Biomineralization of Organisms Used as Environmental Proxy Archives

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomineralization and Biominerals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 9638

Special Issue Editors

Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Reserach, Section Biogeosciences, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Interests: biomineralization; proxy development; low temperature geochemistry; Raman spectroscopy; crystal nucleation; crystal growth
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, Devon PL1 2PB, UK
Interests: biomineralization; proxy development; cell biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The climate change debate has intensified efforts to infer past environmental parameters, such as sea surface temperature, from biogenic carbonates. Since the pioneering work by Urey and co-workers in the early 1950s who demonstrated that the geochemical signatures, i.e., “proxy signatures” of biogenic carbonates, i.e., “proxy archives” provide information on the environment, the number of proxy systems has grown as new analytical methods became available. Modern microanalytical methods push the limits toward smaller sample sizes and lower concentrations but also reveal the inhomogeneity of many proxy archives, which leads to the question of the “true” environmental signal.

From the outset, the quest for finding these “true” environmental signals has been linked to biomineralizer physiology, the so-called “vital effect”. Over the last three decades, conceptual biomineralization models designed to explain proxy relationships have become common in the geochemical community. Apart from purely “academic” interest, the main motivation for developing these models is to improve the application of geochemical proxies. However, biomineralization models are rarely put to practical use in the application and interpretation of proxy data.

Therefore, we would like to invite you to submit manuscripts that focus on biomineralization mechanisms directly linked to geochemical proxies. 

Dr. Gernot Nehrke
Dr. Gerald Langer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Biomineralization
  • Paleo-proxies
  • Geochemistry
  • Vital effect
  • Element and isotope fractionation

Published Papers (4 papers)

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14 pages, 1420 KiB  
Article
Controls on Lithium Incorporation and Isotopic Fractionation in Large Benthic Foraminifera
by Laurie M. Charrieau, Claire Rollion-Bard, Anja Terbrueggen, David J. Wilson, Philip A. E. Pogge von Strandmann, Sambuddha Misra and Jelle Bijma
Minerals 2023, 13(1), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13010127 - 15 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1676
Abstract
The lithium (Li) isotopic composition of carbonates is considered to be a reliable archive of past seawater Li isotopic compositions, which are useful as a tracer of silicate weathering. However, δ7Li values have been shown to be dependent on either pH [...] Read more.
The lithium (Li) isotopic composition of carbonates is considered to be a reliable archive of past seawater Li isotopic compositions, which are useful as a tracer of silicate weathering. However, δ7Li values have been shown to be dependent on either pH or DIC in two studies using similar species of large, benthic foraminifera from the genus Amphistegina. To resolve this issue, we conducted culture experiments on Amphistegina lessonii in decoupled pH–DIC conditions, under two different light treatments, and with normal or Li-enriched seawater. The δ7Li values and Li/Ca ratios in the foraminifera tests were analysed by ion microprobe and LA-ICP-MS, respectively. No links between either the pH or DIC and δ7Li or Li/Ca values were observed for any of the treatments, and growth rates also did not seem to influence the Li incorporation or isotopic fractionation, contrary to observations from inorganic carbonate-precipitation experiments. Overall, these findings appear to support the use of Li isotopes in large benthic foraminifera to reconstruct past seawater chemistry and to infer changes in chemical weathering during carbon-cycle perturbations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomineralization of Organisms Used as Environmental Proxy Archives)
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42 pages, 14800 KiB  
Article
Phosphate Record in Pleistocene-Holocene Sediments from Denisova Cave: Formation Mechanisms and Archaeological Implications
by Ella V. Sokol, Maxim B. Kozlikin, Svetlana N. Kokh, Anna V. Nekipelova, Natalya A. Kulik, Viktoria A. Danilovsky, Pavel V. Khvorov and Michael V. Shunkov
Minerals 2022, 12(5), 553; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12050553 - 28 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2294
Abstract
The distribution of authigenic phosphates in the sedimentary sequence of prehistoric Denisova Cave (Altai, South Siberia) has important archeological implications. The sampled Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene sedimentary sequence in the East Chamber of the cave consists of argilo-sandy-phosphatic sediments intercalated with guano layers of [...] Read more.
The distribution of authigenic phosphates in the sedimentary sequence of prehistoric Denisova Cave (Altai, South Siberia) has important archeological implications. The sampled Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene sedimentary sequence in the East Chamber of the cave consists of argilo-sandy-phosphatic sediments intercalated with guano layers of insectivorous bats. The sediments bear partially degraded N-rich organic matter (OM); chitin fragments enriched in S, P, Zn, and Cu; and a set of phosphates. The guano layers record at least three prolonged episodes of cave occupation by colonies of insectivorous bats between 10 kyr and 5 kyr BP, after people had left the cave or visited it rarely in small groups. The formation of phosphates follows the OM biodegradation pathways, with acidic leaching and gradual neutralization of P-rich solutions. The depth profile of authigenic phosphates shows a suite of mineral assemblages that mark a trend from acidic to slightly alkaline pH conditions of guano degradation (from top to bottom): ardealite, taranakite, and leucophosphite corresponding to acidic environments; whitlockite, brushite, and hydroxylapatite, which are stable under slightly acidic and neutral conditions; and hydroxylapatite in coexistence with calcite and stable at the bottom of the leaching profile under alkaline conditions. Authigenic phosphates can be used as reliable indicators of human non-occupation (abandonment) periods of Denisova Cave. Acidic leaching is responsible for disturbance and/or elimination of archaeological and paleontological materials in Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene sediments that were exposed to at least three “acidic waves”. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomineralization of Organisms Used as Environmental Proxy Archives)
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12 pages, 4285 KiB  
Article
Complex Biomineralization Pathways of the Belemnite Rostrum Cause Biased Paleotemperature Estimates
by René Hoffmann, Benjamin J. Linzmeier, Kouki Kitajima, Gernot Nehrke, Martin Dietzel, Niels Jöns, Kevin Stevens and Adrian Immenhauser
Minerals 2021, 11(12), 1406; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11121406 - 12 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3671
Abstract
Paleotemperatures based on δ18O values derived from belemnites are usually “too cold” compared to other archives and paleoclimate models. This temperature bias represents a significant obstacle in paleoceanographic research. Here we show geochemical evidence that belemnite calcite fibers are composed of [...] Read more.
Paleotemperatures based on δ18O values derived from belemnites are usually “too cold” compared to other archives and paleoclimate models. This temperature bias represents a significant obstacle in paleoceanographic research. Here we show geochemical evidence that belemnite calcite fibers are composed of two distinct low-Mg calcite phases (CP1, CP2). Phase-specific in situ measurement of δ18O values revealed a systematic offset of up to 2‰ (~8 °C), showing a lead–lag signal between both phases in analyses spaced less than 25 µm apart and a total fluctuation of 3.9‰ (~16 °C) within a 2 cm × 2 cm portion of a Megateuthis (Middle Jurassic) rostrum. We explain this geochemical offset and the lead–lag signal for both phases by the complex biomineralization of the belemnite rostrum. The biologically controlled formation of CP1 is approximating isotope fractionation conditions with ambient seawater to be used for temperature calculation. In contrast, CP2 indicates characteristic non-isotope equilibrium with ambient seawater due to its formation via an amorphous Ca-Mg carbonate precursor at high solid-to-liquid ratio, i.e., limited amounts of water were available during its transformation to calcite, thus suggesting lower formation temperatures. CP2 occludes syn vivo the primary pore space left after formation of CP1. Our findings support paleobiological interpretations of belemnites as shelf-dwelling, pelagic predators and call for a reassessment of paleoceanographic reconstructions based on belemnite stable isotope data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomineralization of Organisms Used as Environmental Proxy Archives)
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12 pages, 546 KiB  
Opinion
Proxy Archives Based on Marine Calcifying Organisms and the Role of Process-Based Biomineralization Concepts
by Gernot Nehrke and Gerald Langer
Minerals 2023, 13(4), 561; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13040561 - 17 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1096
Abstract
Proxy archives based on marine calcifying organisms and their element and isotope signatures represent valuable tools in the reconstruction of past climates. Despite the fact that the underlying biomineralization processes behind the measured signatures are poorly understood, these tools work remarkably well. However, [...] Read more.
Proxy archives based on marine calcifying organisms and their element and isotope signatures represent valuable tools in the reconstruction of past climates. Despite the fact that the underlying biomineralization processes behind the measured signatures are poorly understood, these tools work remarkably well. However, even though they work well many researchers felt the need to decipher the “black box” and understand the processes leading to the measured signatures. In this paper we assess how far we have come in understanding the biomineralization processes underpinning proxy signatures derived from marine calcifying organisms and how this understanding improved the way we use these proxy archives today. Biomineralization in the context of proxy research is an interdisciplinary field and cross-discipline communication can be challenging due to a lack of background in foreign disciplines. This often leads to misunderstanding and over- (or under-) estimation of certain concepts/methods/data. We, therefore, present a concise introduction to the topic, clarifying key concepts and their applicability to proxy interpretation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomineralization of Organisms Used as Environmental Proxy Archives)
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