d15N of lipids in marine animals of the Dutch Wadden Sea

Lipid extraction of biomass prior to stable isotope analysis is known to cause variable changes in the stable nitrogen isotopic composition (d15N) of residual biomass. However, the underlying factors causing these changes are not yet clear. Here we address this issue by comparing the d15N of bulk and residual biomass of several marine animal tissues (fish, crab, cockle, oyster, and polychaete), as well as the d15N of the extracted lipids. As observed previously, lipid extraction led to a variable offset in d15N of biomass (differences ranging from -2.3 to +1.8 per mil). Importantly, the total lipid extract (TLE) was highly depleted in 15N compared to bulk biomass, and also highly variable (differences ranging from -14 to +0.7 per mil). The TLE consisted mainly of phosphatidylcholines, a group of lipids with one nitrogen atom in the headgroup. To elucidate the cause for the 15N-depletion in the TLE, the d15N of amino acids was determined, including serine because it is one of the main sources of nitrogen to N-containing lipids. Serine d15N values differed by -7 to +2 per mil from bulk biomass d15N, and correlated well with the 15N depletion in TLEs. On average, serine was less depleted (-3 per mil) than the TLE (-7 per mil), possibly due to fractionation during biosynthesis of N-containing headgroups, or that other nitrogen-containing compounds, such as urea and choline, or recycled nitrogen contribute to the nitrogen isotopic composition of the TLE. The depletion in 15N of the TLE relative to biomass increased with the trophic level of the organisms.

(Table 1) Stable oxygen isotopic ratios and yearly snow accumulation of firn and ice cores from Svalbard

We analyse ice cores from Vestfonna ice cap (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard). Oxygen isotopic measurements were made on three firn cores (6.0, 11.0 and 15.5 m deep) from the two highest summits of the glacier located on the SW-NE and NW-SE central ridges. Sub-annual d18O cycles were preserved and could be counted visually in the uppermost parts of the cores, but deeper layers were affected by post-depositional smoothing. A pronounced d18O minimum was found near the bottom of the three cores. We consider candidates for this d18O signal to be a valuable reference horizon since it is also seen elsewhere in Nordaustlandet. We attribute it to isotopically depleted snow precipitation, which NCEP/NCAR reanalysis shows was unusual for Vestfonna, and came from northerly air during the cold winter of 1994/95. Finding the 1994/95 time marker allows establishment of a precise depth/age scale for the three cores. The derived annual accumulation rates indirectly fill a geographical gap in mass balance measurements and thus provide information on spatial and temporal variability of precipitation over the glacier for the period spanned by the cores (1992-2009). Comparing records at the two locations also reveals that the snow net accumulation at the easternmost part of Vestfonna was only half of that in the western part over the last 17 years.