Early Mississippian global δ13C excursion is not a diagenetic artifact

Abstract

Abstract Shallow-water platform carbonate δ13C may provide a record of changes in ocean chemistry through time, but early marine diagenesis and local processes can decouple these records from the global carbon cycle. Recent studies of calcium isotopes (δ44/40Ca) in shallow-water carbonates indicate that δ44/40Ca can be altered during early marine diagenesis, implying that δ13C may also potentially be altered. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the platform carbonate δ13C record of the Kinderhookian–Osagean boundary excursion (KOBE), ~353 m.y. ago, reflects a period of global diagenesis using paired isotopic (δ44/40Ca and clumped isotopes) and trace-element geochemistry from three sections in the United States. There is little evidence for covariation between δ44/40Ca and δ13C during the KOBE. Clumped isotopes from our shallowest section support primarily sediment-buffered diagenesis at relatively low temperatures. We conclude that the δ13C record of the KOBE as recorded in shallow-water carbonate is consistent with a shift in the dissolved inorganic carbon reservoir and that, more generally, ancient shallow-water carbonates can retain records of primary seawater chemistry.