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

9616241海水和沉积物记录中的哈蒙德痕量元素分布经常被用作现代和古海洋条件或过程的替代物。然而，在充分发挥其潜力之前，必须弄清这些元素在沉积和浅埋在海底后的行为。在这项研究中，俄勒冈州立大学和南加州大学的研究人员将研究两种潜在的古指示元素--钡和锗--在浮游海洋生物坚硬部分的地球化学，这些浮游海洋生物沉积在几个大洋地区的沉积物中。具体地说，他们将评估常见的假设，即Ge不是从沉积的硅质树枝中分离出来的，以及海水中的BA：碱度关系与有机碳分解、Ba2+的溶解和CaCO3的溶解之间的耦合化学计量比有关。预计结果将更好地确定这些元素作为古海洋学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.