The application of δ13C, TOC and C/N geochemistry to reconstruct Holocene relative sea levels and paleoenvironments in the Thames Estuary, UK

Abstract

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. We examined the use of δ¹³C, TOC and C/N geochemistry of sedimentary organic matter to reconstruct former sea levels and paleoenvironments in the absence of suitable microfossil data. The modern distribution of δ¹³C, TOC and C/N of 33 vegetation and 74 surface sediment samples collected from four coastal wetlands in the Thames Estuary and Norfolk, UK are described. The δ¹³C, TOC and C/N geochemistry of sediments varied in relation to the input of in situ vascular vegetation versus allochthonous particulate organic matter and algae, which was controlled primarily by tidal inundation. We reviewed published and unpublished studies to produce an English database of vegetation (n=257) and sediment (n=132) δ¹³C, TOC and C/N geochemistry. Four elevation-dependent environments in the database had statistically distinct δ¹³C, TOC and C/N values: (1) tidal flat/low marsh (δ¹³C: -24.9±1.2‰ TOC: 3.6±1.7%; C/N: 9.9±0.8); (2) middle marsh/high (δ¹³C: -26.2±1.0‰ TOC: 9.8±6.7%; C/N: 12.1±1.8); (3) reed swamp (δ¹³C: -27.9±0.7‰: TOC: 36.5±11.5%; C/N: 13.9±1.2); and (4) fen carr (δ¹³C: -29.0±0.6‰ TOC: 41.6±5.7%; C/N: 17.4±3.1). The δ¹³C, TOC and C/N geochemistry database was applied to a Holocene sediment core collected from the Thames Estuary to produce three new sea-level index points and one limiting date, illustrating the utility of δ¹³C, TOC and C/N values to reconstruct Holocene relative sea levels.