Bioapatite 87Sr/86Sr of the last woolly mammoths—Implications for the isolation of Wrangel Island
- 1Department of Geology, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
- 2Department of Geography, Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University, 191186, St. Petersburg, Moika 48, Russia
Abstract
The movements of terminal Pleistocene and Holocene mammoths on Wrangel Island, off northeastern Siberia, were investigated using the isotopic composition of Sr in skeletal remains. A significant shift toward more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios, from 0.71218 ± 0.00103 to 0.71491 ± 0.00138 in bioapatite, marks the beginning of the Holocene. The higher Sr isotope values in mid-Holocene mammoth remains are interpreted as an influence of radiogenic Sr derived from the Neoproterozoic rocks in the central part of Wrangel Island. The shift implies a change in the ranging and feeding areas of the animals, ultimately reflecting the inundation of the mainland connection and isolation of the population. The shift indicates also that the late Pleistocene animals were not permanent occupants in the territory that makes up present-day Wrangel Island.
Footnotes
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↵1 Primary radiocarbon dates are referred to as 14C k.y. B.P., whereas ages given as “years/ka” mean the calendar time scale. Calibration details are given in Table DR1 (see footnote 2).
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↵2 GSA Data Repository item 2009086, Table DR1 (14C dates and 87Sr/86Sr results), item DR2 (materials and analytical methods), and Table DR3 (pretreatment experiments), is available online at www.geosociety.org/pubs/ft2009.htm, or on request from editing{at}geosociety.org or Documents Secretary, GSA, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
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- Received 21 August 2008.
- Revision received 24 November 2008.
- Accepted 26 November 2008.
- © 2009 Geological Society of America
