Reconstruction of the Miocene western Amazonian aquatic system using molluscan isotopic signatures.
Abstract Strontium isotopic ratios and Sr contents of molluscs from the Miocene Pebas Formation in Colombian Amazonia indicate that the bulk of the Pebas Formation was deposited in a freshwater environment, predominantly draining the Andes, with minor contribution from the shield regions. The molluscan oxygen and carbon isotopic composition does not provide a palaeosalinity proxy, but points to a lacustrine palaeoenvironment. The faunal character confirms such an interpretation. Sr isotopic ratios further suggest that a marine incursion that reached the area was composed of a mixture of shield-derived freshwater and seawater, with a maximum salinity of about 5 psu. Faunistic components of this incursion-level support a shield–seawater mixing. The incursion most likely reached western Amazonia from the north, probably along the western Guyana shield.