Resour. Res. 22, 1991 (1986); B. E. Lehmann, S. N. Davis, J. T. Fabryka-Martin, ibid. 29, 2027 (1993).
2. W. F. Libby, Radiocarbon Dating (Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1952); H. W. Bentley et al., Water Resour. Res. 22, 1991 (1986); B. E. Lehmann, S. N. Davis, J. T. Fabryka-Martin, ibid. 29, 2027 (1993).
3. W. F. Libby, Radiocarbon Dating (Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1952); H. W. Bentley et al., Water Resour. Res. 22, 1991 (1986); B. E. Lehmann, S. N. Davis, J. T. Fabryka-Martin, ibid. 29, 2027 (1993).
4. P. Bierman and J. Turner, Quat. Res. 44, 378 (1995); T. E. Cerling and H. Craig, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 22, 273 (1994); E. T. Brown, R. F. Stallard, M. C. Larsen, G. M. Raisbeck, F. Yiou, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 129, 193 (1995).
5. P. Bierman and J. Turner, Quat. Res. 44, 378 (1995); T. E. Cerling and H. Craig, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 22, 273 (1994); E. T. Brown, R. F. Stallard, M. C. Larsen, G. M. Raisbeck, F. Yiou, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 129, 193 (1995).
6. P. Bierman and J. Turner, Quat. Res. 44, 378 (1995); T. E. Cerling and H. Craig, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 22, 273 (1994); E. T. Brown, R. F. Stallard, M. C. Larsen, G. M. Raisbeck, F. Yiou, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 129, 193 (1995).
7. F. M. Phillips, Rev. Geophys. 33 (suppl.), 1029 (1995); P. Friedlingstein, K. C. Prentice, I. Y. Fung, J. C. John, G. P. Brasseur, J. Geophys. Res. 100, 7203 (1995); J. D. Morris, W. P. Leeman, F. Tera, Nature 344, 31 (1990).
8. F. M. Phillips, Rev. Geophys. 33 (suppl.), 1029 (1995); P. Friedlingstein, K. C. Prentice, I. Y. Fung, J. C. John, G. P. Brasseur, J. Geophys. Res. 100, 7203 (1995); J. D. Morris, W. P. Leeman, F. Tera, Nature 344, 31 (1990).
9. F. M. Phillips, Rev. Geophys. 33 (suppl.), 1029 (1995); P. Friedlingstein, K. C. Prentice, I. Y. Fung, J. C. John, G. P. Brasseur, J. Geophys. Res. 100, 7203 (1995); J. D. Morris, W. P. Leeman, F. Tera, Nature 344, 31 (1990).
10. 14C years B.P. for age on the uncalibrated radiocarbon time scale. Ages beyond ∼15 ka are outside the range of radiocarbon calibration and are therefore approximate actual ages.
11. M. Stuiver, T. F. Braziunas, B. Becker, B. Kromer, Quat. Res. 35, 1 (1991).
12. E. Bard, M. Arnold, R. G. Fairbanks, B. Hamelin, Radiocarbon 35, 191 (1993).
13. R. L. Edwards et al., Science 260, 962 (1993).
14. Y. Lao et al., Nature 357, 576 (1992); C. Robinson, G. M. Raisbeck, F. Yiou, B. Lehman, C. Laj, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 136, 551 (1995); L. R. McHargue, P. E. Damon, D. J. Donahue, Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 659 (1995).
15. Y. Lao et al., Nature 357, 576 (1992); C. Robinson, G. M. Raisbeck, F. Yiou, B. Lehman, C. Laj, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 136, 551 (1995); L. R. McHargue, P. E. Damon, D. J. Donahue, Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 659 (1995).
16. Y. Lao et al., Nature 357, 576 (1992); C. Robinson, G. M. Raisbeck, F. Yiou, B. Lehman, C. Laj, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 136, 551 (1995); L. R. McHargue, P. E. Damon, D. J. Donahue, Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 659 (1995).
17. A. Mazaud, C. Laj, E. Bard, E. Tric, Geophys. Res. Lett. 18, 1885 (1991); C. Laj, A. Mazaud, J.-C. Duplessy, ibid. 23, 2045 (1996).
18. A. Mazaud, C. Laj, E. Bard, E. Tric, Geophys. Res. Lett. 18, 1885 (1991); C. Laj, A. Mazaud, J.-C. Duplessy, ibid. 23, 2045 (1996).
19. I. Hajdas, S. D. Ivy-Ochs, G. Bonani, Radiocarbon 37, 75 (1995).
20. R. C. Finkel and K. Nishiizumi, J. Geophys. Res., in press; S. Baumgartner et al., in Solid State Research at Large Facilities, U. Baltensperger and R. Lorenzen, Eds. (annual report, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland, 1995); J. Beer et al., Nature 331, 675 (1988).
21. R. C. Finkel and K. Nishiizumi, J. Geophys. Res., in press; S. Baumgartner et al., in Solid State Research at Large Facilities, U. Baltensperger and R. Lorenzen, Eds. (annual report, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland, 1995); J. Beer et al., Nature 331, 675 (1988).
22. R. C. Finkel and K. Nishiizumi, J. Geophys. Res., in press; S. Baumgartner et al., in Solid State Research at Large Facilities, U. Baltensperger and R. Lorenzen, Eds. (annual report, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland, 1995); J. Beer et al., Nature 331, 675 (1988).
23. D. Lal, Geophys. Res. Lett. 14, 785 (1987).
24. _, in Solar-Terrestrial Relationships and the Earth Environment in the Last Millennia, G. C. Costagnoli, Ed. (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1988), pp. 216-233.
25. P. V. Wells, Quat. Res. 6, 223 (1976).
26. J. L. Betancourt, T. R. Van Devender, P. S. Martin, Packrat Middens: The Last 40,000 Years of Biotic Change (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 1990).
27. K. Schmidt-Neilsen, Desert Animals, Physiological Problems of Heat and Water (Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1964).
28. J. H. Richards, in Mineral Exploration; Biological Systems and Organic Matter, D. Carlisle, W. L. Berry, I. R. Kaplan, J. R. Watterson, Eds. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1986), pp. 82-97; S. W. Tylerand G. R. Walker, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 58, 25 (1994).
29. J. H. Richards, in Mineral Exploration; Biological Systems and Organic Matter, D. Carlisle, W. L. Berry, I. R. Kaplan, J. R. Watterson, Eds. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1986), pp. 82-97; S. W. Tylerand G. R. Walker, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 58, 25 (1994).
30. R. Kaufmann, A. Long, H. Bentley, S. Davis, Nature 309, 338 (1984); T. C. Hoering and P. L. Parker, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 23, 186 (1961).
31. R. Kaufmann, A. Long, H. Bentley, S. Davis, Nature 309, 338 (1984); T. C. Hoering and P. L. Parker, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 23, 186 (1961).
32. M. A. Plummer, thesis, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (1996).
33. F. M. Phillips, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 58, 15 (1994).
34. 3 to precipitate AgCl. Impurities in the AgCl precipitate were then removed by means of standard methods, which are detailed in (19). AgCl from the processed midden samples was analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry at the Rochester Nuclear Research Structure Laboratory or the Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory.
35. In two instances, dates on limber pine fractions of a midden yielded anomalous ages compared to dates from other fractions; we have discarded those limber pine dates as outliers.
36. Radiocarbon dates were provided by Beta Analytic, Miami, FL. 24. Radiocarbon dates were provided by Krueger Enterprises, Cambridge, MA, and Beta Analytic.
37. 36Cl. Conditions in other middens are similar, and we therefore assume that errors produced by neglecting both radioactive decay and in situ production approximately cancel.
38. 36Cl into the atmosphere from sea-level thermonuclear tests in the 1950s (20).
39. J. T. Fabryka-Martin et al., Distribution of Chlorine-36 in the Unsaturated Zone at Yucca Mountain: an Indicator of Fast Transport Paths, FOCUS '93: Site Characterization and Model Validation, Las Vegas, NV (American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL, 1993).
40. K. O'Brien, J. Geophys. Res. 84, 423 (1979).
41. 14C record.
42. R. E. Newell, Sci. Am. 224, 32 (January 1971).
43. 14C activity of the modern preindustrial age.
44. 14C activity curve in the radiocarbon calibration program CALIB3c (34).
45. T. Goslar et al., Nature 377, 414 (1995).
46. M. Stuiver and P. J. Reimer, Radiocarbon 35, 215 (1993).
47. J. Houtermans, Z. Phys. 193, 1 (1966); J. C. Houtermans, H. E. Suess, H. Oeschger, J. Geophys. Res. 78, 1897 (1973).
48. J. Houtermans, Z. Phys. 193, 1 (1966); J. C. Houtermans, H. E. Suess, H. Oeschger, J. Geophys. Res. 78, 1897 (1973).
49. M. D. Mifflin and M. M. Wheat, Pluvial Lakes and Estimated Pluvial Climates of Nevada (Bulletin 94, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno, NV, 1979); L. Benson and R. S. Thompson, in North America and Adjacent Oceans During the Last Deglaciation, W. F. Ruddiman and H. E. Wright Jr., Eds. (Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 1987), vol. K-3, pp. 241-260.
50. M. D. Mifflin and M. M. Wheat, Pluvial Lakes and Estimated Pluvial Climates of Nevada (Bulletin 94, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno, NV, 1979); L. Benson and R. S. Thompson, in North America and Adjacent Oceans During the Last Deglaciation, W. F. Ruddiman and H. E. Wright Jr., Eds. (Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 1987), vol. K-3, pp. 241-260.
51. K. G. Papke, Evaporites and Brines in Nevada Playas (Bulletin 87, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno, NV, 1976).
52. M. C. Reheis and R. Kihl, J. Geophys. Res. 100, 8893 (1995); W. W. Wood and W. E. Sanford, Water Resour. Res. 31, 3121 (1995).
53. M. C. Reheis and R. Kihl, J. Geophys. Res. 100, 8893 (1995); W. W. Wood and W. E. Sanford, Water Resour. Res. 31, 3121 (1995).
54. J. E. Kutzbach and H. E. Wright Jr., Quat. Sci. Rev. 4, 147 (1985); L. Benson, M. Kashgarian, M. Rubin, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 117, 1 (1995).
55. J. E. Kutzbach and H. E. Wright Jr., Quat. Sci. Rev. 4, 147 (1985); L. Benson, M. Kashgarian, M. Rubin, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 117, 1 (1995).
56. H. W. Bentley, F. M. Phillips, S. N. Davis, in Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, P. Fritz and J. C. Fontes, Eds. (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1986), vol. 2b, pp. 422-475; D. Huggle et al., Planet. Space Sci. 44, 147 (1996).
57. H. W. Bentley, F. M. Phillips, S. N. Davis, in Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, P. Fritz and J. C. Fontes, Eds. (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1986), vol. 2b, pp. 422-475; D. Huggle et al., Planet. Space Sci. 44, 147 (1996).
58. R. M. Forester et al., Synthesis of Quaternary Response of the Yucca Mountain Unsaturated and Saturated Zone Hydrology to Climate Change, 1996 Milestone report 3GCA102M (U.S. Geological Survey-Yucca Mountain Project Branch, Las Vegas, NV, 1997).
59. J. M. Barnola, P. Pimienta, D. Raynaud, Y. S. Korotkevich, Tellus 43B, 83 (1991).
60. K. A. Kvenvolden, Rev. Geophys. 31, 173 (1993).
61. 2: Natural Variations Archean to Present, E. T. Sundquist and W. S. Broecker, Eds. (American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, 1985), pp. 221-233.
62. N. Thouveny, K. Creer, D. Williamson, Global Planet. Change 7, 157 (1993).
63. Y. Guyodo and J.-P. Valet, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 143, 23 (1996).
64. M. Sarnthein et al., Eos (fall suppl.) 77, F14 (1996).
65. 14C reconstruction. These data are in general agreement with many sedimentary paleointensity records that indicate that there was a pronounced paleointensity low between ∼43 and 30 ka (45).
66. We thank S. Sharpe tor sample collection; K. O'Brien, J. Betancourt, W. Broecker, and R. Dorn for helpful discussions; and C. Laj and one anonymous reviewer for their comments on the manuscript. Supported by NSF, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Part of this work was supported and managed by DOE's Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office. The record package containing traceability information is LA-CST-TIP-96-006.