Search results for "Aragonite"
showing 10 items of 90 documents
Integrative analysis of the mineralogical and chemical composition of modern microbialites from ten Mexican lakes: What do we learn about their forma…
2021
International audience; Interpreting the environmental conditions under which ancient microbialites formed relies upon comparisons with modern analogues. This is why we need a detailed reference framework relating the chemical and mineralogical compositions of modern microbialites to the physical and chemical parameters prevailing in the environments where they form. Here, we measured the chemical, including major and trace elements, and mineralogical composition of microbialites from ten Mexican lakes as well as the chemical composition of the surrounding waters. Saturation states of lakes with different mineral phases were systematically determined and correlations between solution and so…
Structural characterization and chemical composition of aragonite and vaterite in freshwater cultured pearls
2008
AbstractVaterite and aragonite polymorphs in freshwater cultured pearls from mussels of the genus Hyriopsis (Unionidae) were structurally and compositionally characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Micro computer tomography, high resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The appearance of vaterite in pearls is related to the initial stages of biomineralization, although we demonstrate that vaterite can not be a precursor to aragonite. It is not related to a particular crystal habit and therefore does not have a structural functionality in the pearls. Larger contents of elements typically…
Intra- and inter-annual uranium concentration variability in a Belizean stalagmite controlled by prior aragonite precipitation: A new tool for recons…
2016
Aragonitic speleothems are increasingly utilised as palaeoclimate archives due to their amenability to high precision U–Th dating. Proxy records from fast-growing aragonitic stalagmites, precisely dated to annual timescales, can allow investigation of climatic events occurring on annual or even sub-annual timescales with minimal chronological uncertainty. However, the behaviour of many trace elements, such as uranium, in aragonitic speleothems has not thus far been as well constrained as in calcitic speleothems. Here, we use uranium concentration shifts measured across primary calcite-to-aragonite mineralogical transitions in speleothems to calculate the distribution coefficient of uranium …
Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios of ontogenetically old, long-lived bivalve shells (Arctica islandica) and their function as paleotemperature proxies
2011
International audience; The Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios of many biogenic skeletons provide useful paleotemperature estimates. As yet however, it has remained largely impossible to obtain such information from bivalve shells. In the present study, metal-to-calcium values in the hinge plate (aragonite, outer shell layer) of four ontogenetically old (85 to 374 year-old) specimens of the long-lived bivalve, Arctica islandica, were measured on a LA-ICP-MS. The shells were collected alive in 1868, 1986 and 2003 from three different localities around Iceland. With increasing ontogenetic age and decreasing growth rate, a distinct trend toward increasing Sr/Ca (max. 5.17 mmol/mol) and Mg/Ca values (max. …
A low seasonality scenario in the Mediterranean Sea during the Calabrian (Early Pleistocene) inferred from fossil Arctica islandica shells
2017
Understanding past seasonal temperature variability in the ocean is essential to evaluate the effects of future climate change on marine ecosystems. Here, we estimate seasonal water temperature amplitudes from stable oxygen isotope (δ18Oshell) values of fossil shells of Arctica islandica (assuming δ18Owater= + 0.9 ± 0.1â° V-SMOW). Specimens were collected from three Pleistocene successions (Emilian and Sicilian substages of the Calabrian) in Central and Southern Italy (i.e., Rome, Lecce and Sicily). Biostratigraphic analyses from Rome Quarry deposits indicate an age between 1.6 and 1.2 Ma, whereas Sicily and Lecce successions are slightly more recent (between 1.1 and 0.62 Ma). Prior to …
Mineral phase in shell repair of Manila clam Venerupis philippinarum affected by brown ring disease.
2011
14 pages; International audience; The mineral phase of shell repair in the Manila clam Venerupis philippinarum affected by brown ring disease (BRD) was characterised at various scales and at various stages of shell repair by confocal Raman microspectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Spherulitic and quadrangular aragonite microstructures associated with polyene pigments were clearly observed. Von Kossa staining showed that at the beginning of shell repair, hemocytes are filled with insoluble calcium carbonate salts in all fluids and then are transported toward the extrapallial fluids and the repair sites. Our analyses suggest that after a Vibrio tapetis attack and BRD deposit some cl…
The shell matrix of the pulmonate land snail Helix aspersa maxima.
2012
12 pages; International audience; In mollusks, the shell mineralization process is controlled by an array of proteins, glycoproteins and polysaccharides that collectively constitute the shell matrix. In spite of numerous researches, the shell protein content of a limited number of model species has been investigated. This paper presents biochemical data on the common edible land snail Helix aspersa maxima, a model organism for ecotoxicological purposes, which has however been poorly investigated from a biomineralization viewpoint. The shell matrix of this species was extracted and analyzed biochemically for functional in vitro inhibition assay, for amino acid and monosaccharides composition…
Ocean acidification drives community shifts towards simplified non-calcified habitats in a subtropical?temperate transition zone
2018
AbstractRising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are causing surface seawater pH and carbonate ion concentrations to fall in a process known as ocean acidification. To assess the likely ecological effects of ocean acidification we compared intertidal and subtidal marine communities at increasing levels of pCO2 at recently discovered volcanic seeps off the Pacific coast of Japan (34° N). This study region is of particular interest for ocean acidification research as it has naturally low levels of surface seawater pCO2 (280–320 µatm) and is located at a transition zone between temperate and sub-tropical communities. We provide the first assessment of ocean acidification effects at …
Primary Cell Culture of Fresh Water Hyriopsis cumingii Mantle/Pearl Sac Tissues and Its Effect on Calcium Carbonate Mineralization
2014
Primary cell cultures of the fresh water Hyriopsis cumingii mantle and pearl sac tissues were produced in this study, and the influence of the tissue, cells, and secreted protein on calcium carbonate crystal nucleation and growth was studied. The study contributes to a further understanding of the influence of organic matrices on CaCO3 crystal formation. This research started from the protein level to the tissue/cell level, which is crucial for understanding the inorganic deposition process. The new data also add relevant theoretical approaches to an overall understanding of biomineralization processes. In the experimental groups with mantle or pearl sac tissue, the growth patterns of arago…
Micro-Raman spectroscopy of pigments contained in different calcium carbonate polymorphs from freshwater cultured pearls
2008
The metastable calcium carbonate polymorph vaterite has recently been found to occur commonly in freshwater cultured pearls from Japan and China. Organic pigment molecules in these vaterite regions of freshwater cultured pearls were analysed by resonance and near-resonance micro-Raman spectroscopy, in single spectra and in mapping modes and are compared with their aragonitic counterparts. Four different excitation wavelengths (487.9, 514.5, 532.2 and 632.8 nm) were used, resulting in differential increase of resolution for the pigments. Although vaterite areas were always lightly coloured (light yellow, light brown or white), ten different pigments were identified and a single colour is for…