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Article Dans Une Revue Chemical Geology Année : 2012

Analysis of marine environmental conditions based on molybdenum-uranium covariation--Applications to Mesozoic paleoceanography

Résumé

atterns of uranium-molybdenum covariation in marine sediments have the potential to provide insights re- garding depositional conditions and processes in paleoceanographic systems. Specifically, such patterns can be used to assess bottom water redox conditions, the operation of metal-oxyhydroxide particulate shuttles in the water column, and the degree of water mass restriction. The utility of this paleoenvironmental proxy is due to the differential geochemical behavior of U and Mo: (1) uptake of authigenic U by marine sediments begins at the Fe(II)-Fe(III) redox boundary (i.e., suboxic conditions), whereas authigenic Mo enrichment re- quires the presence of H2S (i.e., euxinic conditions), and (2) transfer of aqueous Mo to the sediment may be enhanced through particulate shuttles, whereas aqueous U is unaffected by this process. In the present study, we examine U-Mo covariation in organic-rich sediments deposited mostly in the western Tethyan region during oceanic anoxic events (OAEs) of Early Jurassic to Late Cretaceous age. Our analysis generally confirms existing interpretations of redox conditions in these formations but provides significant new insights regard- ing water mass restriction and the operation of particulate shuttles in depositional systems. These insights will help to address contentious issues pertaining to the character and origin of Mesozoic OAEs, such as the degree to which regional paleoceanographic factors controlled the development of the OAEs.

Dates et versions

hal-00730851 , version 1 (11-09-2012)

Identifiants

Citer

Nicolas Tribovillard, Thomas Algeo, François Baudin, A. Riboulleau. Analysis of marine environmental conditions based on molybdenum-uranium covariation--Applications to Mesozoic paleoceanography. Chemical Geology, 2012, 324-325, pp.46-58. ⟨10.1016/j.chemgeo.2011.09.009⟩. ⟨hal-00730851⟩
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