Central Botswana Pedogenic Carbonate Isotope and Geochemistry Data

Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope data and elemental concentrations (Mn, Fe) from pedogenic carbonates across four pedosedimentary sections (SC01–SC04) in Central Botswana. The dataset, authored by Ferdinand J. Dina Ebouel and last updated on 2026-05-08, reconstructs vegetation dynamics and local hydrology. It contains molar percent values for Mn (0.04%–0.22%) and Fe (0.42%–7.47%) and isotope ranges for δ¹³C (−6.85‰ to −0.24‰) and δ¹⁸O (−5.52‰ to −3.39‰).

Use Cases

• Reconstructing past vegetation dynamics based on stable carbon isotope (δ¹³C) signatures distinguishing C3 and C4 plants.
• Analyzing local hydrological variability and freshwater input events based on manganese/iron (Mn/Fe) ratios and oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) values.
• Investigating redox conditions and episodic fluvial pulses in pedosedimentary records based on decoupled Mn/Fe and δ¹⁸O signals.
• Modeling climatic stability in semi-arid regions using tightly clustered stable isotope data from carbonate features.

Strengths

• Includes specific quantitative ranges for key geochemical variables: Mn (0.04%–0.22%), Fe (0.42%–7.47%), δ¹³C (−6.85‰ to −0.24‰), and δ¹⁸O (−5.52‰ to −3.39‰).
• Data is integrated from four distinct pedosedimentary sections (SC01–SC04), allowing for spatial comparison.
• Released under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license for reuse.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is very small (20.4 KB), indicating limited scope.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Laboratory analysis of pedogenic carbonate samples.

Time Range

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction; specific sample ages not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-08 05:54:18; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Central Botswana