POSTER: Multiproxy record of environmental and climatic variations during the Eemian from the Northern France calcareous tufa of Caours: combining petrography, malacology and geochemistry.
Co-authored with Nicole Limondin-Lozouet, Pierre Antoine, Julian Andrews, Christine Chaussé, Pierre Carbonel, Jean-Luc Locht and Alina Marca-Bell.
Presented at the INQUA Congress 2011 (Bern), in session 69 "Reconstructing environmental impacts of climate changes from MIS 5 to present, based on terrestrial and lacustrine archives".
The site of Caours exhibits a calcareous tufa deposit of >10 000 m2 and up to 3.5 m thick, overlying lower terrace... more
The site of Caours exhibits a calcareous tufa deposit of >10 000 m2 and up to 3.5 m thick, overlying lower terrace fluvial deposits of a Somme River (Northern France) tributary. The whole calcareous tufa sequence is attributed to the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e) according to its location within the Somme River terraces system, palaeontological data, and U/Th TIMS dating (average of 124 ± 4 ky BP). Since 2005, archaeological excavations of a Middle Palaeolithic site at the base of the tufa formation have provided long stratigraphic profiles (up to 20m long), supporting multidisciplinary studies. Palaeoenvironmental data from a petrographic study and molluscs were compared to geochemical proxies recording temperature (δ18O) and humidity (δ13C and trace elements Mg and Sr).
In thin section the main Cyanobacteria taxa precipiting tufa were identified as the fossil genus Broutinella and Ponsinella. Broutinella built massive “cauliflower” tufas. This subaqueous facies is associated with aquatic molluscs and ostracods. Ponsinella produces the “mille-feuilles” facies with thin laminations testifying of diffuse flow periods. This facies is associated to malacofauna dominated by land snails.
The cauliflower facies is dominant in the lower part of the sequence, where more pluvial conditions are suggested by δ13C data. This wettest part is also the warmest according to δ18O, and corresponds to the expansion of woodland molluscs. Moreover, the maxima of temperature and humidity (from δ18O and δ13C) are correlated with the Climatic Optimum (highest number of forest species diversity and mollusc shells). In the upper part, the mille-feuilles facies becomes better developed as spring flow waned, based on the δ13C data. Dry conditions are also indicated by mollusc fauna which record a landscape of mainly open areas and some forest remnants.
Clear environmental modifications caused by climatic changes are thus reconstructed from the tufa at Caours especially around the Interglacial Optimum.
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Seen by: and 2 morePOSTER: Eemian seasonal temperature variations recorded by very high-resolution analyses of a MIS 5e stromatolite from Caours (Somme Basin, Northern France): combining petrography and stable isotopes.
Co-authored with Andrews Julian, Antoine Pierre, Limondin-Lozouet Nicole, Marca-Bell Alina.
Presented at the EGU 2012, in section CL1.10 "Interglacial climate change - Learning from paleoclimate archives and models"
In many tufa formations, very well crystallised deposits called stromatolites are preserved. They generally present... more
In many tufa formations, very well crystallised deposits called stromatolites are preserved. They generally present successive laminations thought to be linked to seasonal climatic and environmental variations in modern to sub-fossil deposits. They thus represent a huge potential for very high resolution records of Pleistocene climate. One of the very first investigations in this way has been performed on a 2.5 cm-radius stromatolite from the Eemian sequence of Caours (Somme Basin, Northern France), where precise petrographical observations have been combined with stable isotope analyse.
Lamina succession observed in macroscopic scale has been shown in thin section to be linked to two major facies. The first is built by well developed, elongate calcite spar crystals including imprints of cyanobacteral bushes. This facies alternates with laminae composed by fractured crystals or micritic layers. The first facies could be linked to summer development of cyanobacteria under optimal temperature and light conditions and the ‘degraded’ or micritic facies to less favourable winter conditions. Stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses performed on 69 intra-lamina samples show variation strongly concordant with lamina succession. Facies with developed sparry crystals is associated to minimal isotopic values whereas the ‘degraded’ facies clearly record the highest. At seasonal resolution, carbon isotopic composition has been previously shown in modern tufa to covary positively with oxygen isotopic composition probably driven by temperature dependent phenomena in the aquifer: thus the positive correlation observed in the Caours stromatolites between the isotopic ratios is not surprising. Oxygen stable isotope composition in tufa calcite is known at this resolution to be directly linked to water temperature: increasing temperature related to decreasing values. This interpretation of geochemical results is thus strongly consistent with facies attribution to seasonal variations. Indeed, maximal temperatures are recorded in well developed calcite laminas assigned to summer conditions.
These preliminary results indicate that seasonal palaeoclimatic information should be available in fossil Pleistocene stromatolites. High-resolution studies combining petrographical and intra-laminae stable isotope analyses allow data comparison and strengthen their interpretations. At this resolution, the oxygen stable isotope composition is thermo-dependent and could be use to quantify water temperature. Analyses of a larger stromatolite from Caours covering several decades would provide a strong record of summer-winter water temperature variations during the Eemian.
Enregistrement des variations climatiques au cours des interglaciaires d'après l'étude des isotopes stables de la calcite de tufs pléistocène du nord de la France : exemple des séquences de Caours (SIM 5e; Somme) et La-Celle-sur-Seine (MIS 11 ; Seine-et-Marne)
Co-authored with N. Limondin-Lozouet, P. Antoine, A. Marca-Bell and J. Andrews.
Published in Quaternaire, 22 (4), 2011
RECORD OF CLIMATIC CHANGES DURING INTERGLACIALS FROM STABLE ISOTOPES IN NORTHERN FRANCE PLEISTOCENE TUFA CALCITE:... more
RECORD OF CLIMATIC CHANGES DURING INTERGLACIALS FROM STABLE ISOTOPES IN NORTHERN FRANCE PLEISTOCENE TUFA CALCITE: EXAMPLES OF CAOURS (MIS 5e; SOMME) AND LA CELLE (MIS 11; SEINE ET MARNE).
Tufas are mainly composed of calcite (CaCO3) which makes them suitable for geochemical investigation, especially oxygen and carbon stable isotopes (δ18O and δ13C). These isotopic parameters have already been shown to record temperature and humidity variations in the Holocene tufas, proving their suitability as climatic proxies. This study focuses on two French Pleistocene sites, Caours and La Celle. Results are compared to palaeoenvironmental, especially malacological, data. This comparison shows that δ18O and δ13C in tufas are important proxies of palaeoclimatic variation during Pleistocene interglacials, just as they are during the Holocene.
La composition minéralogique des tufs calcaires, essentiellement constitués de CaCO3, permet l’utilisation d’indicateurs climatiques géochimiques et en particulier l’étude des isotopes stables de l’oxygène et du carbone (δ18O et δ13C). Ces derniers sont déjà bien connus dans les tufs holocènes comme marqueurs des variations de température et d’humidité. L’analyse des isotopes stables a été réalisée ici sur les séquences de tuf pléistocènes de Caours (SIM 5e, Somme) et de La Celle (SIM 11, Seine et Marne). Les résultats de cette étude géochimique ont été comparés aux données paléoenvironnementales, notamment malacologiques. Ces premières analyses montrent que, comme dans le cas des tufs holocènes, les variations des isotopes stables du carbone et de l’oxygène dans les tufs pléistocènes constituent des indicateurs fiables des variations climatiques au cours des interglaciaires pléistocènes.

