Revised phosphate–water fractionation equation reassessing paleotemperatures derived from biogenic apatite

Oxygen isotopes of biogenic apatite have been widely used to reassess anomalous temperatures inferred from oxygen isotope ratios of ancient biogenic calcite, more prone to diagenetic alteration. However, recent studies have highlighted that oxygen isotope ratios of biogenic apatite differ dependent on used analytical techniques. This questions the applicability of the phosphate–water fractionation equations established over 25 years ago using earlier analytical techniques to more recently acquired data. In this work we present a new phosphate–water oxygen isotope fractionation equation based on oxygen isotopes determined on fish raised in aquariums at controlled temperature and with monitored water oxygen isotope composition. The new equation reveals a similar slope, but an offset of about + 2‰ to the earlier published equations. This work has major implications for paleoclimatic reconstructions using oxygen isotopes of biogenic apatite since calculated temperatures have been underestimated by about 4 to 8 °C depending on applied techniques and standardization of the analyses.