Coccolith Strontium to Calcium Ratios in Emiliania huxleyi: The Dependence on Seawater Strontium and Calcium Concentrations

In recent studies the Sr/Ca ratio of coccolithophore calcite was used as a proxy for past coccolithophore growth and calcification rates. Since Sr and Ca concentrations in seawater have not remained constant through time, interpretation of Sr/Ca data from the coccolith-dominated sedimentary record r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Limnology and oceanography 2006-01, Vol.51 (1), p.310-320
Main Authors: Gerald Langer, Nikolaus Gussone, Gernot Nehrke, Riebesell, Ulf, Anton Eisenhauer, Henning Kuhnert, Rost, Björn, Scarlett Trimborn, Silke Thoms
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Calcite
Calcium
Coccolithus huxleyi
Coefficients
Crystal growth
Crystals
Cytosol
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Emiliania huxleyi
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Kinetics
Marine
Marine and continental quaternary
Polysaccharides
Sea water
Sea water ecosystems
Stratigraphy
Strontium
Surficial geology
Synecology
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Summary:In recent studies the Sr/Ca ratio of coccolithophore calcite was used as a proxy for past coccolithophore growth and calcification rates. Since Sr and Ca concentrations in seawater have not remained constant through time, interpretation of Sr/Ca data from the coccolith-dominated sedimentary record requires knowledge about the incorporation of seawater Sr into coccolith calcite during coccolithogenesis. Here we show that Sr/Ca of Emiliania huxleyi coccoliths is linearly related to seawater Sr/Ca, meaning that the Sr exchange coefficient does not change with changing seawater Sr/Ca. The exchange coefficient for Sr in this study, 0.39, is close to values presented in the literature and is high compared with values obtained by inorganic precipitation experiments. This suggests a strong effect of cell physiology on biogenic calcite precipitation in coccolithophores. We present a conceptual model, based on the transmembrane transport of Sr and Ca, which explains the offset.
ISSN:0024-3590
1939-5590
DOI:10.4319/lo.2006.51.1.0310