Physical and chemical characterization of zoned minerals as a measure of environmental change

矿物的分带在许多环境中以各种长度尺度发生，因为矿物需要时间生长，这种分带记录了环境随时间的变化。分区模式可以解释为(i)受外部强迫驱动，具有化学不平衡的证据；或（ii）具有微米尺度振荡分区的自组织，其中微量元素对环境变化特别敏感。这项研究将利用近地表环境的分带矿物化学来量化环境变化的速率和程度。耳石，硬骨鱼的耳骨，将作为一种工具，用于i)监测矿山尾矿对水生生物和环境的影响，以及ii)评估鱼类的洄游行为；以及对冰中矿物生长的物理和化学控制的研究。生物矿物中的增量结构可用于建立水环境中的背景化学/微量元素水平，并监测环境变化。生物矿物对外部驱动的环境变化的反应规模和速度在很大程度上是未知的，生物矿物经常被生物体的代谢“缓冲”。微量元素的代谢转化使其作为污染物摄取的时间标记物的用途变得脆弱。耳石的优点是它们的代谢是惰性的，可以在几年到几十年的时间里保留化学物质暴露的完整记录。研究方向包括四个方面：1)耳石微化学，重点研究耳石中的Sr、Ba和Mn、Hg、Se；2)对洄游鱼类耳石进行稳定同位素分析，评估与有机碳（食物来源）相关的微量元素吸收程度；3)对合成CaCO3进行微量元素分析；4)对海冰中碳酸盐矿物进行微量元素表征。分区模式将通过fs-NIR-LA-ICP-MS和SIMS分析。采矿作业需要水来进行加工和/或储存尾矿，因此资源的开采和保护往往被视为相互竞争的利益。随着矿产勘探和全球变暖的进行，这项研究的数据将为加拿大北部规划至关重要的土地使用决策和鱼类管理实践提供信息。

Zoning in minerals occurs on a variety of length-scales in many environments, as minerals take time to grow, this zoning records changes in the environment over time. Zoning patterns may be interpreted as (i) driven by external forcing, with evidence of chemical disequilibrium or (ii) self-organization with micron-scale oscillatory zoning, here trace elements are particularly sensitive to environmental change. This research will quantify rates and extent of environmental change using zoned mineral chemistry in near surface environments. Otoliths, ear bones of bony fish, will be used as a tool for i) monitoring the affects of mine tailings on aquatic organisms and environments, and ii) assessing migratory behaviour in fish; and an examination of the physical and chemical controls of mineral growth in ice. Incremental structures in biominerals can be used to establish background chemical/trace element levels in aqueous environments, and monitor environmental change. The scale and rate of response of the biomineral to externally driven environmental change is largely unknown, and the biomineral is often "buffered" by the metabolism of the organism. Metabolic transformation of trace elements makes their use as temporal markers of contaminant uptake tenuous. The advantage of otoliths is that they are metabolically inert, retaining a complete record of chemical exposure over several years to decades. Research is planned in four areas: 1) otolith microchemistry focusing on Sr, Ba and Mn, Hg & Se in otoliths; 2) stable isotope analysis of otoliths from migratory fish species to assess the extent of trace element uptake connected with organic carbon (food sources; 3) trace element analysis of synthetic CaCO3 and 4) trace element characterization of carbonate minerals from sea ice. Zoning patterns will be analyzed by fs-NIR-LA-ICP-MS and SIMS. Mining operations require water for processing and/or tailings storage so resource extraction and conservation are often seen as competing interests. Data from this research will inform land use decisions and fish management practices crucial to planning in northern Canada as mineral exploration and global warming proceed.