Trace metal accumulation in carbonate biominerals of the Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

New data on trace metal (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb) distribution in carbonate biominerals formed in geochemically different oceanic environments are discussed. Calcite shells of shelf and deepwater hydrothermal vent mussels as well as planktic foraminifers and pteropods from the central Atlantic Ocean have been studied. The variability in concentrations of most trace elements between different groups of calcifying organisms are usually within one order of magnitude, except for Fe and Mn, the elevated contents of which in microfossils are caused by post-sedimentation interaction. Different groups of calcifying organisms demonstrate a biogeochemical uniformity in trace metal accumulation during the biomineralization processes.