Geochemical study on the formation of carbonate sediment

It is indeed my great honor to receive the Oceanographical Society of Japan Prize (1986) for my geochemical study on the formation of carbonate sediment. The present article reviews my work on crystal form and minor element distribution in marine biogenic carbonates, which is an important part of my study on the above title. The contents of this article are: (1) outline of my research work, (2) aim of geochemical study on carbonate sediment, (3) basic knowledge for crystal form and minor element distribution in carbonates, (4) influence of chemical constituents dissolved in a parent solution on the polymorphic crystallization of calcium carbonate, (5) crystal form and type of marine biogenic carbonates, (6) synthesis of magnegian calcite in aqueous solution, (7) distribution of minor elements between solution and calcium carbonate precipitate, (8) amount of biogenic carbonate deposition annually in the ocean and (9) role of biogenic carbonate accumulating on the sea floor in the geochemical balance of chemical elements.