Omnipresent authigenic calcite distorts Arctic radiocarbon chronology

Abstract

Abstract As calcareous foraminifera precipitate their shells from the surrounding water mass, they are the basis of most marine radiocarbon chronologies and paleo-proxies. Nevertheless, post-mortem alteration of shells, especially addition of authigenic calcite, impact proxy records. In the Arctic Ocean, authigenic calcite overgrowth on foraminifera has been attributed to hydrocarbon release, with a single report on 13C-enriched authigenic calcite, indicating a different carbon source. Here, we use comparative radiocarbon, carbon and oxygen isotope measurements to show that this 13C-enriched authigenic calcite impacts a large proportion of Holocene and the majority of last glacial planktonic foraminifera in the Arctic Basin. This authigenic precipitated calcite is 14C-depleted, so overgrowth results in invariably older 14C-ages. We show that, in comparison with published data, the true chronology of Arctic basin sediments can deviate by more than 10,000 years in critical parts of the last deglaciation and that stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, as likely all calcite-based proxy-records are affected with potential implications for paleoclimate models.