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Organic matter and trace element concentrations in sapropels from ODP Leg 160 sites

A distinct Pliocene eastern Mediterranean sapropel (i-282), recovered from three Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 160 Sites, has been investigated for its organic and inorganic composition. This sapropel is characterized by high organic carbon (Corg) and trace element contents, and the presence of isorenieratene derivatives. The latter suggests that the base of the photic zone was sulphidic during formation of the sapropel. Combined with evidence of bottom water anoxia (preservation of laminae, high redox-sensitive trace element contents, and the abundance and isotopic composition of pyrite) this leads to the tentative conclusion that almost the entire water column may have been anoxic. This anoxia resulted from high productivity and not from stagnation, because an approximation of the trace element budget during sapropel formation shows that water exchange with the western Mediterranean is needed. Entire water column anoxia has been suggested earlier for several black shales. With regard to the depositional environment and the Corg content, however, only the Cenomanian=Turonian Boundary Event (CTBE) black shales appear to be comparable to this sapropel. The proposed trace element removal mechanism of scavenging and (co-)precipitation in an anoxic water column, is thought to be similar for both types of deposits. The ultimate trace element source for the sapropel, however, is seawater, whereas it is hydrothermal and fluvial input for CTBE black shales (because they have a larger temporal and spatial distribution). Nonetheless, the Corg-rich eastern Mediterranean Pliocene sapropel discussed here may be considered to be a younger analogue of CTBE black shales.

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Nijenhuis, Ivar A, Bosch, Hendrik-Jan, Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S, Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen, de Lange, Gert J (1999). Dataset: Organic matter and trace element concentrations in sapropels from ODP Leg 160 sites. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.714946

DOI retrieved: 1999

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 29, 2024
Last update November 29, 2024
License CC-BY-3.0
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.714946
Author Nijenhuis, Ivar A
Given Name Ivar A
Family Name Nijenhuis
More Authors
Bosch, Hendrik-Jan
Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S
Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen
de Lange, Gert J
Source Creation 1999
Publication Year 1999
Resource Type application/zip - filename: Nijenhuis_1999
Subject Areas
Name: Geophysics

Related Identifiers
Title: Organic matter and trace element rich sapropels and black shales: a geochemical comparison
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-821X(99)00083-7
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 1999
Source: Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Authors: Nijenhuis Ivar A , Bosch Hendrik-Jan , Sinninghe Damsté Jaap S , Brumsack Hans-Jürgen , de Lange Gert J .