Past fire dynamics inferred from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and monosaccharide anhydrides in a stalagmite from the archaeological site of Mayapan, Mexico

Publikationstyp:
Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Metadaten:
Abstract
<jats:p>Abstract. Speleothems (cave stalagmites) contain inorganic and organic substances that can be used to infer past changes in local and regional paleoenvironmental conditions. Specific biomarkers can be employed to elucidate the history of past fires, caused by interactions among climate, regional hydrology, vegetation, humans, and fire activity. We conducted a simple solid–liquid extraction on pulverised carbonate samples to prepare them for analysis of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and three monosaccharide anhydrides (MAs). The preparation method requires only small samples (0.5–1.0 g); PAHs and MAs were measured by GC–MS and LC–HILIC–MS, respectively. Detection limits range from 0.05–2.1 ng for PAHs and 0.01–0.1 ng for MAs. We applied the method to 10 samples from a ∼ 400-year-old stalagmite from Cenote Ch'en Mul, at Mayapan (Mexico), the largest Postclassic Maya capital of the Yucatán Peninsula. We found a strong correlation (r = 0.75, p &lt; 0.05) between the major MA (levoglucosan) and non-alkylated PAHs (Σ15). We investigated multiple diagnostic PAH and MA ratios and found that although not all were applicable as paleo-fire proxies, ratios that combine PAHs with MAs are promising tools for identifying different fire regimes and inferring the type of fuel burned. In the 1950s and 1960s, levoglucosan and Σ15 concentrations roughly doubled compared to other times in the last 400 years, suggesting greater fire activity at Mayapan during these two decades. The higher concentrations of fire markers may have been a consequence of land clearance at the site and exploration of the cave by Carnegie Institution archaeologists. </jats:p>
Autoren
  • Julia Homann
  • Niklas Karbach
  • Stacy A Carolin
  • Daniel H James
  • David Hodell
  • Sebastian FM Breitenbach
  • Ola Kwiecien
  • Mark Brenner
  • Carlos Peraza Lope
  • Thorsten Hoffmann
DOI
10.5194/bg-20-3249-2023
eISSN
1726-4189
Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung
15
Zeitschrift
Biogeosciences
Sprache
en
Online publication date
2023
Paginierung
3249 - 3260
Status
Published online
Herausgeber
Copernicus GmbH
Herausgeber URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3249-2023
Datum der Datenerfassung
2023
Titel
Past fire dynamics inferred from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and monosaccharide anhydrides in a stalagmite from the archaeological site of Mayapan, Mexico
Ausgabe der Zeitschrift
20

Datenquelle: Crossref

Andere Metadatenquellen:
Author's licence
CC-BY
Autoren
  • Julia Homann
  • Niklas Karbach
  • Stacy A Carolin
  • Daniel H James
  • David Hodell
  • Sebastian FM Breitenbach
  • Ola Kwiecien
  • Mark Brenner
  • Carlos Peraza Lope
  • Thorsten Hoffmann
Hosting institution
Universitätsbibliothek Mainz
Sammlungen
  • DFG-491381577-G
Resource version
Published version
DOI
10.5194/bg-20-3249-2023
File(s) embargoed
false
Open access
true
ISSN
1726-4189
Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung
15
Zeitschrift
Biogeosciences
Schlüsselwörter
  • 540 Chemie
  • 540 Chemistry and allied sciences
  • 550 Geowissenschaften
  • 550 Earth sciences
  • 560 Paläontologie
  • 560 Paleontology
  • 600 Technik
  • 600 Technology (Applied sciences)
  • 620 Ingenieurwissenschaften und Maschinenbau
  • 620 Engineering and allied operations
  • 980 Geschichte Südamerikas
  • 980 General history of South America
Sprache
eng
Open access status
Open Access
Paginierung
3249 - 3260
Datum der Veröffentlichung
2023
Public URL
https://openscience.ub.uni-mainz.de/handle/20.500.12030/9381
Herausgeber
Copernicus
Datum der Datenerfassung
2023
Datum, an dem der Datensatz öffentlich gemacht wurde
2023
Zugang
Public
Titel
Past fire dynamics inferred from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and monosaccharide anhydrides in a stalagmite from the archaeological site of Mayapan, Mexico
Ausgabe der Zeitschrift
20

Files

past_fire_dynamics_inferred_f-20230808144256830.pdf past_fire_dynamics_inferred_f-20230808144417034.pdf

Datenquelle: OPENSCIENCE.UB

Werkzeuge