Project Info
This study seeks to systematically investigate aqueous isotope exchange of 16O-17O-18O and H-D between crystal water of hydrated Ca-sulphates (gypsum, bassanite) and principal types of Atacama desert water (water vapor, fog water, salt lakes and plant water). The purpose of this study is to determine if humidity- a key environmental parameter in deserts - can be directly inferred from the isotopic composition of gypsum hydration water (GHW) and plant water.
After determination of the respective fractionation factors we aim to conduct experiments on possible exchange dynamics between gypsum powder and fog water. Selected transects and profiles will be investigated to test the theoretical and experimental constraints. We hypothesize that the purely mass dependent variation in 17O-excess can be used as a paleo humidity proxy.
In our pilot study we discovered that not only SO4 but also gypsum crystal water can carry a massindependent (MIF) 17O signature. This water carries a low δD signature (-100‰) implying that some crystal water in the Atacama is of stratospheric origin. In this project we aim to quantify the proportion of this stratospheric water (and thus gypsum) within natural samples and to determine how resistant this 17O enriched crystal water is to isotopic exchange. Such MIF water is probably only preserved under hyper arid conditions and may serve as a tool to identify (paleo-) hyper arid conditions.
Finally we suggest to analyze plant water to test (1) if plants utilize GHW as a water source and (2) if humidity can be inferred from the 17O-excess in leaf and stem water.
Publications
Project D3 - Publications
Article(s)
Herwartz, D., Surma, J., Voigt, C., Assonov, S., Staubwasser, M., 2017.
Triple oxygen isotope systematics of structurally bonded water in gypsum.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 209, 254 - 266. DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2017.04.026.
Surma, J., Assonov, S., Herwartz, D., Voigt, C., Staubwasser, M., 2018.
The evolution of 17O-excess in surface water of the arid environment during recharge and evaporation.
Scientific Reports. 8 (4972), 1 - 10. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23151-6.
Voigt, C., Klipsch, S., Herwartz, D., Chong, G., Staubwasser, M., 2020.
The spatial distribution of soluble salts in the surface soil of the Atacama Desert and their relationship to hyperaridity.
Global and Planetary Change. 184, 1 - 13.
Voigt, C., 2020.
Tracing the water cycle in the Atacama Desert using water isotopes (δ2H, δ17O, δ18O) and pedogenic salt distributions..
Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln. 1 - 149.
Voigt, C., Herwartz, D., Dorador, C., Staubwasser, M., 2020.
Triple oxygen isotope systematics of evaporation and mixing processes in a dynamic desert lake system.
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 1 - 26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-255.
Presentations
Project D3 - Presentations
Selected type(s)
Talk(s)
Poster(s)
Keynote(s)
Other(s)
Data
Project D3 - Research Data
Voigt, C., 2020.
stable isotope data of pan evaporation experiments at Salar de Llamará 09/2017 vs1.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
Voigt, C., Klipsch, S., Herwartz, D., Chong, G., Staubwasser, M., 2019.
Results of total soil chemical analyses on bulk sediment samples from the Atacama Desert.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
Voigt, C., 2019.
Atacama samples - description.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
Voigt, C., Herwartz, D., Dorador, C., Staubwasser, M., 2021.
Isotopic and ion concentration data of ponds and pan evaporation experiments conducted at the Salar del Huasco.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
Voigt, C., 2020.
stable isotope data of pan evaporation experiments at selected sites in the Atacama Desert 03/2017 vs1.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
Voigt, C., 2020.
stable isotope data of pan evaporation experiments at Salar del Huasco 09/2017 vs1.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
