Environmental memory and a possible seasonal bias in the stable isotope composition of (U-Th)/He-dated goethite from the Canadian Arctic

The δ13C value of the Fe(CO3)OH component in the Ax-2 goethite is +6.6‰, which is much more positive than expected if crystallizing goethite incorporated CO2 derived primarily from oxidation of relict Eocene wood with δ13C values of about −24‰. This apparent paradox may be resolved if the goethite is a product of oxidation of 13C-rich siderite, which had previously replaced wood in an Eocene methanogenic burial environment. Thus, the goethite retains a carbon isotope “memory” of a diagenetic Eocene event, but a δD and δ18O record of the latest Miocene/Pliocene Arctic climate.