Studies to Improve the Oceanic Germanium Mass Balance

生物欧泊中的Ge/Si比值具有巨大的潜力， 大陆化学通量平衡的示踪剂 风化和热液来源，并作为海洋的示踪剂 比如生产力。 然而，这在多大程度上 示踪剂可以成功地应用于这些问题的关键 取决于Ge-Si系统的质量平衡和化学组成。 这两种元素在海洋中的行为。 看起来 目前对Ge-Si系统的理解是不完整的， 基于Ge-Si系统的热液Si通量的估计是 远低于其他示踪剂或模型估算的通量。 的 当前Ge-Si系统模型的困难在于， 不能解释海洋地球化学循环 因为Ge包括除生物蛋白石之外的重要汇。 一 将进行一系列实验以评估 海洋Ge到非生物沉积物组分。 Ge含量和 关键Ge/元素比值将在风成源中表征 以及在北太平洋远洋沉积物中。 的 结果应提供重要的限制积累 含氧远洋环境中非生物源锗的比例。

The ratio of Ge/Si in biogenic opal has enormous potential as a tracer of the balance between chemical fluxes from continental weathering and hydrothermal sources and as a tracer of oceanic processes such as productivity. However, the degree to which this tracer can be successfully applied to these problems critically depends on the mass-balance of the Ge-Si system and the chemical behavior of these two elements in the oceans. It appears that the current understanding of the Ge-Si system is incomplete since estimates of the hydrothermal Si flux based on the Ge-Si system are much less than fluxes estimated from other tracers or models. The difficulty with current models of the Ge-Si system is that they do not account for the probability that the marine geochemical cycle for the Ge includes significant sinks other than biogenic opal. A series of experiments will be conducted to evaluate the flux of oceanic Ge to nonbiogenic sediment components. The Ge content and key Ge/element ratios will be characterized in eolian source materials as well as in North Pacific pelagic sediments. The results should provide important constraints on the accumulation rate of nonbiogenic Ge in the oxic pelagic environment.