Experimental determination of growth rate effect on U and Mg partitioning between aragonite and fluid at elevated U concentration

Results are reported from an experimental study in which the partitioning of U and Mg between aragonite and an aqueous solution were determined as a function of crystal growth rate. Crystals, identified as aragonite by X-ray diffractometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy, were grown by diffusion of CO₂ from an ammonium carbonate source into a calcium-bearing solution at temperatures of 22 and 53 °C. Hemispherical bundles (spherulites) of aragonite crystals were produced, the growth rates of which decreased monotonically from the spherulite interiors to the edges and thus provide the opportunity to examine the influence of growth rate on crystal composition. Element concentration ratios were measured using electron microprobe (EMP) and fluid composition was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic absorption (AA). Growth rates were determined directly by addition of a Dy spike to the fluid during the experiment that was subsequently located in an experimentally precipitated spherulite using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). At 22 °C both U/Ca and Mg/Ca partition coefficients exhibited a strong growth rate dependence when crystal growth rates were low, and became independent of growth rate when crystal growth rates were high. The U/Ca ratios in aragonite increase between 22 and 53 °C; in contrast Mg/Ca ratios show inverse dependence on temperature.