Provenance, and environment context of pedogenic carbonates formation from MIS 3 to MIS 1 in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico

Abstract Pedogenic carbonates are considered important indicators of past climatic changes. Their formation is due to calcite accumulation through evaporation processes in arid or semi-arid regions. Over time, secondary carbonate accumulation results in the development of calcic and petrocalcic horizons in soil profiles. In this study, we conducted an analysis of pedogenic carbonates as records of paleoenvironmental characteristics in the Teotihuacan Valley, Basin of Mexico. Micromorphological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of secondary carbonates from three paleosol profiles (Cerro Gordo 1, Cerro Gordo 2, and Maseca 1) were analyzed. Pedogenic carbonates were characterized by irregular and variable carbonate crystal sizes, inclusions of soil particles, and dark or light micrite and microsparite laminations. Micromorphology and scanning electron microscopy revealed weathered plagioclase minerals as a potential source of calcium for carbonate precipitation. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio of carbonate laminar crusts and nodules from the analyses pedons in the study area also indicated that rocks of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt were the principal source of Ca and Sr for carbonates, while contribution of a far-distance eolian input was minimal. The δ13C isotopic composition evidenced a mixture of C3 and C4 plants during the Pleistocene and a transition to a higher proportion of C4 vegetal cover during the Holocene. This agreed with an increase in modeled paleo-temperature from 10.9 °C to 13.7 °C based on 18O-temperature equations. Our results support those determined for the regional paleoenvironment during the Pleistocene, the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and Mid-Late Holocene.