Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sediments

Fossil fish teeth are important carriers of rare earth elements (REEs) in deep-sea sediments. Meanwhile, 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd in these fossils have been widely used in paleoceanography. However, when and how REEs enter the fish teeth remains ambiguous, which hinders elucidating the enrichment mecha...

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Main Authors: Zhijie Xu, Xiaoyu Zhang, Kongyang Zhu, Mu Huang, Miao Yu, Zheng Li, Zhongrong Qiu, Yanfang Lu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1534727/full
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author Zhijie Xu
Xiaoyu Zhang
Xiaoyu Zhang
Kongyang Zhu
Mu Huang
Miao Yu
Zheng Li
Zhongrong Qiu
Yanfang Lu
author_facet Zhijie Xu
Xiaoyu Zhang
Xiaoyu Zhang
Kongyang Zhu
Mu Huang
Miao Yu
Zheng Li
Zhongrong Qiu
Yanfang Lu
author_sort Zhijie Xu
collection DOAJ
description Fossil fish teeth are important carriers of rare earth elements (REEs) in deep-sea sediments. Meanwhile, 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd in these fossils have been widely used in paleoceanography. However, when and how REEs enter the fish teeth remains ambiguous, which hinders elucidating the enrichment mechanism of REEs in deep-sea sediments, and the effectiveness of 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd in paleoceanography is doubted. This study examined the contents of REEs, major and trace elements, and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd in modern fish teeth and in fossil fish teeth from deep-sea sediments. The results indicated that elemental geochemical properties and a redox environment are the main factors controlling their enrichment process in fish teeth. At least three categories of trace elements are classified during two different stages (physiological process of living fish and post-deposition of fossils): (1) elements of Type I mainly belong to IA, IIA, IIIA, IVA, and transition group with active chemical properties, entering into the fish teeth during life; (2) Type II represents elements from the IA, VA, transition elements, and Actinides groups, and are enriched uninterruptedly from the living fish teeth to the post-deposition fossils with variable valences under different redox conditions; (3) Type III are elements accumulated only after deposition under oxidizing or suboxidizing and are members of Lanthanides and rare dispersed elements groups with a large atomic radius and strong chemical activity. The distinctly different enrichment processes of Sr and Nd, 87Sr/86Sr, and 143Nd/144Nd in fossil fish teeth may represent different material sources and should be cautiously employed in paleoceanography. The continuous rehabilitation of 87Sr/86Sr in fossil fish teeth after deposition would change the original 87Sr/86Sr of seawater recorded near fish teeth but the content of Sr remains unchanged. As for 143Nd/144Nd, when Nd enters the fossils after deposition, the exchange of 143Nd/144Nd between particles and pore liquid gradually ceases due to the saturation of the isomorphism lattice. 143Nd/144Nd of fossil fish teeth may provide more information about deep seawater at the seawater-sediment interface. This study elucidates the enrichment mechanism of REEs in deep-sea sediments and the cautious utilization of 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd of fossils is a prerequisite.
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spelling doaj-art-c7c30e5ee6ab45c8a9568ee116e579d22025-08-20T01:54:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-04-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15347271534727Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sedimentsZhijie Xu0Xiaoyu Zhang1Xiaoyu Zhang2Kongyang Zhu3Mu Huang4Miao Yu5Zheng Li6Zhongrong Qiu7Yanfang Lu8School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaHainan Institute, Zhejiang University, Sanya, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaLaboratory of Marine Geology and Geophysics, The First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Qingdao, ChinaLaboratory of Marine Geology and Geophysics, The First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Qingdao, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaOcean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaFossil fish teeth are important carriers of rare earth elements (REEs) in deep-sea sediments. Meanwhile, 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd in these fossils have been widely used in paleoceanography. However, when and how REEs enter the fish teeth remains ambiguous, which hinders elucidating the enrichment mechanism of REEs in deep-sea sediments, and the effectiveness of 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd in paleoceanography is doubted. This study examined the contents of REEs, major and trace elements, and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd in modern fish teeth and in fossil fish teeth from deep-sea sediments. The results indicated that elemental geochemical properties and a redox environment are the main factors controlling their enrichment process in fish teeth. At least three categories of trace elements are classified during two different stages (physiological process of living fish and post-deposition of fossils): (1) elements of Type I mainly belong to IA, IIA, IIIA, IVA, and transition group with active chemical properties, entering into the fish teeth during life; (2) Type II represents elements from the IA, VA, transition elements, and Actinides groups, and are enriched uninterruptedly from the living fish teeth to the post-deposition fossils with variable valences under different redox conditions; (3) Type III are elements accumulated only after deposition under oxidizing or suboxidizing and are members of Lanthanides and rare dispersed elements groups with a large atomic radius and strong chemical activity. The distinctly different enrichment processes of Sr and Nd, 87Sr/86Sr, and 143Nd/144Nd in fossil fish teeth may represent different material sources and should be cautiously employed in paleoceanography. The continuous rehabilitation of 87Sr/86Sr in fossil fish teeth after deposition would change the original 87Sr/86Sr of seawater recorded near fish teeth but the content of Sr remains unchanged. As for 143Nd/144Nd, when Nd enters the fossils after deposition, the exchange of 143Nd/144Nd between particles and pore liquid gradually ceases due to the saturation of the isomorphism lattice. 143Nd/144Nd of fossil fish teeth may provide more information about deep seawater at the seawater-sediment interface. This study elucidates the enrichment mechanism of REEs in deep-sea sediments and the cautious utilization of 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd of fossils is a prerequisite.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1534727/fullfossil and modern fish teethCentral Indian Ocean Basintrace elements enrichment process87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Ndgeochemical indicative significancepaleoceanography
spellingShingle Zhijie Xu
Xiaoyu Zhang
Xiaoyu Zhang
Kongyang Zhu
Mu Huang
Miao Yu
Zheng Li
Zhongrong Qiu
Yanfang Lu
Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sediments
Frontiers in Marine Science
fossil and modern fish teeth
Central Indian Ocean Basin
trace elements enrichment process
87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd
geochemical indicative significance
paleoceanography
title Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sediments
title_full Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sediments
title_fullStr Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sediments
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sediments
title_short Comparison of elemental composition and 87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of REE in deep-sea sediments
title_sort comparison of elemental composition and 87sr 86sr 143nd 144nd between fossil and modern fish teeth and the significance of the enrichment of ree in deep sea sediments
topic fossil and modern fish teeth
Central Indian Ocean Basin
trace elements enrichment process
87Sr/86Sr-143Nd/144Nd
geochemical indicative significance
paleoceanography
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1534727/full
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