Direct evidence for nitrogen isotope discrimination during sedimentation and early diagenesis in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan

Sediment core samples from the center of Lake Kasumigaura, Japan, were collected from 1979 to 2007 at intervals of 1 month to 5 yr. We evaluated the degree of modification in N isotope composition during sedimentation and diagenesis. We estimated the degree of isotope discrimination during diagenesis by comparing historical changes in N isotope composition of the surface sediment (top 2 cm) against the vertical profile of the isotope composition of sediment core samples (15 cm depth). The degree of 15N enrichment during sedimentation appeared to be significant under the preferential N decomposition that occurred in the periods with low C/N ratio values of suspended particulate organic matter. We documented 15N depletion in sediment deeper than approximately 3 cm during diagenesis. The contrasting directions of N isotope discrimination during sedimentation and diagenesis suggest changing mechanisms of isotopic shift across an oxidation–reduction boundary.