Germanium sequestration by soil: Targeting the roles of secondary clays and Fe-oxyhydroxides

Details Germanium sequestration by soil: Targeting the roles of secondary clays and Fe-oxyhydroxides Germanium sequestration by soil: Targeting the roles of secondary clays and Fe-oxyhydroxides

Mar 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006e%26psl.243..760s&link_type=abstract

Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 243, Issue 3-4, p. 760-770.

Physics

6

Scientific paper

Germanium is a trace element that behaves similarly to silicon and shows promise as a tracer of silicate weathering processes. Sequestration of Ge by clay minerals is thought to be the dominant mechanism responsible for Ge/Si fractionation during weathering. In some environments, Ge may be sequestered by iron-oxyhydroxides. We examine Ge behavior in soils along a well-characterized climate gradient on the Hawaiian island of Maui to clarify the relationship between Fe geochemistry and soil Ge / Si ratios. All of the sites are developed on basaltic lavas and tephras approximately 400 ky old, are highly Si-depleted, and have Ge / Si ratios higher than parent material. Sites experiencing less than ˜3300 mm rain/yr host oxidized, highly weathered basaltic soils, in which Fe is present as secondary Fe-oxyhydroxide minerals. In contrast, the wetter sites (> 3340 mm/yr) show extensive Fe reduction, mobilization, and loss. We show that Ge sequestration is independent of Fe redox behavior along the gradient, and thus precipitation of Fe-oxyhydroxides is not a major factor contributing to Ge / Si fractionation during weathering. Instead, elevated soil Ge / Si ratios reflect partitioning of Ge into secondary clay minerals, plus additional retention of Ge by refractory non-silicates.

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