Search results for "Authigenic"

Carbonate precipitation in the alkaline lake Specchio di Venere (Pantelleria Island, Italy) and the possible role of microbial mats

2016

Abstract Alkaline lakes like the hydrothermally affected lake Specchio di Venere (Pantelleria Island, Central Mediterranean) are typical geological settings harbouring calcified microbial mats. The present work is focused on the discrimination between biotic and abiotic processes driving carbonate precipitation in this lake, using hydrochemical, mineralogical and isotopic data. Hydrochemical analyses demonstrate that the lake is nearly 10−fold supersaturated with regard to aragonite and seasonally reaches hydromagnesite supersaturation. Microscopic observations depict organosedimentary laminated structures consisting of microbial communities and aragonitic precipitates, which are rather dis…

Geochemistry and mineralogy of sediments and authigenic carbonates from the Malta Plateau, Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean): Relationships wi…

2010

Abstract A mud volcano field was recently discovered within the Malta Plateau in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea). Box-core sediments and associated authigenic carbonates have been collected in water depths of 140–170 m from two distinctive sectors of the area, and analyzed for major, trace and rare earth elements, stable isotopes, and mineralogy. Relative homogeneity in the mineralogy and geochemistry of bulk sediments, and 210Pb activity distributions, argue against an active mud ejection activity. In the Malta Plateau western sector, the sediments show high concentrations of Fe, As, Sb, and Mo, exceeding the background values estimated for the Strait of Sicily. Active flu…

Sedimentology, petrography and geochemistry of a limestone breccia (Pietra di Billiemi) from NW Sicily, Italy: implications for evolution of the Teth…

2009

In this study, the Pietra di Billiemi, a famous dimension stone, is investigated because it records the tectonic evolution of the south Tethys continental margin and preserves a record of major environmental changes occurring near the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. The Pietra di Billiemi is a grey, coarse-grained and clast-supported limestone breccia cropping out in an area of the Palermo Mountains representing a segment of the Apennine–Maghrebian chain in western Sicily. The rock consists of metre-sized to centimetre-sized angular clasts, derived from Upper Triassic sponge boundstones and rudstones, with a differently coloured, silt-grained matrix. Fitted fragments are observed commonly which…

2016

AbstractAuthigenic carbonate build-ups develop at seafloor methane-seeps, where microbially mediated sulphate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane facilitates carbonate precipitation. Despite being valuable recorders of past methane seepage events, their role as archives of atmospheric processes has not been examined. Here we show that cyclic sedimentation pulses related to the Indian monsoon in concert with authigenic precipitation of methane-derived aragonite gave rise to a well-laminated carbonate build-up within the oxygen minimum zone off Pakistan (northern Arabian Sea). U–Th dating indicates that the build-up grew during past ~1,130 years, creating an exceptional high-resolution a…

Late Cretaceous palaeoenvironments expressed by the clay mineralogy of Cenomanian–Campanian chalks from the east of the Paris Basin

2005

Abstract The clay fraction of Cenomanian–Campanian chalks cored at Poigny and Sainte-Colombe, close to Provins (east-south-east of Paris), includes variable proportions of smectitic minerals, illite and kaolinite. The smectitic sediments (which constitute the background of low-terrigenous supply throughout the stratigraphic interval) resulted mainly from the warm, humid climate and high sea level that prevailed during Late Cretaceous in this area. During the Late Turonian, the smectitic sedimentation was interrupted by significant detrital inputs of illite and kaolinite. This reflected tectonic rejuvenation of landmasses coeval with an explosive volcanism expressed by the occurrence of bent…

Zirconium–hafnium and rare earth element signatures discriminating the effect of atmospheric fallout from hydrothermal input in volcanic lake water

2016

The geochemical behaviour of Rare Earth Elements, Zr and Hf was investigated in the thermal waters of Nevado del Ruiz volcano system. A wide range of pH, between 1.0 and 8.8, characterizes these fluids. The acidicwaters are sulphate dominatedwith different Cl/SO4 ratios. The important role of the pH and the ionic complexes for the distribution of REE, Zr a nd Hf in the aqueous phase was evidenced. The pH rules the precipitation of authigenic Fe and Al oxyhydroxides producing changes in REE, Zr, Hf amounts and strong anomalies of Cerium. The precipitation of alunite and jarosite removes LREE from the solution, changing the REE distribution in acidic waters. Y-Ho and Zr-Hf (twin pairs) have a…

The behaviour of REEs in Thailand's Mae Klong estuary: Suggestions from the Y/Ho ratios and lanthanide tetrad effects

2007

Abstract The concentrations of Rare Earth Elements and yttrium (REY) were measured in dissolved phase, in suspended particulate matter (SPM) and in sediments in seven sampling stations in the Mae Klong estuarine system (Inner Thailand Gulf) in order to study their behaviour and distribution pattern. The analysed samples generally show high Rare Earth Element (REE) content in the dissolved phase, with high Medium Rare Earth Elements (MREEs) and Y enrichments in the shale-normalized pattern (versus PAAS). These chemical features are interpreted in terms of direct influences of weathering processes of REE-rich minerals (e.g., phosphates), which abundantly out-crop in the Mae Klong watershed. T…

Early diagenetic processes during Mn-carbonate formation: evidence from the isotopic composition of authigenic Ca-rhodochrosites of the Baltic Sea

2002

The formation of authigenic Ca-rich rhodochrosite (ACR) in sapropelic sediments of the Gotland Basin, Baltic Sea, is governed by deepwater renewal processes whereby saline water from the North Atlantic flushes the brackish anoxic Baltic Deeps. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of these Mn- carbonates suggest that ACR formation takes place just below the sediment surface and that dissolved compounds from the deepwater column, such as water and bicarbonate molecules, were incorporated in ACR during authigenesis. Porewaters near the sediment surface display 18 O values of 5.4‰ (VSMOW) and are generally depleted in 18 O, compared to the oxygen isotopic composition of water in equilibr…

Zr, Hf and REE distribution in river water under different ionic strength conditions

2018

International audience; The Platani River flowing in south-central Sicily, interacting with evaporite rocks, generates a wide range of ionic strength in the water catchment from 0.1 to 5.0 mol kg−1. We sampled 38 river sites and analysed the composition for the dissolved fraction filtered through 0.45 μm, the truly dissolved fraction obtained through ultrafiltration (10 kDa) and the relative included colloidal fraction.This study was focused on the recognition of Zr, Hf and REE behaviour under changing ionic strength conditions, since this is one of parameters responsible for colloid stability in natural waters. In turn, this phenomenon leads to REE release from the colloidal fraction and t…

Taphonomic sequences—A new tool for sequence stratigraphy

2002

The Middle-Upper Jurassic boundary in western Europe is characterized by extensive condensed sections containing authigenic minerals together with abundant and varied fossils, both reworked and not reworked. We have analyzed ammonite shells and chronologically ordered taphonomic events in a taphonomic sequence extending from the time the dead organism settled on the seafloor to the time it became permanently incorporated in the sediment. Three types of taphonomic sequence are recognized; they are characteristic of (1) sedimentation in depositional environments having little and only occasional hydrodynamic activity (coinciding with periods of increasing accommodation), (2) sedimentation dur…