Holocene Lacustrine Abiotic Aragonitic Ooids from the Western Qaidam Basin, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Carbonate ooids are a significant component of shallow water carbonate deposits in the present and geologic past, yet their origin and formation mechanism have been the subject of continuing debate. This study focuses on the well-preserved Holocene aragonitic ooids collected from the west Qaidam Bas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Minerals (Basel) 2022-11, Vol.12 (11), p.1400
Main Authors: Lin, Yongjie, Power, Ian M., Chen, Wenxi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
abiotic origin
Alkalinity
Aragonite
Biological activity
Carbon
Carbon dioxide
Carbonates
Chemical composition
Chemical precipitation
Degassing
Evaporation
Fossils
Geology
Holocene
Isotopes
lacustrine
Lakes
Mass spectrometry
Metabolic pathways
Microbial activity
Microorganisms
Microscopy
Ooids
Oxygen isotopes
Precipitation
Qaidam basin
Radiation
Radiocarbon dating
Scanning electron microscopy
Scientific imaging
Shallow water
Software
Trace elements
Turbulence
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Summary:Carbonate ooids are a significant component of shallow water carbonate deposits in the present and geologic past, yet their origin and formation mechanism have been the subject of continuing debate. This study focuses on the well-preserved Holocene aragonitic ooids collected from the west Qaidam Basin, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). The mineralogical and chemical compositions, and stable (δ13C and δ18O), and radiocarbon isotopes of the ooids were analyzed to investigate their formation and develop a depositional model. The ooids formed approximately 5377±61 cal BP, and their cortices were composed of microcrystalline aragonite, with most nuclei being quartz grains. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes indicate that authigenic aragonite precipitation is driven by evaporation and associated degassing of CO2 under turbulence conditions in a shallow alkaline lakes. Furthermore, eletron microscopy showed no presence of microfossils in ooid cortices or other evidence of microbial activity. Therefore, we propose that aragonite precipitation during ooid formation is most likely induced abiotically by increasing alkalinity due to evapoconcentration of lake waters based on an absence of an efficient carbonate-inducing metabolic pathway. New observations and detailed analyses of aragonitic ooid samples in the Qaidam Basin provide an improved understanding of the origin and formation processes of carbonate ooid in modern environment and the geologic past.
ISSN:2075-163X
2075-163X
DOI:10.3390/min12111400