Geochemical proxy systems in marine CaCO3 biominerals record both environmental changes and biomineralisation processes
Geochemical proxy systems in marine CaCO3 biominerals record both environmental changes and biomineralisation processes
he isotopic and elemental composition of calcium carbonate formed by marine organisms underpins a substantial portion of our knowledge of past climates. These geochemical ‘proxy’ systems have revolutionised our understanding of palaeoenvironmental change, but remain largely rooted in empiricism because of poorly understood biological ‘vital effects’. Here, we outline how this is both a problem and an opportunity—while some proxies have their basis in biological processes, this is the root cause of uncertainty in others. Moreover, integrating geochemistry into biomineralisation models provides additional constraint on cellular mechanisms; geochemical data have untapped potential in the field of biomineralisation and could be used to simultaneously understand the proxies in question and to determine why biomineralising organisms are sensitive to environmental change.
biomineralisation, calcification, geochemical proxy, ion transport, shell chemistry, stable isotope, trace element
85-91
Evans, David
878c65c7-eab9-4362-896b-166e165eb94b
Rickaby, Rosalind E.M.
33cf49a9-c24c-46e1-aed4-4ce6f8e956db
Foster, Gavin L.
fbaa7255-7267-4443-a55e-e2a791213022
1 April 2025
Evans, David
878c65c7-eab9-4362-896b-166e165eb94b
Rickaby, Rosalind E.M.
33cf49a9-c24c-46e1-aed4-4ce6f8e956db
Foster, Gavin L.
fbaa7255-7267-4443-a55e-e2a791213022
Evans, David, Rickaby, Rosalind E.M. and Foster, Gavin L.
(2025)
Geochemical proxy systems in marine CaCO3 biominerals record both environmental changes and biomineralisation processes.
Elements, 21 (2), .
(doi:10.2138/gselements.21.2.85).
Abstract
he isotopic and elemental composition of calcium carbonate formed by marine organisms underpins a substantial portion of our knowledge of past climates. These geochemical ‘proxy’ systems have revolutionised our understanding of palaeoenvironmental change, but remain largely rooted in empiricism because of poorly understood biological ‘vital effects’. Here, we outline how this is both a problem and an opportunity—while some proxies have their basis in biological processes, this is the root cause of uncertainty in others. Moreover, integrating geochemistry into biomineralisation models provides additional constraint on cellular mechanisms; geochemical data have untapped potential in the field of biomineralisation and could be used to simultaneously understand the proxies in question and to determine why biomineralising organisms are sensitive to environmental change.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 1 April 2025
Published date: 1 April 2025
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Copyright 2025 by the Mineralogical Society of America. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
biomineralisation, calcification, geochemical proxy, ion transport, shell chemistry, stable isotope, trace element
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 502285
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/502285
ISSN: 1811-5209
PURE UUID: 72f4e05e-f764-4093-bdf0-c51ec875687a
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Date deposited: 19 Jun 2025 17:04
Last modified: 20 Jun 2025 02:08
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Author:
David Evans
Author:
Rosalind E.M. Rickaby
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