The oceanic cycles of the transition metals and their isotopes
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Vance, Derek
Archer, Corey
Little, Susan H
Kobberich, Michael
de Souza, Gregory F
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The stable isotope systems of the transition metals potentially provide constraints on the current and past operation of the biological pump, and on the state of ocean redox in Earth history. Here we focus on two exemplar metals, nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn). The oceanic dissolved pool of both elements is isotopically heavier than the known inputs, implying an output with light isotope compositions. The modern oceanic cycle of both these elements is dominated by biological uptake into photosynthesised organic matter and output to sediment. It is increasingly clear, however, that such uptake is associated with only very minor isotope fractionation. We suggest that the isotopic balance is instead closed by the sequestration of light isotopes to sulphide in anoxic and organic-rich sediments, so that it is ocean chemistry that controls these isotope systems, and suggesting a different but equally interesting array of questions in Earth history that can be addressed with these systems.
Date Issued
2017-09-01
Date Acceptance
2017-04-16
Citation
Acta Geochimica, 2017, 36 (3), pp.359-362
ISSN
2096-0956
Publisher
Springer Verlag
Start Page
359
End Page
362
Journal / Book Title
Acta Geochimica
Volume
36
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© Science Press, Institute of Geochemistry, CAS and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
Sponsor
Leverhulme Trust
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000414376100003&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
ECF-2014-615
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ocean biogeochemistry
Metal micronutrients
Stable isotopes
ZINC
FRACTIONATION
ZN
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2017-05-03