Is there a link between carbon isotopes and sea level in epicontinental carbonate settings?

Abstract

A presumed link between carbon isotopic trends and sea level change features prominently in many studies of epicontinental carbonates. In these shallow marine environments, a combination of basin restriction, burial/oxidation of organic carbon, proximity to terrestrial carbon sources, carbonate mineralogy, and/or meteoric influence can result in δ¹³C_carb records that are distinct from that of the open ocean. Because many of these processes are linked to sea level change, it has been argued that sea level might exert a significant and systematic control on the δ¹³C_carb records from epicontinental settings. Multiple studies have attempted to document sea level's influence on carbon isotopic trends, but they do so with only limited constraints on sea level change and without objective evaluations of interpreted trends and relationships. We argue that the complex and complicated set of processes influencing carbon isotopic values in epicontinental settings requires a systematic approach to truly address the question of sea level's influence on δ¹³C_carb. Only by integrating carbon isotopic records with a detailed sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic framework can we properly track changes in depositional environments and reconstruct the transgressive-regressive history of the rocks. Trends and relationships in these robust datasets can be evaluated with rank correlation tests specifically designed and empirically tested to deal with noisy datasets. In short, we map a possible path forward for systematic testing of the relationship between sea level and δ¹³C_carb.