Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2026, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 178-198.doi: 10.11978/2025241CSTR: 32234.14.2025241

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Carbonate-associated sulfate records seawater sulfate δ34S and δ18O: insights from reef carbonate rocks in the southern South China Sea*

DI Pengfei1,2,3(), LI Niu1,2,3, GONG Shanggui4, Jörn Peckmann5, WANG Shuhong1,3, CHEN Duofu4, YAN Wen1,3()   

  1. 1 Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    2 Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572025, China
    3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    4 Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Hadal Science and Technology, College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
    5 Institute for Geology, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Universit?t Hamburg, Hamburg 20146, Germany
  • Received:2025-12-17 Revised:2026-02-15 Online:2026-09-10 Published:2026-10-13
  • Contact: YAN Wen. email: wyan@scsio.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFC3100600); Key Research and Development Plan of Hainan Province(ZDYF2021SHFZ060); Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA13010102)

Abstract:

Carbonate-associated sulfate (CAS) is a key proxy for reconstructing the isotopic evolution of seawater sulfate and tracing global sulfur cycling through geologic time. However, the fidelity of primary CAS isotopic signals in reef limestones subjected to complex diagenetic alteration remains uncertain. We present a systematic analysis of CAS abundance, sulfur isotopes (δ34SCAS), and oxygen isotopes (δ18OCAS) in a continuous reef limestone core (Well NK-1) from Meiji Atoll in the southern South China Sea to evaluate the impact of diagenesis on CAS records. Our results show that early diagenesis strongly reduces CAS concentrations: primary aragonite-high-Mg calcite phases contain up to 5413 mg·kg-1 CAS, whereas freshwater and marine diagenetic alteration reduces CAS by 60% to 80%, with values dropping below 200 mg·kg-1 at subaerial exposure surfaces due to meteoric leaching. Despite this substantial loss of sulfate, δ34SCAS remains remarkably stable throughout the core (20.1‰ to 24.7‰; mean 22.9‰) and aligns closely with coeval marine barite δ34S, demonstrating that the original seawater sulfur isotope signature is robustly preserved even through intense recrystallization and dolomitization. In contrast, δ18OCAS exhibits large variability (7.1‰ to 15.0‰), indicating high susceptibility to diagenetic overprint. Only samples younger than ~5 Ma retain primary seawater δ18OCAS values; older samples have been significantly modified by oxygen isotope exchange with diagenetic fluids. This study confirms that CAS in reef limestones provides a reliable archive of past seawater δ34S, but cautions against the uncritical use of δ18OCAS for paleoenvironmental reconstruction without rigorous diagenetic screening. These findings offer critical constraints for high-resolution reconstructions of tropical marine sulfur cycling using reefal carbonate successions.

Key words: carbonate-associated sulfate, sulfur and oxygen isotopes, diagenesis, reef limestone, South China Sea

CLC Number: 

  • P734.41