Clumped isotope data from high-pH anthropogenic tufa in the Howden Burn, Consett, North East England

Clumped isotope data of high-pH anthropogenic carbonate deposits, reported as part-per thousand (per-mille, ‰) relative to international reference materials, and temperatures in degrees Celsius (˚C).
Data are acquired from individual layers within carbonate samples. These tufas were collected from the Howden Burn, a stream in Consett, County Durham, Northeast England.
Tufa hand specimen samples were acquired from Consett in October 2017. Isotope data were acquired in the Qatar Stable Isotope Laboratory at Imperial College London in July 2018.
Triplicate analyses were performed on 5-7mg powdered carbonate samples drilled from tufa layers. Isotope measurements were made using an isotope ratio mass spectrometer.
The data were collected for Chris Holdsworth’s MSc research thesis titled: ‘Understanding the controls on ecotoxic metal and clumped isotope compositions of slag-derived tufas’. The purpose of these data was to understand the controls on clumped isotope values in tufas precipitating in stream waters such as the Howden Burn that leach legacy slag heaps. This may be useful for geochemists using clumped isotopes and environmental regulators concerned with legacy industrial and alkali waste deposits.
Dr Cedric John’s carbonate research group at Imperial College London collected the data and MSc student Chris Holdsworth interpreted the data.