Coccolithophorids precipitate carbonate in clumped isotope equilibrium with seawater

Numerous recent studies have tested the clumped isotope (Δ47) thermometer on a variety of biogenic carbonates such as foraminifera and bivalves and showed that all follow a common calibration. While the sample size requirements for a reliable Δ47 measurement have decreased over the years, the availability and preservation of many biogenic carbonates is still 10 limited and/or require substantial time to be extracted from sediments in sufficient amounts. We thus determined the Δ47temperature relationship for coccolith carbonate, which is abundant and often well-preserved in sediments. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of coccolith calcite have limited use in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions due to physiological effects that cause variability in the carbon and oxygen isotopic values. However, the relatively limited data available suggest that clumped isotopes may not be influenced by these effects. We cultured three species of coccolithophores in well15 constrained carbonate system conditions with a CO2(aq) between 5 and 45 μM and temperatures between 6°C and 27°C.