Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Nov 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010e%26psl.299..310b&link_type=abstract
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 299, Issue 3-4, p. 310-316.
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Bathymodiolus mussels of the Mytilidae family live in ecological niches at marine vent sites where hydrothermal fluids discharge at the seafloor and mix with ambient seawater. We report the first concentration data for rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) of Bathymodiolus shells and of low-temperature diffuse hydrothermal fluids venting in their respective habitat at three hydrothermal vent fields along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and for littoral Mytilus edulis shells from the western North Atlantic, Dingle Bay, Ireland, and from the southern North Sea, German Bight, Germany. Similar to high-temperature hydrothermal solutions expelled in the respective area, the low-temperature diffuse fluids from the hydrothermal vent sites display positive Eu anomalies. These indicate that the fluids carry a component previously involved in high-temperature water-rock interaction, as decoupling of Eu from neighbouring REY requires temperatures above about 200 °C. While the Bathymodiolus shells from the hydrothermal vent fields reflect these positive Eu anomalies, the littoral M. edulis shells studied for comparison, do not show Eu anomalies, consistent with the lack of any high-temperature hydrothermal activity in their coastal environments. Shells of mussels of the Mytilidae family, such as Bathymodiolus and M. edulis, therefore, are archives whose REY distribution can be used as a proxy for the Eu anomaly of the waters in which the mussels grew. Although the Ca carbonate of a mussel shell is precipitated from the extrapallial fluid of the mussel and not directly from seawater, the Eu/Eu* ratio of seawater is not significantly modified under the low-temperature conditions prevailing during vital processes and biomineralization. This allows one to use the positive Eu anomalies in the REY distribution patterns of Bathymodiolus shells as a tracer for hidden or fossil high-temperature hydrothermal systems where other indicators of high-temperature hydrothermalism are not available.
Balan Simona
Bau Michael
Koschinsky Andrea
Schmidt Katja
No associations
LandOfFree
Rare earth elements in mussel shells of the Mytilidae family as tracers for hidden and fossil high-temperature hydrothermal systems does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Rare earth elements in mussel shells of the Mytilidae family as tracers for hidden and fossil high-temperature hydrothermal systems, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rare earth elements in mussel shells of the Mytilidae family as tracers for hidden and fossil high-temperature hydrothermal systems will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-984007