Principle of Hydrogen Isotope Geochemistry Paleo-altimeter and its Potential in Reconstructing Paleo-elevation of the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

The reconstruction of paleo-elevation serves a dual purpose to enhance our comprehension of geodynamic processes affecting terrestrial landforms and to contribute significantly to the interpretation of atmospheric circulation and biodiversity.The oxygen(δ~(18)O_w)and deuterium(δD_w)isotopes in atmospheric precipitation are systematically depleted with the increase of altitude,which are typical and widely applicated paleo-altimeters.The utilization of hydrogen isotope of hydrous silicate minerals within the shear zone system,volcanic glass,and plant leaf wax alkanes offers valuable insights for addressing evaporation and diagenesis.In this paper,we review the principle,application conditions,and influencing factors of the hydrogen isotope paleo-altimeter.In addition,we discuss the feasibility of utilizing this technique for quantitatively estimating the paleo-elevation of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau,where multiple shear zones extend over hundred kilometers parallel to the topographic gradient.

A review of classical hydrogen isotopes storage materials

Hydrogen storage alloys(HSAs)are attracting widespread interest in the nuclear industry because of the generation of stable metal hydrides after tritium absorption,thus effectively preventing the leakage of radioactive tritium.Commonly used HSAs in the hydrogen isotopes field are Zr2M(M=Co,Ni,Fe)alloys,metallic Pd,depleted U,and ZrCo alloy.Specifically,Zr2M(M=Co,Ni,Fe)alloys are considered promising tritium-getter materials,and metallic Pd is utilized to separate and purify hydrogen isotopes.Furthermore,depleted U and ZrCo alloy are well suited for storing and delivering hydrogen isotopes.Notably,all the aforementioned HSAs need to modulate their hydrogen storage properties for complex operating conditions.In this review,we present a comprehensive overview of the reported modification methods applied to the above alloys.Alloying is an effective amelioration method that mainly modulates the properties of HSAs by altering their local geometrical/electronic structures.Besides,microstructural modifications such as nano-sizing and nanopores have been used to increase the specific surface area and active sites of metallic Pd and ZrCo alloys for enhancing de-/hydrogenation kinetics.The combination of metallic Pd with support materials can significantly reduce the cost and enhance the pulverization resistance.Moreover,the poisoning resistance of ZrCo alloy is improved by constructing active surfaces with selective permeability.Overall,the review is constructive for better understanding the properties and mechanisms of hydrogen isotope storage alloys and provides effective guidance for future modification research.

Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes of Waters in the Ordos Basin,China:Implications for Recharge of Groundwater in the North of Cretaceous Groundwater Basin

Hundreds of precipitation samples collected from meteorological stations in the Ordos Basin from January 1988 to December 2005 were used to set up a local meteoric water line and to calculate weighted average isotopic compositions of modern precipitation. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes, with averages of-7.8‰ and -53.0‰ for δ^18O and δD, respectively, are depleted in winter and rich in spring, and gradually decrease in summer and fall, illustrating that the seasonal effect is considerable. They also show that the isotopic difference between south portion and north portion of the Ordos Basin are not obvious, and the isotope in the middle portion is normally depleted. The isotope compositions of 32 samples collected from shallow groundwater （less than a depth of 150 m） in desert plateau range from -10.6‰ to -6.0‰ with an average of-8.4‰ for δ^18O and from -85‰ to -46‰ with an average of-63‰ for δD. Most of them are identical with modern precipitation. The isotope compositions of 22 middle and deep groundwaters （greater than a depth of 275 m） fall in ranges from -11.6‰ to -8.8‰ with an average of -10.2‰ for δ^18O and from -89‰ to -63‰ with an average of -76‰ for δD. The average values are significantly less than those of modern precipitation, illustrating that the middle and deep groundwaters were recharged at comparatively lower air temperatures. Primary analysis of ^14C shows that the recharge of the middle and deep groundwaters started at late Pleistocene. The isotopes of 13 lake water samples collected from eight lakes define a local evaporation trend, with a relatively flat slope of 3.77, and show that the lake waters were mainly fed by modern precipitation and shallow groundwater.

The Impact of Aqueous Medium on Gas Yields and Kinetic Behaviors of Hydrogen Isotope Fractionation during Organic Matter Thermal Degradation

In order to recognize the impact of aqueous medium on gas yields and the kinetic behaviors of hydrogen isotope fractionation during organic matter thermal degradation, the gold tube apparatus was used to conduct thermal simulation experiments by mixing the nC18 with the water of different properties and proportions. The yields of natural gas components, the relation among hydrogen isotope composition of each component and the experimental temperatures vs. heating rates have been obtained, and the results indicate that under the higher temperature conditions, the hydrous experiment has obvious impact on gas yields, such as when more water is added, higher amounts of hydrocarbon gas and H2 are yielded, and the existence of water obviously prolongs the temperature interval with the existence of heavy hydrocarbon gas. It also shows that the hydrogen isotope of hydrocarbon gas generated by the hydrous experiment is obviously lighter than that generated by the anhydrous experiment, and with the increasing amount of added water, the δD value of hydrocarbon gas gradually decreases. Compared with gas yields, the variation of δD value is more sensitive to aqueous medium in the thermal simulation experiment. However, compared with the amount of the added water, the aqueous medium property has smaller impact on the gas yields, which still shows the inherit effect on hydrogen isotope composition of aqueous medium. Through the model simulation and the isotope fractionation behavior analysis, it is validated that the hydrogen isotope fractionation process can be well described by the chemical kinetic model. The difference of reaction fraction of normal methane and D-containing methane is large, corresponding to the same activation energy. The content of normal methane is obviously higher in the part with lower activation energy, while the content of D-containing methane is higher in the part with higher activation energy. Therefore, it will result in larger hydrogen isotope fractionation amplitude, and the δD values will be more sensitive to the variation of maturity. Meanwhile, the average activation energy of methane generation from nC18 in the hydrous experiment is higher than that in the anhydrous experiment, and the greater amount of added water, the larger the average activation energy of methane generation reaction. This has laid foundation for its exploratory application in the study of gas reservoir forming history and the gassource correlation, which indicates the research and application prospects in this orientation.

Kinetics and fractionation of hydrogen isotopes during gas formation from representative functional groups

A gold tube simulation device was used to study the cleavage of representative compounds into gas.The goal of this study is to investigate hydrogen isotope composition change of gaseous hydrocarbons during maturity.Gas chromatography and isotopic analyses were conducted to determine how the yield of natural gas components and their hydrogen isotopic composition were related to experimental temperature and heating rate.A chemical kinetic model for the generation of each component of the natural gas and for the hydrogen isotopic fractionation was established and calibrated based on the results.Results indicate that the hydrogen isotopic fractionation during the evolution of various gas-forming organic materials can be satisfactorily described by chemical kinetic models.During regular methane generation,the reactions at low-activation-energy region had a greater contribution than the high-activation-energy region.While the reactions with high-activation-energy region had greater contribution of deuterium-rich methane.Compared with carbon isotope fractionation,this results in a greater hydrogen isotopic fractionation,which is more sensitive to changes in maturity.This study lays a foundation for further investigations of genesis and maturity of natural gas provided by hydrogen isotopic fractionation.It also provides fundamental knowledge for investigating the filling history of natural gas reservoir and for identifying.

Composition and Evolution of Hydrogen Isotopes of n-Akanes Generated from Anhydrous Pyrolysis of Sediments from Lake Gahai,Gannan,China

To understand the thermal evolution of lacustrine sedimentary n-alkane hydrogen isotopic composition(δD),especially bacterially derived n-alkanes,anhydrous thermal simulation experiments were performed with sediments from Lake Gahai(Gannan,China).We analyzed the original and pyrolysis-generated n-alkanes and theirδD values.The results showed that thermal maturity and n-alkane origins significantly affected the distribution of pyrolysis-generated n-alkanes.In immature to post-mature sediments,the bacterial-derived medium-chain n-alkanes generally had depletedδD values.The maximum difference in averageδD values between the bacterial-and herbaceous plant-derived medium-chain n-alkanes was 32‰,and the maximum difference in δD values among individual n-alkanes was 59‰.We found that the averageδD value of pyrolysis-generated n-alkanes from different latitude was significantly different in immature to highly mature sediments,but similar in post-mature ssediments.The hydrogen isotopes of sedimentary n-alkanes can be used as indicators for paleoclimate/paleo-environment conditions only when sediments are immature to highly mature.During thermal evolution,the δD value of generated individual n-alkanes and the averageδD value increased with thermal maturity,indicating that hydrogen isotopes of sedimentary n-alkanes can be used as an index of organic matter maturity.We established mathematical models of average δD values of generated n-alkanes from immature to post-mature sediments using n C_(21)^(-)/nC_(21)^(+)and average chain lengths.These results improve our understanding of the distribution andδD value of sedimentary n-alkanes derived from herbaceous plants in mid-latitude plateau cold regions.

Equilibrium Modeling for Hydrogen Isotope Separation by Cryogenic Adsorption

The separation of hydrogen and deuterium by cryogenic adsorption was conducted, using the molecular sieve 5A as adsorbent, helium as the carder gas in a fixed column. The breakthrough curves of hydrogen, deuterium and the mixture of two components in helium carder gas were measured, a separation factor, approximately 2, for the hydrogen-deuterium binary mixture was obtained. The equilibrium model was built for simulation of the concentration distribution for single hydrogen, deuterium and their mixture with helium carder in the fixed column, and the simulation compared well with the experimental results.

Diffusion behavior of hydrogen isotopes in tungsten revisited by molecular dynamics simulations

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the diffusion behavior of hydrogen isotopes in single-crystal tungsten in the temperature range of 300-2000 K. The simulations show that the diffusion coefficient of H isotopes exhibits non-Arrhenius behavior, though this deviation from Arrhenius behavior is slight. Many-body and anharmonic effects of the potential surface may induce slight isotope-dependence by the activation energy; however, the dependence of the pre-factor of the diffusion coefficient on the isotope mass is diminished. The simulation results for H-atom migration near W surfaces suggest that no trap mutations occur for H atoms diffusing near either W{ 100} or W{ 111 } surfaces, in contrast to the findings for He diffusion near W surfaces. Based on the H behavior obtained by our MD simulations, the time evolution of the concentration distribution of interstitial H atoms in a semi-infinite W single crystal irradiated by energetic H projectiles was calculated. The effect of H concentration on H diffusion is discussed, and the applicability of the diffusion coefficients obtained for dilute H in W is assessed.

Oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of chert from the Sixtymile Formation in Grand Canyon National Park,USA：a warm palaeoclimate,freshwater deposit

New oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of chert from middle, intraformational breccias, and upper breccia members of the Sixtymile Formation（SMF） in eastern Grand Canyon National Park（AZ） yield palaeoclimate estimates between 27 and 33℃. The isotopic compositions of cherts define a domain approximately parallel to the meteoric water line when plotted on a δD–δ-（18）O diagram; these data indicate that meteoric water was involved during formation of the chert. In thin section, the absence of interlocking mega quartz（〉35 lm） and silicafilled fractures and veins, along with preserved micromorphological silica fabrics, suggest that the chert has not been permeated by later hydrothermal fluids. Petrographic observations in thin section such as cyclic silica precipitation phases and glaebular micromorphologic fabrics lend support to the interpretation that meteoric waters were involved during chert precipitation. The post 742 Ma SMF has been correlated with diamictite（transition） beds of the Kingston Peak Formation（CA）, which in turn have been interpreted to have been deposited during the Sturtian Ice Age（-750–700 Ma）. Absence of facetted and striated clasts and other diagnostic glaciogenic features in the SMF,an unconformable contact with the stratigraphically older Chuar Group, coupled with warm palaeotemperature data inferred from stable isotope values of chert, tentatively suggest that deposition of sediment in the SMF likely did not take place during the Sturtian Ice Age.

Preparation of Ti-Ni Porous Alloys and Its Hydrogen Isotope Effects

Ti-Ni porous alloy was made from titanium and nickel powder mixture in equiatomic composition by combustion synthesis technique (self-propagation high temperature synthesis). The result analyzed by SEM and XRD shows that the alloy possesses high porosity (50%～70%), and mainly consists of TiNi phase as well as rare Ti_2Ni and TiNi_3 transition phase. Then it was activated, cracked and used as sorbent for hydrogen isotope separation. Through experiment investigation, it was discovered that the alloy is able to absorb hydrogen in very large quantities in the lattice thereof, but deuterium only very slightly or not at all, at temperatures up to 623 K, especially at temperatures from about 323 to 423 K. According to this characteristic, the Ti-Ni porous alloys may replace noble metal palladium(Pd) as used for hydrogen isotope separation and purification. Study illustrated that the technology would have a promising engineering application, such as being used for reprocessing Tokamak exhaust gases and producing high purity deuterium.

Hydrogen Isotopes Recovery from Liquid Lithium under Dynamic Conditions

In the IFMIF （International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility）, high-intensity deuteron ion beam is targeted at flowing liquid Li to produce neutron for long-time irradiation test of fusion materials. Radioactive tritium （T） will be produced as by-product of the D-Li reaction. Y hot trap is expected as an effective system to recover T from the liquid Li target loop. In the present study, absorption behavior of hydrogen isotopes in Y plates is experimentally and analytically investigated under stirring conditions of liquid Li. Experiments clarified that H2 absorption rates of solid Y immersed in Li are independent of the rotating rate in the range of 0 to 100 rpm and are in proportion to the inlet H2 concentration. The rate-determining step is H diffusion in Y. A mass-transfer coefficient is a useful parameter to correlate the overall H transfer from the gaseous phase through liquid Li to the solid Y plate. The effect of activation temperature on the overall performance when Y absorbs H is comparatively investigated. It is considered that heating at 673 K is effective to activate Y along with HF treatment.

Plasmas Created in the Interaction of Antiprotons with Atomic and Ionized Hydrogen Isotopes. Suggested Fuels for Space Engines

The main objective of the present work is to investigate the properties of plasmas created by injecting a thermalized beam of antiprotons in two types of media. The first is hydrogen, deuterium, or tritium atoms localized in palladium crystals. The second medium is composed of protons, deuterons, or tritons localized in a magnetic cavity. Particularly, it is demonstrated that huge amounts of energy are released in both cases which could be used as fuels for space shuttle engines. A novel mathematical scheme is employed to calculate the energy yields in real space at different incident energies of the antiprotons.

Oxygenic iron clusters in ZSM-5 zeolite promote quantum sieving of gaseous hydrogen isotopes

Isotopic separation is of paramount importance for producing high-purity heavy hydrogen,yet the process remains hugely challenging.Here,we report on an Fe/ZSM-5 zeolite that was able to efficiently separate deuterium from protium via chemical quantum sieving.Structural data showed that four types of Fe species were present in Fe/ZSM-5 and oligomeric Fe-O clusters in the zeolite pores were correlated directly with gas selectivity.Gas adsorption revealed that Fe-O species served as the main adsorption sites and interacted with D_(2) more strongly than with H_(2).D_(2)/H_(2)separation was exemplified using thermal desorption spectroscopy.D_(2)/H_(2) selectivity increased with Fe loading in Fe/ZSM-5 and a selectivity of 32.1 was obtained with an optimal loading of 7 wt%.The shift of desorption temperature supports the chemical affinity-based quantum sieving of D_(2)over H_(2).This study demonstrates an effective strategy for enhancing D_(2)/H_(2) separation and the high selectivity means that Fe/ZSM-5 has strong potential in hydrogen isotope separation.

Origin of the Yueguang gold deposit in Xinhua, Hunan Province, South China: insights from fl uid inclusion and hydrogen–oxygen stable isotope analysis

The Yueguang gold deposit is located in Fengjia,Xinhua County,Hunan Province,South China.It represents a recently discovered small-scale gold deposit situated in the southwestern region of the Jiangnan Orogenic Belt,west of the Baimashan granitic batholith.In order to discern the characteristics of the ore-formingfluids,the underlying mineralization processes,and establish a foundation for the origin of the Yueguang gold depositfluid inclusion micro-thermometry,as well as quartz hydrogen and oxygen isotope analysis,have been carried out on samples obtained from various stages of mineralization.The hydrothermal miner-alization stages within the Yueguang gold deposit can be categorized into three stages:(i)the barren,pre-ore quartz-pyrite stage(Stage Ⅰ),the quartz-pyrite-gold stage(Stage Ⅱ),and the post-ore quartz-carbonate stage(Stage Ⅲ),with the second stage being the main mineralization stage.Thefluid inclusions identified in samples from the main min-eralization stage can predominantly be described with the NaCl–H_(2)O and CO_(2)–NaCl–H_(2)O systems.These inclusions display homogenization temperatures ranging from 158.8 to 334.9℃,and thefluid salinity ranges from 0.3%to 4.0%(wt.%NaCl equiv.).Laser Raman spectroscopy analysis of individual inclusions further reveals the presence of gas-phases such as CO_(2),CH_(4),and N_(2).Isotopic analysis indicatesδ^(18)Ofluid values ranging from 3.95 to 6.7‰ and δDH_(2)O values ranging from-71.9 to-55.7‰.These results indi-cate that the ore-formingfluid of the Yueguang gold deposit belongs to metamorphic hydrothermalfluids of middle-low temperature and low salinity.In the process of ore formation,gold is transported in the form of Au(HS)2-complexes,with gold deposition being driven byfluid immiscibility.Therefore,the Yueguang gold deposit is categorized as an orogenic gold deposit dominated by metamorphic hydrother-malfluid.It may become a new target for gold exploration in the Baimashan region,central Hunan Province.

Stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes of gases from the large tight gas fields in China

By the end of the year 2010, a total of 15 large tight gas fields have been found in China, located in the Ordos, Sichuan, and Tarim basins. The annual production and total reserves of these fields in 2010 were 222.5× 108 and 28657× 108 m3, respectively, accounting for 23.5% and 37.3%, respectively, of the total annual production and reserves of natural gases in China. They took a major part of all natural gas production and reserves in China. According to the analyses of 81 gas samples, the stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of tight gases in China have following characteristics： （1） Plots of δ13CI-δ13C2-δ13C3, δ13C1-C1/C2＋3 and δ13C1-δ 13C2 demonstrate the coal-derived origin of tight gases in China; （2） For the primary alkane gases, both carbon and hydrogen isotopic values increase with increasing molecular mass, i.e., δ13C1〈δ13C2〈δ13C3〈δ13C4 and δ2HI〈δ2Hz〈δ2H3; （3） The isotopic differences of δ13C2-δ13C1, δ13C3-δ13C1, δ2H2-δ22Hl and cTZH3-62H1 decrease with in- creasing Ro （%） and C1/C1-4; （4） There are seven causes for the carbon and hydrogen isotopic reversal, however, the carbon and hydrogen isotopic reversal of tight gases in China is caused mainly by multiple stages of gas charge and accumulation.

Compound-specific hydrogen isotopes of long-chain n-alkanes extracted from topsoil under a grassland ecosystem in northern China

To investigate characteristics of H isotope variation in long-chain n-alkanes （δDn-alkanes） from higher plants in surface soils under a single ecosystem, 12 samples from a basalt regolith were randomly collected from Damaping in Wanquan County of Zhangjiakou in North China. Molecular distribution and C （δ^13Cn-alkanes） and H isotopes of long-chain n-alkanes, as well as C isotopes of TOC （δ^13CTOC）, were analyzed. Both δ^13CTOC and δ^13Cn-alkanes values from four representative dominant long-chain n-alkanes （n-C27, n-C29, n-C31, n-C33） derived from terrestrial higher plants show minor variations among the 12 samples, indicating the major contributor is from local grasses with a uniform C3 photosynthetic pathway. In contrast, variations in δ^13Cn-alkanes values of the four long-chain n-alkanes are relatively large, with the more abundant homologs generally showing more negative δDn-alkanes values and less variation. However, variation of 〈30‰ among weighted averaged δDn-alkanes values of the four long-chain n-alkanes is not only less than that among δDn-alkanes values for different modern terrestrial C3 grasses from the specific locations, but also less than the literature values of δDn-alkanes of long-chain n-alkanes for single species over different seasons. Thus, because the sources of long-chain n-alkanes in surface soils and sediments are similarly from multiple individual plants, our results are significant in confirming that paleoclimatic, paleoenvironmental and paleohydrological information can be interpreted more accurately from δDn-alkanes values of long-chain n-alkanes from sediments, particularly terrestrial sediments with organic matter derived from in-situ plants.

Platinum single atom catalysts for hydrogen isotope separation during hydrogen evolution reaction

Electrolysis of water is widely used for hydrogen isotope separation and the development of hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)catalysts with high selectivity and activity is of key importance.Herein,we propose single atom catalysts(SACs)as promising catalysts for efficient hydrogen isotope separation.Pt SACs and Pt nanoparticles(NPs)have been fabricated on nanoarray-structured nitrogen-doped graphite foil(NGF)substrate by a polyol reduction method.The as prepared Pt1/NGF electrode exhibits high activity and selectivity toward HER with a low overpotential of 0.022 V at 10 mA·cm^(-2) and a high separation factor of 6.83 for hydrogen and deuterium separation,much better than Pt NPs counterpart.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations ascribe the high activity and selectivity to the constructed Pt-N_(2)C_(2) structure.This work develops a new opportunity for the design and application of high-efficiency and stable SACs toward hydrogen isotope separation by electrolysis of water.

Improvement of hydrogen isotope exchange reactions on Li_4SiO_4 ceramic pebble by catalytic metals

Li4SiO4 ceramic pebble is considered as a candidate tritium breeding material of Chinese Helium Cooled Solid Breeder Test Blanket Module （CH HCSB TBM） for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor （ITER）. In this paper, LiaSiO4 ceramic pebbles deposited with catalytic metals, including Pt, Pd, Ru and Ir, were prepared by wet impregnation method. The metal particles on Li4SiO4 pebble exhibit a good promotion of hydrogen isotope exchange reactions in H2-D20 gas system, with conversion equilibrium temperature reduction of 200-300 ~C. The out-of-pile tritium release experiments were performed using 1.0 wt% Pt/Li4SiO4 and Li4SiO4 pebbles irradiated in a thermal neutron reactor. The thermal desorption spectroscopy shows that Pt was effective to increase the tritium release rate at lower temperatures, and the ratio of tritium molecule （HT） to tritiated water （HTO） of 1.0 wt% Pt/LiaSiO4 was much more than that of Li4SiO4, which released mainly as HTO. Thus, catalytic metals deposited on LiaSiO4 pebble may help to accelerate the recovery of bred tritium particularly in low temperature region, and increase the tritium molecule form released from the tritium breedin~ materials.

Diffusion behaviors of hydrogen isotopes in niobium from first-principles

We investigate diffusion behaviors of hydrogen(H),deuterium(D),and tritium(T) in bulk niobium(Nb) using first-principles method.The diffusion energy barrier with quantum-correction has been calculated to be 0.12 eV,which is in good agreement with the experimental value of ～0.106 eV.According to diffusion theory presented by Wert and Zener,the diffusion pre-exponential factors of H,D,and T are shown to be 7.74×10-8m 2 s-1,5.47×10-8 m 2 s-1 and 4.48×10-8 m 2 s-1,respectively.These results are also in quantitative agreement with the corresponding experimental values.

Influence of aquatic plants on the hydrogen isotope composition of sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes in the Lake Qinghai region, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The hydrogen isotopic composition(δD) of leaf wax long-chain n-alkanes(C27, C29, and C31) from lacustrine sediments has been widely applied to reconstruct terrestrial paleoclimatic and paleohydrological changes. However, few studies have addressed whether the aquatic-derived n-alkanes can affect the δD values of lake sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes, which are usually regarded as a recorder of the terrestrial hydrological signals. Here we systematically investigated δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from modern aquatic plants, both near-shore and off-shore surface sediments, surrounding terrestrial plant litters, as well as river water and lake water in Lake Qinghai and its satellite lakes on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Our data showed that(i) δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from aquatic plants varied from-184‰ to-132‰ for n-C27, from-183‰ to-138‰ for n-C29, and from-189‰ to-130‰ for n-C31, respectively, with no significant differences among the three n-alkanes homologues;(ii) δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from aquatic plants were generally more positive than those from surrounding terrestrial plants, possibly because that they recorded the D-enrichment of lake water in this semi-arid region;(iii) δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from surface sediments showed significant differences among the three n-alkanes homologues, due to the larger aquatic input of n-C27 to the sedimentary lipid pool than that of n-C31, and(iv) n-C27 δD values of near-shore aquatic plants and near-shore sediments are more negative than those from off-shore as a result of lower δD values of near-shore lake water. Our findings indicate that in this region(i) the offset between sedimentary n-C27 and n-C31 δD values(ΔδDC27-C31) could potentially be used to evaluate if sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes are derived from a single source;(ii) while δD values of n-C27 may be influenced by lake water hydrological changes, sedimentary n-C31 is derived predominantly from terrestrial plants and thus its δD can serve as a relatively reliable indicator for terrestrial paleoclimatic and paleohydrological reconstructions.