Tracing the source of gypsum in New Caledonian soils by REE contents and SSr isotopic compositions

1998

Gypsum minerals forming in pedogenic environments in New Caledonia were examined for their S and Sr isotope compositions and REE distributions. Three possible sources were identified: volcanic, soil-derived and marine. However, differentiation based only on the REE contents and normalized patterns was not possible, but, the best preserved volcanic sample yields a negative EuEu∗ anomaly and the lowest GdNYbN ratio due to the high content of organic matter. Mixing calculations of the δ34S values and 87Sr86Sr ratios confirmed that the marine gypsum has a δ34S value close to + 21‰ and an 87Sr86Sr ratio close to 0.70912, and that the volcanic gypsum has a δ34S value of 0‰ and an 87Sr86Sr ratio o…