Collaborative Research: Benthic Flux and Early Diagenesis of Selected Trace Elements

海水和沉积物记录中的微量元素分布常被用作现代和古海洋条件或过程的代用物。然而，在充分发挥其潜力之前，必须澄清这些元素在沉积和浅埋海底后的行为。在这项研究中，俄勒冈州立大学（Oregon State University）和南加州大学（University of Southern California）的研究人员将研究两种潜在的古指示元素——钡和锗——的地球化学特征，这些元素存在于从几个海洋地区收集的沉积物中沉积的浮游海洋生物的坚硬部分。具体来说，他们将评估常见的假设，即Ge不会从沉积的硅质结块中分馏出来，海水中的Ba：碱度关系与有机碳分解、钡溶解和碳酸钙溶解之间的耦合化学计量有关。这些结果有望更好地界定这些元素作为古海洋重建工具的优势和局限性。

9616241 Hammond Trace element distributions in seawater and in the sediment record are often used as proxies for both modern and paleooceanographic conditions or processes. However, before their full potential can be realized, the behavior of these elements after deposition and shallow burial on the seafloor must be clarified. In this study, researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Southern California will study the geochemistry of two potential paleoindicator elements, barium and germanium, in the hard parts of planktonic marine organisms deposited in sediments collected from several oceanic regions. Specifically they will evaluate the common assumptions that Ge is not fractionated from deposited siliceous frustules and that the Ba:Alkalinity relation in seawater is related to a coupled stoichiometry between organic carbon decomposition, dissolution of barium, and dissolution of calcium carbonate. The results are expected to better define the advantages and limitations of these elements as tools for paleooceanographic reconstructions.