Total organic carbon isotopes: A novel proxy of lake level from Lake Qinghai in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

- Isotope of total organic carbon in the Lake Qinghai, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China.
- The Cladophora have low δ13Corg values caused by C3-like photosynthesis.
- The submerged plants have positive δ13Corg values caused by C4-like photosynthesis.
- The δ13Corg values of lake surface sediments indicate the variation of water depth.
- The core δ13Corg reveals change of lake level in Lake Qinghai since early Holocene.

The isotopic compositions of total organic carbon (TOC) in lakes have been widely used to interpret paleoclimatic changes and the depositional environments of lake sediments. However, the main factors that affect the carbon isotopes of TOC (source of organic material, water condition and others) may vary in different lake sediment records, which have limited the applicability of organic carbon isotopes in explaining biogeochemical and environmental changes in lakes. In this study, the organic carbon isotopic compositions of aquatic plants and surface sediments from Lake Qinghai and the living terrestrial plants and surface soils around the lake were systematically investigated to identify the sources of TOC in the sediments and the significance of the organic carbon isotopes of sedimentary TOC. We found that the aquatic plants in the deep water areas (> 10 m) were primarily dominated by Cladophora, but submerged plants (Potamogeton and Ruppia L.) are the dominant species in shallow water (< 10 m). The Cladophora have negative δ13Corg values (− 33.6‰ to − 28.6‰) that are caused by C3-like photosynthesis, but the submerged plants have enriched δ13Corg values (− 17.8‰ to − 15.4‰) that are caused by C4-like photosynthesis. In addition, the δ13Corg values of Cladophora become more negative with increasing water depth because of the slow photosynthetic rate caused by the weak light intensity at depth. The isotopic data indicate that the carbon isotopes of organic material in the surface sediments are primarily controlled by the types of aquatic plant and that the δ13Corg values of TOC can be used to indicate the variation of the water depth (lake level). The organic carbon isotopic data from the 1F core showed that the water was shallow (< 10 m) because of intense evaporation related to high temperatures even though precipitation sharply increased in the warm period during the early-mid Holocene. The lake level reached its maximum level at 3 ka.