$The evolution of the photosynthetic carbon isotope fractionation {(_e63_1tnp) [(epsilon p)] of marine phytoplankton during the Devonian to Permian time interval [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Thomas Kuhn$

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The evolution of the photosynthetic carbon isotope fractionation {(_e63_1tnp) [(epsilon p)] of marine phytoplankton during the Devonian to Permian time interval [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Thomas Kuhn

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236 pages

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Publié par	friedrich-alexander-universitat_erlangen-nurnberg
Publié le	01 janvier 2007
Nombre de lectures	38
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	9 Mo

Extrait

The evolution of the photosynthetic
carbon isotope fractionation ( ε ) of marine phytoplankton p
during the Devonian to Permian time interval

Den Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultäten
der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

zur

Erlangung des Doktorgrades

vorgelegt von

Thomas Kuhn
aus Stuttgart

Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Erlangen 2007

Als Dissertation genehmigt von den
Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultäten der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 16. Juli 2007

Vorsitzender der Promotionskommission: Prof. Dr. E. Bänsch

Erstberichterstatter: PD Dr. M. Joachimski
(Friedrich-Alexander-Universität
Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Zweitberichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Katherine H. Freeman
(Pennsylvania State University,
State College, PA, U.S.A.)

v
Acknowledgements

Of the many people to whom I am grateful for their scientific support, collaborations,
contributions, and discussions, I owe by far the most to Michael Joachimski and Werner
Buggisch (Department of Geology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany). With their
devotion to sedimentary geology, stable isotope biogeochemistry, paleoocenaography, and
paleoclimatology, and their lectures and field trips, they have greatly stimulated and promoted
my interest in these disciplines. Both have accompanied my entire geoscientific education and
development with continuous support, encouragement, precious advice, and constructive
criticism. I am deeply indebted to Michael Joachimski, the mental farther of this study and my
primary advisor, also for his patience, discreet guidance, and continuous belief in me and for
allowing me to proceed in my own way, even though this way was an exceptionally long one.
This work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as grant Jo 219/6 (to
Michael Joachimski) within the framework of the priority programme (SPP) 1054 (Evolution
of the System Earth in the Late Paleozoic - Clues from Sediment Geochemistry), which was
coordinated by Werner Buggisch.

I am also indebted to Christian Ostertag-Henning (formerly Department of Geology,
University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, now Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und
Rohstoffe [BGR], Hannover, Germany) for his thorough and patient introduction into the
laboratory methods of organic geochemistry, conducting the GC-MS-analyses for and
together with me, innumerable precious discussions about all aspects of this study, and giving
me unrestricted insight into his Devonian to Permian nitrogen isotope results. The
implications of these results contributed significantly to the interpretation of the ε -data of this p
study.

My thanks also go to Daniele Lutz, the lab technician of Michael Joachimski’s stable isotope
laboratory, for her help with the sample preparation for carbon isotope analyses of total
organic carbon.

The great help and support I received from Lynn Watney (Kansas Geological Survey,
Lawrence, U.S.A.), Jeffrey Over (Department of Geological Sciences, State University of
New York, Geneseo, U.S.A.), and Grzegorz Racki (Department of Earth Sciences, Silesian
University, Sosnowiec, Poland) during my field sampling campaigns in the US-Midcontinent
area, western New York State (U.S.A.), and the Holy Cross Mountains in Poland deserve
especially cordial thanks. Lynn Watney granted access to the core library of the Kansas
Geological Survey, enabling me to obtain many valuable samples from several cores of the
Permocarboniferous cyclothems of the US-Midcontinent Basin. Besides, he kindly took the
time and effort to accompany me to several fine outcrops in Kansas to give me the
opportunity to complement my collection of Permocarboniferous samples with excellent vi
outcrop material. Finally, Lynn Watney and the Kansas Geological Survey generously
provided me with valuable geological back ground information, literature, and maps. Jeffrey
Over organized access to the core facility of the Akzo Nobel Salt Company (near Geneseo,
western New York State, U.S.A.), which allowed me to take excellent samples from some
Middle Devonian black and grey shales of the Appalachian Basin. Moreover, he readily spent
considerable time with me in the field to show me many great outcrops of the Middle to Late
Devonian black and grey shales in the western part of New York State, where I were able to
collect additional samples for this study. Jeffrey Over also supplied me with valuable
geological and paleontological information and literature. I want to thank him and his family
heartily for their hospitality and for letting me stay at their home during my visit to western
New York State. During my field stay in the Holy Cross Mountains in southeastern Poland,
Grzegorz Racki enabled me to obtain valuable sample material from the Early Carboniferous
Zareby Beds by his profound knowledge of the local geology and biostratigraphy and by
organizing the excavation of a sampling trench near the quarry of the village of Kowala.

I also wish to thank Stefan Piasecki from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
(Copenhagen, Denmark) and Brian Horsfield from the GeoForschungsZentrum (Potsdam,
Germany) for providing me with samples of the Late Permian Ravnefjeld Formation from
eastern Greenland and the Middle Devonian Lower Keg River Member from northeastern
Alberta, respectively.

This study would not have been possible without the cooperation of Katherine Freeman of the
Pennsylvania State University (PSU, Department of Geosciences, University Park, U.S.A.)
and her working group. Katherine Freeman generously granted me access to her GC-IRMS-
instrument during four extended stays to let me conduct all compound-specific carbon isotope
analyses for this study. Moreover, I greatly profited from excellent and thought-provoking
discussions with Kate, her profound expertise in the field of isotope biogeochemistry, and the
participation in her weekly group meetings. I want to tank Katherine Freeman and her entire
working group for their great collegiality, helpfulness, and hospitality. Among the members
of Kate’s working group, the following people deserve particularly cordial thanks:

Mindy Foland (now at Thermo Electron™) gave me a thorough introduction and training on
the methodology of compound-specific carbon isotope analyses and the use of the GC-IRMS-
instrument. She patiently answered all of my questions and helped me with precious advice
during my first weeks at the GC-IRMS. This enabled me to work largely independently with
the instrument already rather soon and still within the course of my first stay at Kate’s
laboratory. Moreover, I will not forget the hospitality of Mindy and Mary Jo Alfano, who let
me live in their apartment during my first stay at PSU in January/February 2001.

Margaret Ricci (now Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow,
Idaho, U.S.A.) completed my training on the GC-IRMS-instrument by patiently explaining vii
me the structure and functions of the Isodat NT software (Thermo Electron™) and
introducing me into the art of evaluating and processing the peak and isotope data in the raw
files. I very much liked the instructive, relaxed, and pragmatic way of Margaret’s training.

I really enjoyed the company and congenial personality of Nikolai Pedentchouk (now
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Calgary, Canada), the numerous
excellent geoscientific discussions with him, and our many interesting non-geoscientific
conversations. The regular lunches together with Nikolai were always welcome, social breaks
from the daily isotope lab work in “Research West” during my stays at PSU.

I also enjoyed and profited from stimulating and lively discussions with Jen Eigenbrode (now
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution, Washington, DC, U.S.A.), whose pragmatism,
humour, and helpfulness I appreciated a lot.

Dennis Walizer is truly a technical wizard in the field of mass spectrometry. Occasionally, the
GC-IRMS-instrument seemed to take delight in challenging me with a technical problem
beyond my so far gained experience. However, this was never a reason to despair, as Denny
was always helping me out quickly and competently with his immense experience.

Tracy Michele Henninger assisted me with the compound-specific isotope analyses during my
last stay at PSU in October 2002. However, the duration of this stay was too short, so that
many prepared samples were st