Oxygen isotope studies of the largest West Siberian mammoth sites and implications for last glacial maximum climate reconstruction

• Published in: Quaternary science reviews 2024-11, Vol.343, p.108938, Article 108938
• Main Authors: Krivokorin, Ivan, Amon, Leeli, Leshchinskiy, Sergey V., Arppe, Laura
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy; LGM; Mammoth fauna; Oxygen isotopes; Paleoecology; Paleogeography; West Siberian plain
• ISSN: 0277-3791
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108938

This study examines the isotopic potential of mammoth remains from three paleontological sites in the southeast of the West Siberian Plain (SEWS): Shestakovo, Krasnoyarskaya Kurya, and Volchia Griva. We analysed oxygen isotopes from 29 mammoth enamel and tusk samples and horse and deer enamel samples. We verified sample preservation using ATR-FTIR and obtained δ18Op, δ18Oc, and reconstructed δ18Ow values for 28-22 ka cal BP. Preservation assessments revealed variable preservation conditions. Our findings indicate an increase of 1.4‰ in reconstructed δ18Ow values from glacial levels at 28-23 ka to late-glacial conditions at ca. 17–15.5 ka, likely reflecting climatic warming at the end of the Pleistocene. The extensive fossil material at these sites offers significant potential for further Last Glacial Maximum studies. •We analysed 29 mammoth, deer and horse enamel samples from 3 paleontological sites in Western Siberia.•Preservation of the samples was assessed using ATR-FTIR and oxygen isotope CO3-PO4 equilibrium.•Increase in δ18O values of meteoric waters from 28-23 to 24-22 ka cal BP is attributed to temporal climate development.•Gradient of δ18O depletion between SEWS and Europe suggests similar "continental effects" during the LGM and present day.•SEWS had more pronounced climatic changes than the European plain, transitioning from glacial to lateglacial.