Biogenic Accumulations of Uranium in Recent Seas

The objective of this study is to determine the geochemical role of molluscs in the distribution of uranium in the marine ecosystem. Biogeochemical studies are carried out on recent mollusc shells from the Caspian Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, and Indian Ocean, which differ from each other in terms of physical, chemical, geographic, and geochemical characteristics. In this study, nine Gastropoda and fifty-four Pelecypoda shells of different species are analyzed to document variations of uranium in seasonal layers, which were formed by the seasonal carbonate-organic phase of molluscs during their entire lives. Shell used in this study principally comprises three layers: upper (outer) prismatic, middle prismatic, and inner (mother-of-pearl) layers. In addition, when possible, the head, the middle, and the lower parts of the shells are used for analyses separately. Also, the biological accumulation rate values for each different mollusc species rel     

Geochemical fingerprints of dolomitization in Bahamian carbonates: Evidence from sulphur,calcium, magnesium and clumped isotopes

In an effort to constrain the mechanism of dolomitization in Neogene dolomites in the Bahamas and improve understanding of the use of chemostratigraphic tracers in shallow‐water carbonate sediments the δ³⁴S, Δ₄₇, δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, δ^44/40Ca and δ²⁶Mg values and Sr concentrations have been measured in dolomitized intervals from the Clino core, drilled on the margin of Great Bahama Bank and two other cores (Unda and San Salvador) in the Bahamas. The Unda and San Salvador cores have massively dolomitized intervals that have carbonate associated sulphate δ³⁴S values similar to those found in contemporaneous seawater and δ^44/40Ca, δ²⁶Mg values, Sr contents and Δ₄₇ temperatures (25 to 30°C) indicating relatively shallow dolomitization in a fluid‐buffered system. In contrast, dolomitized intervals in the Clino core have elevated values of carbonate associated sulphate δ³⁴S values indicating dolomitization in a more sediment‐buffered diagenetic system where bacterial sulphate reduction enriches the residual in ³⁴S, consistent with high sediment Sr concentrations and low δ^44/40Ca and high δ²⁶Mg values. Only dolomites associated with hardgrounds in the Clino core have carbonate associated δ³⁴S values similar to seawater, indicating continuous flushing of the upper layers of the sediment by seawater during sedimentary hiatuses. This interpretation is supported by changes to more positive δ^44/40Ca values at hardground surfaces. All dolomites, whether they formed in an open fluid‐buffered or closed sediment‐buffered diagenetic system have similar δ²⁶Mg values suggesting that the HMC transformed to dolomite. The clumped isotope derived temperatures in the dolomitized intervals in Clino yield temperatures that are higher than normal, possibly indicating a kinetic isotope effect on dolomite Δ₄₇ values associated with carbonate formation through bacterial sulphate reduction. The findings of this study highlight the utility of applying multiple geochemical proxies to disentangle the diagenetic history of shallow‐water carbonate sediments and caution against simple interpretations of stratigraphic variability in these geochemical proxies as indicating changes in the global geochemical cycling of these elements in seawater.     

海水化学演化对生物矿化的影响综述

显生宙非骨屑碳酸盐矿物经历了文石海和方解石海的交替,主要造礁生物和沉积物生产者的骨骼矿物与非骨屑碳酸盐矿物具有同步变化的趋势。这种长期的变化趋势可以用海水化学Mg/Ca摩尔比的变化来解释。流体包裹体、同位素和微量元素等证据也证实了海水化学在地质历史中经历过剧烈的变化。虽然生物诱导矿化和生物控制矿化的相对重要性一直存在争议,但古生物地层记录和人工海水养殖实验结果都表明,海水化学演化对生物矿化有重要的影响,体现在造礁生物群落的兴衰、生物起源时对骨骼矿物类型的选择以及微生物碳酸盐岩在地质历史中的分布等。这些为研究前寒武纪海水化学演化、古气候和古环境的重建、同位素地层对比以及碳酸盐的沉积和成岩等问题提供了新的思路。     

Neotethys seawater chemistry and temperature at the dawn of the end Permian mass extinction

The end of the Permian was a time of great death and massive upheaval in the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere. Over the last decades, many causes have been suggested to be responsible for that catastrophe such as global warming, anoxia and acidification. The Gyanyima limestone block was an open ocean seamount in the southern Neotethys at subtropical latitude, and it affords us insight into open-ocean oceanographic changes during the end of the Permian. After careful screening using multiple tests, we reconstructed carbonate/seawater curves from the geochemical data stored in pristine brachiopod shell archives from the shallow water limestone of the Changhsingian Gyanyima Formation of Tibet. The reconstructed strontium isotope curve and data for the late Changhsingian are relatively invariant about 0.707013, but in the upper part of the succession the values become more radiogenic climaxing at about 0.707244. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr curve and trend are similar to those observed for the Upper Permian succession in northern Italy, but dissimilar (less radiogenic) to whole rock results from Austria, Iran, China and Spitsbergen. The Ce/Ce* anomaly results ranging from 0.310 to 0.577 for the brachiopods and from 0.237 to 0.655 for the coeval whole rock before the event, and of 0.276 for whole rock during the extinction event, suggest normal redox conditions. These Ce* values are typical of normal open-ocean oxic water quality conditions observed in modern and other ancient counterparts. The biota and Ce* information clearly discounts global anoxia as a primary cause for the end-Permian biotic crisis. Carbon isotopes from brachiopod shells and whole rock are relatively invariant for most of the latest Permian interval, which is in stark contrast to the distinct negative carbon isotope excursion observed near and about the event. Estimates of seawater temperature at shallow depth fluctuated from 22.2 to 29.0 °C up to unit 8–2, and then gradually rise from 29.7 °C in unit 8–13 to values exceeding 35 °C at a stratigraphic level about 120 ky before the Permian–Triassic boundary, and just before the onset of the extinction interval. This dramatic increase in seawater temperature has been observed in global successions from tropical to mid latitude and from restricted to open ocean localities (e.g., northern Italy, Iran). The brachiopod archive and its geochemical proxies from Tibet support the paradigm that global warming must have been an important factor of the biotic crisis for the terrestrial and marine faunas and floras of the late Paleozoic world.     

贵州紫云晒瓦晚二叠世深水相地层

通过对晒瓦晚二叠世岩石地层和生物地层的初步研究 ,认为晒瓦晚二叠世地层属于深水相沉积 ,可划分成4段 ;并根据双壳类、腕足类延限和发育特征 ,分别建立了一个双壳类化石带 (Claraia primitiva- H unanopecten exi-lis组合带 )和二个腕足类化石带 (N eochonetes substrophomenoides- Orthothetina ruber组合带 ,Acosarina dorsisulca-ta- Crurithyris speciosa组合带 ) ;在对牙形石、双壳类和腕足类等典型化石的综合研究基础上 ,首次划分出吴家坪阶和长兴阶 ,改变了以往本区晚二叠世年代地层未细分的状况 ,提高了划分对比精度。     

High resolution distribution of magnesium and strontium and the evaluation of Mg/Ca thermometry in Recent brachiopod shells

High resolution distribution of magnesium and strontium determined by Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are presented in this study for Recent brachiopod shells. The concentration of magnesium and strontium decreases in a similar fashion from the outer to inner regions of shells of rhynchonelliform species but remains unaltered in craniid brachiopods. In rhynchonelliform brachiopods with low-magnesium shells, there is a characteristic chemical profile with an abrupt decrease in magnesium concentration from the primary layer towards the secondary layer until it reaches a region in which the values are almost constant. In addition, there is a proportional relationship in magnesium concentration between primary and secondary layers. Both findings demonstrate the biological control in magnesium incorporation in rhynchonelliform brachiopods confirming previously reported findings. Calculated Mg/Ca ratios based on magnesium concentrations within the innermost region of the secondary layer show that rhynchonelliform brachiopods can record seawater temperature. This finding opens up the possibility of using Mg/Ca (palaeo) thermometry even within the context of biological control and the potential application of Mg/Ca ratios as a seawater temperature proxy in fossil brachiopods.     

西藏北部永珠地区石炭系永珠组岩石地层和古生物特征

永珠地区位于申扎古生代盆地,区内发育连续的早奥陶世—中二叠世海相沉积序列。石炭系永珠组岩石组合特征为细粒石英砂岩、页岩、粉砂岩,夹多层生物碎屑灰岩,含丰富的生物化石,主要有腕足类、双壳类、牙形刺、珊瑚、苔藓虫、菊石、三叶虫。牙形刺Gnathodusgirtyi—Gnathodustexanus为早石炭世晚期组合;腕足类Productus—Rhipidomellatibetena为早石炭世晚期组合,Choristites—Spirigerella为晚石炭世早期下部组合,Trigonatretacf.paucicostulata—Elivellabaschkirica为晚石炭世早期上部组合。Uncinunellina是典型的冷水习性腕足类,Cyathaxonia是典型的冷水习性珊瑚,表明了全球石炭纪冰期已影响到本区。确定了永珠组的时代为早石炭世晚期—晚石炭世早期,且早石炭世与晚石炭世分界线在第11层与第12层之间。     

Compositional changes in sigmoidal carbonate clinoforms (Late Tithonian,eastern Sardinia,Italy): insights from quantitative microfacies analyses

Quantitative analysis of sediment composition was performed on a kilometre wide section of Upper Tithonian low relief (up to 70 m), gently inclined (3° to 15°), sigmoidal carbonate clinoforms (eastern Sardinia) to identify changes in sediment composition along the slope and across the studied succession. These changes may reflect modifications of the carbonate factory and of processes responsible for sediment transport. Point‐count analysis of carbonate microfacies, Q‐mode/R‐mode cluster analysis and Spearman’s rank provided a composition‐based classification of microfacies and highlighted relationships among sediment components. The studied clinoforms are mainly composed of non‐skeletal grains (70%), such as peloids and lithoclasts, together with micrite and cements and only a limited contribution from coated grains (2%). Among skeletal grains (28%), the greatest contribution derives from a coral–stromatoporoid–encruster reef that provided 15% of the components. Crinoids, brachiopods and other along‐slope thriving biota provided nearly 5% of the allochems, whilst fragments of molluscs (gastropods, bivalves and diceratids) from the backreef sourced another 2%. The contribution of platform interior biota is negligible (1%). The association of composition‐based facies varies along the slope. The upper slope beds consist of coral‐stromatoporoid grainstone to rudstone; the middle slope deposits are dominated by encruster‐lithoclast grainstone and packstone. At the lower slope, peloidal lithoclastic packstone as well as brachiopod–crinoidal wackestone prevail. Also the association of skeletal grains changes along the slope. The encruster–frame builder association typifies the upper slope whilst encrusters characterize the middle slope sediments. In the lower slope encrusters are equally represented as the brachiopod–crinoid association. Along‐slope compositional changes evidence a scarce downslope transport of frame builders and a progressive enrichment in along‐slope thriving biota. Quantitative analysis of microfacies allowed the sigmoidal clinoforms to be grouped into six sets. Each set gathers sigmoids with a similar sediment composition. Coated grains are dominant in the first set whilst they are lacking in the overlying sets reflecting a change in the carbonate factory. Other major compositional changes among the sets concern the relative amounts of peloids, micrite, frame builders (corals and stromatoporoids) and encrusters. The contribution of peloids varies inversely to that of cements and micrite as evidenced in the third and fifth sets which, respectively, record the highest occurrence of peloids or cement and micrite. Variations in the amount of frame builders and encrusters are instead non‐linear. High percentages of both frame builders and encrusters, as recorded in the second and fifth sets, are related to low amounts of peloids and lithoclasts that probably reflect episodes of reduced background sedimentation. This study demonstrates that quantitative analysis of carbonate microfacies represents a powerful tool that can improve the reconstruction of the stacking pattern in carbonate slope successions both in outcrop and in subsurface settings.     

新铺地区晚三叠世早期腕足类及其古生态环境——兼论海百合类和双壳类假浮游古生态

本文论述贵州关岭新铺地区上三叠统下部竹杆坡组中部至小凹组下段所产的腕足动物群及其古生态环境。该区目前共获得腕足类6个目,6个科,7个属,8个种（含4新种）和1个属种未定。根据这些腕足类的固着方式、生活习性、贝体形态和大小,以及组合特征,可以从下到上将它们分为Pseudokoninekina,Laballa,Linguloid等3个群落。该3个群落的生态底域分别位于BA4至BA3外侧、BA2和BA1,表明本区从竹杆坡组中部至小凹组下段的沉积环境是由较为深水逐步向较为浅水过渡,应为海退过程的沉积产物。同时,本文还论证了当时不可能存在为海百合类和双壳类提供假浮游的载体,它们应是底栖生物,并且指出那些被认为是假浮游的化石证据的分析与推断存在片面性。     

Anaerobic microbial activity affects earliest diagenetic pathways of bivalve shells

The earliest diagenetic post‐mortem exposure of biogenic carbonates at the sea floor and in the uppermost sediment column results in the colonization of hard‐part surfaces by bacterial communities. Some of the metabolic redox processes related to these communities have the potential to alter carbonate shell properties, and hence affect earliest diagenetic pathways with significant consequences for archive data. During a three‐month in vitro study, shell subsamples of the ocean quahog Arctica islandica (Linnaeus, 1767) were incubated in natural anoxic sediment slurries and bacterial culture medium of the heterotrophic Shewanella sediminis HAW ‐EB 3. Bulk analyses of the liquid media from the Shewanella sediminis incubation revealed an over ten‐fold increase in total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon and Ω_Aragonite, and the alteration of the Mg/Ca, Mg/Sr and Sr/Ca ratios relative to control incubations without cultures. Ion ratios were most affected in the incubation with anoxic sediment, depicting a 25% decrease in Mg/Ca relative to the control. Shell sample surfaces that were exposed to both incubations displayed visible surface dissolution features, and an 8 wt% loss in calcium content. No such alteration features were detected in control shells. Apparently, alteration of shell carbonate properties was induced by microbially driven decomposition of shell intercrystalline organic constituents and subsequent opening of pathways for pore fluid–crystal exchange. This study illustrates the potential influence of benthic bacterial metabolism on biogenic carbonate archives during the initial stages of diagenetic alteration within a relatively short experimental duration of only three months. These results suggest that foremost the biological effect of bacterial cation adsorption on divalent cation ratios has the potential to complicate proxy interpretation. Results shown here highlight the necessity to consider bacterial metabolic activities in marine sediments for the interpretation of palaeo‐environmental proxies from shell carbonate archives.     

腕足壳体与碳酸盐岩全岩中碳、氧、锶同位素差异

利用碳酸盐岩中的地球化学信息反演是研究地质历史时期古环境、古气候变化的一种常用手段.上世纪八十年代前,学术界一直将碳酸盐岩全岩样品作为研究对象.近年来,腕足化石壳体引起了科学家的注意,认为相比碳酸盐岩全岩样品,腕足壳体能更为完好地保存原始的地球化学信息.研究通过对比四川龙门山泥盆纪腕足化石和碳酸盐岩全岩样品中碳、氧、锶同位素(黄思静、卢长武等人数据),发现腕足化石中氧同位素明显高于碳酸盐岩全岩;但碳、锶同位素基本一致.上述结果表明:相比腕足化石,碳酸盐岩全岩样品蕴含的地球化学信息虽有所差异,但在大多数情况下,尤其是缺乏腕足化石的时期,碳酸盐岩全岩蕴含的地球化学信息照样可以反演地质历史时期的古环境变化,尤其是碳、锶同位素.     

Nanostructure, composition and mechanisms of bivalve shell growth

Freshwater and marine cultured pearls form via identical processes to the shells of bivalves and can therefore serve as models for the biomineralization of bivalve shells in general. Their nanostructure consists of membrane-coated granules (vesicles) which contain amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) at the beginning of the biomineralization sequence, preceding the crystallization of aragonite and vaterite. In contrast to the commonly accepted view, crystallization of ACC occurs rapidly and within the granular nano-compartments mediated by organic molecules much earlier than platelet formation. The interlamellar organic sheets in nacre that form the platelet structure of nacre themselves form by self-organization after the crystallization process of CaCO₃ is completed and, thus, cannot serve as a nucleation template for aragonite. Pores in the organic sheets are postulated to be a result of this process rather than to represent the pathways for CaCO₃ through pre-existing interlamellar sheets. The amorphous phase has the highest concentrations of Mg (5.8 mol%), Mn (6.6 mol%), S (4.7 mol%) and P (1 mol%) of the three CaCO₃-polymorphs. Mg/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios are found to decrease in the order ACC > vaterite > aragonite, corresponding to decreasing organic content in the different phases. This, as well as an observed enrichment of Mg in the organic-rich growth-banding of the pearls, suggests an at least partially organic speciation of Mg and Mn in bivalves and may be responsible for the observed physiological influence on Mg/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios in bivalves as a proxy for environmental parameters.     

Oxygen isotope evolution of biogenic calcite and apatite during the Middle and Late Devonian

Oxygen isotope ratios of well-preserved brachiopod calcite and conodont apatite were used to reconstruct the palaeotemperature history of the Middle and Late Devonian. By assuming an oxygen isotopic composition of –1 V-SMOW for Devonian seawater, the oxygen isotope values of Eifelian and early Givetian brachiopods and conodonts give average palaeotemperatures ranging from 22 to 25 °C. Late Givetian and Frasnian palaeotemperatures calculated from ¹⁸O values of conodont apatite are close to 25 °C in the early Frasnian and increase to 32 °C in the latest Frasnian and early Famennian. Oxygen isotope ratios of late Givetian and Frasnian brachiopods are significantly lower than equilibrium values calculated from conodont apatite ¹⁸O values and give unrealistically warm temperatures ranging from 30 to 40 °C. Diagenetic recrystallization of shell calcite, different habitats of conodonts and brachiopods, as well as non-equilibrium fractionation processes during the precipitation of brachiopod calcite cannot explain the ¹⁸O depletion of brachiopod calcite. Moreover, the ¹⁸O depletion of brachiopod calcite with respect to equilibrium ¹⁸O values calculated from conodont apatite is too large to be explained by a change in seawater pH that might have influenced the oxygen isotopic composition of brachiopod calcite. The realistic palaeotemperatures derived from ¹⁸O _apatite may suggest that biogenic apatite records the oxygen isotopic composition and palaeotemperature of Palaeozoic oceans more faithfully than brachiopod calcite, and do not support the hypothesis that the ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratio of Devonian seawater was significantly different from that of the modern ocean.     

Stable isotope profiles (Ca,O, C) through modern brachiopod shells of T. septentrionalis and G. vitreus: Implications for calcium isotope paleo-ocean chemistry

Brachiopod shells are widely used as an archive to reconstruct elemental and isotopic composition of seawater. Studies, focused on oxygen and carbon isotopes over the last decades, are increasingly extending to the emerging calcium isotope system. To date, only little attention has been paid to test the reliability of fossil brachiopods on their modern counterparts.In this context, the present study investigates two modern brachiopods, Terebratulina septentrionalis (eastern Canada, 5–30 m depth, 7.1 °C seasonal temperature variation, two-layer shell) and Gryphus vitreus (northern Mediterranean, 200 m depth, constant all-year round temperature, three-layer shell). Both species were sampled along the ontogenetic growth direction and calcium, oxygen, and carbon isotopes as well as elemental concentration were measured. Calcium isotopes were analyzed on TIMS. The elemental composition was analyzed by LA-ICP-MS and ICP-AES.The results indicate an intra-specimen δ^44/40Ca variation ranging from 0.16 to 0.33‰, pointing to a fairly homogenous distribution of calcium isotopes in brachiopod shells. However, in the light of the suggested 0.7‰ increase in calcium isotopes over the Phanerozoic such intra-specimen variations constrain ocean reconstruction. δ^44/40Ca values of T. septentrionalis do not seem to be affected by growth rate. Calcium isotopic values of G. vitreus are heavy in the central part of the shell and trend towards lighter values in peripheral areas approaching the maximum isotopic composition of T. septentrionalis. The maximum inter-species δ^44/40Ca difference of 0.62‰ between T. septentrionalis and G. vitreus indicates that care should be taken when using different taxa, species with different strontium content or brachiopods with specialized shell structure, such as G. vitreus, for ocean water reconstruction in terms of Ca isotopic composition. T. septentrionalis may record Ca isotopic fractionation related to seasonal seawater temperature variations in its shell but this is difficult to resolve at the current analytical precision. Average δ¹⁸O-derived temperatures of the two investigated species are close to on-site measured temperatures.     

Heterogeneous Mg isotopic composition of the early Carboniferous limestone: implications for carbonate as a seawater archive

Carbonate precipitation and hydrothermal reaction are the two major processes that remove Mg from seawater. Mg isotopes are significantly (up to 5‰) fractionated during carbonate precipitation by preferential incorporation of ²⁴Mg, while hydrothermal reactions are associated with negligible Mg isotope fractionation by preferential sequestration of ²⁶Mg. Thus, the marine Mg cycle could be reflected by seawater Mg isotopic composition (δ²⁶Mg_sw), which might be recorded in marine carbonate. However, carbonates are both texturally and compositionally heterogeneous, and it is unclear which carbonate component is the most reliable for reconstructing δ²⁶Mg_sw. In this study, we measured Mg isotopic compositions of limestone samples collected from the early Carboniferous Huangjin Formation in South China. Based on petrographic studies, four carbonate components were recognized: micrite, marine cement, brachiopod shell, and mixture. The four components had distinct δ²⁶Mg: (1) micrite samples ranged from ?2.86‰ to ?2.97‰; (2) pure marine cements varied from ?3.40‰ to ?3.54‰, while impure cement samples containing small amount of Rugosa coral skeletons showed a wider range (?3.27‰ to ?3.75‰); (3) values for the mixture component were ?3.17‰ and ?3.49‰; and (4) brachiopod shells ranged from ?2.20‰ to ?3.07‰, with the thickened hinge area enriched in ²⁴Mg. Due to having multiple carbonate sources, neither the micrite nor the mixture component could be used to reconstruct δ²⁶Mg_sw. In addition, the marine cement was homogenous in Mg isotopes, but lacking the fractionation by inorganic carbonate precipitation that is prerequisite for the accurate determination of δ²⁶Mg_sw. Furthermore, brachiopod shells had heterogeneous C and Mg isotopes, suggesting a significant vital effect during growth. Overall, the heterogeneous δ²⁶Mg of the Huangjin limestone makes it difficult to reconstruct δ²⁶Mg_sw using bulk carbonate/calcareous sediments. Finally, δ²⁶Mg_sw was only slightly affected by the faunal composition of carbonate-secreting organisms, even though biogenic carbonate accounts for more than 90% of marine carbonate production in Phanerozoic oceans and there is a wide range (0.2‰–4.8‰) of fractionation during biogenic carbonate formation.     

微量元素分布揭示腕足化石壳体原始信息保存现状

以产于四川龙门山地区泥盆系观雾山组的有铰纲腕足化石Ｉｎｄｅｐｅｎｄａｔｒｙｐａ ｌｅｍｍａ Ｃｈｅｎ为研究对象,利用激光熔样等离子质谱（ＬＡ－ＩＣＰ－ＭＳ）对其壳体棱柱层中Ｆｅ、Ｍｇ、Ｍｎ、Ｎａ、Ｂａ和Ｓｒ六种微量元素进行了就位分析。它们在壳体横切面中的对称分布特征总体上与壳体增生方式和过程相一致,表明壳体的绝大部分未经成岩作用的改造。与常用的结构判据、阴极发光判据和微量元素含量判据相比较,微量元     

Surface carbonate and land-derived clastic marine sediments from southern Chile: mineralogical and geochemical investigation

Surface carbonate and land-derived deposits in the sea off southern Chile were investigated for their mineralogical and geochemical composition. The data were related to environmental features and compared with those of similar temperate and polar carbonate deposits from Tasmania, New Zealand, Arctica, and Antarctica. The mineralogy of the siliciclastic fraction is typical of cold areas and is mainly composed of chlorite, mica, quartz, feldspars and amphibole. The CaCO₃ content varies from 30 to 90%; carbonate mineralogy is made up of low-Mg calcite, high-Mg calcite and minor amounts of aragonite. The Ca, Mg, Sr, Fe, and Mn contents of bulk carbonates and some selected skeletal hard parts are comparable to those of carbonates from Tasmania. The elemental composition is mainly related to carbonate mineralogy, skeletal components, and seawater conditions. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of carbonates are positive, and their field falls between the “seafloor diagenesis” and “upwelling water” trend lines, because the sediments are likely to be in equilibrium with waters of Antarctic origin. The mineralogical, elemental, and isotopic compositions of carbonates from southern Chile show better similarities with the “temperate” carbonates from Tasmania and New Zealand than with the “polar” carbonates from Arctica and Antarctica. Carbonate deposition is allowed by the low terrigenous input, the low SPM concentration and, probably, the upwelling of seawater from Antarctica.     

Biosedimentology of the Early Jurassic post-extinction carbonate depositional system, central High Atlas rift basin, Morocco

This study documents a Liassic example of the long‐ranging effects of mass extinction on carbonate systems. Biohistoric constraints inherent in the Liassic carbonate depositional system are deciphered from normal‐marine, sub‐tidal deposits of the central High Atlas rift basin (Morocco) through ?Hettangian/Sinemurian to Early Toarcian times. The integration of results from the analysis of lithofacies, depositional geometries, microfacies, macrobenthos, carbonate build‐ups, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes, and rare earth element + yttrium distribution patterns allows the intrinsic (or biohistoric) control on the central High Atlas deposits to be separated from extrinsic factors, such as basin development and palaeoclimate. The survival interval in the aftermath of the end‐Triassic mass extinction persisted until the Early Sinemurian indicated by a severely depleted carbonate system impoverished in skeletal organisms. A tectonic pulse at the Early to Late Sinemurian boundary interval caused a basin widening with immigration of a marine fauna. However, until the latest Sinemurian (macdonelli Subzone of the raricostatum Zone) the deposits were dominated by filter‐feeding benthic heterotrophs (sponges, brachiopods, polychaetes and crinoids). During this stage, primary production within the enlarged basin must have been largely planktonic and there was a net‐flux of organic matter to the sea floor (oxygen minimum zone). A regional radiation of organic‐walled phytoplankton is inferred to explain the selective success of the filter‐feeding community and the occurrence of sponge mounds. Thus, significant effects of the end‐Triassic mass extinction are still present during the Late Sinemurian. Through almost the entire Pliensbachian a highly productive, shoal‐rimmed carbonate platform existed; it developed subsequent to tectonic reorganization and a marine recirculation event (radiolarian facies, Δδ¹³C ≈ ?1·1, strongly negative Ce‐anomaly). Photosymbiotic sediment producers (mainly large bivalves) now state the success of specialists and environmental equilibrium conditions. In the latest Pliensbachian the climax stage was reached with the development of a coralgal reef‐rimmed carbonate platform. The Liassic carbonate depositional system experienced a terminal, multicausal Early Toarcian drowning event during which most of the large bivalves became extinct.     

Rare earth element geochemistry of Late Devonian reefal carbonates, Canning Basin, Western Australia: confirmation of a seawater REE proxy in ancient limestones

Rare earth element and yttrium (REE+Y) concentrations were determined in 49 Late Devonian reefal carbonates from the Lennard Shelf, Canning Basin, Western Australia. Shale-normalized (SN) REE+Y patterns of the Late Devonian samples display features consistent with the geochemistry of well-oxygenated, shallow seawater. A variety of different ancient limestone components, including microbialites, some skeletal carbonates (stromatoporoids), and cements, record seawater-like REE+Y signatures. Contamination associated with phosphate, Fe-oxides and shale was tested quantitatively, and can be discounted as the source of the REE+Y patterns. Co-occurring carbonate components that presumably precipitated from the same seawater have different relative REE concentrations, but consistent REE+Y patterns. Clean Devonian early marine cements (n = 3) display REE+Y signatures most like that of modern open ocean seawater and the highest Y/Ho ratios (e.g., 59) and greatest light REE (LREE) depletion (average Nd_SN/Yb_SN = 0.413, SD = 0.076). However, synsedimentary cements have the lowest REE concentrations (e.g., 405 ppb). Non-contaminated Devonian microbialite samples containing a mixture of the calcimicrobe Renalcis and micritic thrombolite aggregates in early marine cement (n = 11) have the highest relative REE concentrations of tested carbonates (average total REE = 11.3 ppm). Stromatoporoid skeletons, unlike modern corals, algae and molluscs, also contain well-developed, seawater-like REE patterns. Samples from an estuarine fringing reef have very different REE+Y patterns with LREE enrichment (Nd_SN/Yb_SN > 1), possibly reflecting inclusion of estuarine colloidal material that contained preferentially scavenged LREE from a nearby riverine input source. Hence, Devonian limestones provide a proxy for marine REE geochemistry and allow the differentiation of co-occurring water masses on the ancient Lennard Shelf. Although appropriate partition coefficients for quantification of Devonian seawater REE concentrations from out data are unknown, hypothetical Devonian Canning Basin seawater REE patterns were obtained with coefficients derived from modern natural proxies and experimental values. Resulting Devonian seawater patterns are slightly enriched in LREE compared to most modern seawaters and suggest higher overall REE concentrations, but are very similar to seawaters from regions with high terrigenous inputs. Our results suggest that most limestones should record important aspects of the REE geochemistry of the waters in which they precipitated, provided they are relatively free of terrigenous contamination and major diagenetic alteration from fluids with high, non-seawater-like REE contents. Hence, we expect that many other ancient limestones will serve as seawater REE proxies, and thereby provide information on paleoceanography, paleogeography and geochemical evolution of the oceans.     

内蒙古西部额济纳旗及邻区中二叠统腕足类动物群的特征和时代

额济纳旗及其邻区中二叠统产丰富的腕足动物群,该动物群具有北方冷水动物和特提斯暖水动物混生的特点,划分为Spiriferella-Kochiproductus-Yakovlevia 组合,称为“哲斯动物群”。在生物古地理分区上,该区为北方生物大区和特提斯生物大区之间的过渡带,称为中蒙生物省。动物群的组成、丰度和分异度等特征在银-额（银根-额济纳旗）盆地的东西部有明显的差异：盆地西部北山地区海水较浅,腕足动物群丰度高,分异度略低,以个体较大、壳体较厚的冷水分子占优势,共生少量的双壳类和珊瑚;东部杭乌拉地区海水略深,腕足动物群丰度稍低,分异度较高,含有大量的小个体腕足,共生冷水型珊瑚和丰富的海百合类,世界广布分子和暖水分子超过一半。说明该腕足动物群在受纬度和温度控制的同时,也受水体深度的影响,在同一海盆的不同环境中表现出不同的特点。通过对该动物群的起源、区域分布特点和共生生物的分析,认为额济纳旗及其邻区的哲斯动物群的时限为罗甸期—孤峰期。