The effect of solution chemistry on elemental and isotopic fractionation of lithium during inorganic precipitation of calcite

Assessment of Chalk as an Archive for the Lithium Isotope Composition of Seawater

“…However, pelagic sediments have not been analyzed regarding their Li isotope composition during burial diagenesis so far. For a better understanding about the behavior of Li isotopes during recrystallization, Seyedali et al (2021) performed inorganic experiments, where vaterite has been recrystallized into calcite within an aqueous solution. Thereby, a correlation between the Li isotope composition and pH was observed, and it was concluded that the results of the study are important for early diagenetic reactions.…”

“…(2013) measured δ 7 Li in chalk across the interval of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2) to assess changes in the silicate weathering flux and intensity during this event. However, they did not address the issue of the general suitability of chalk as an archive for stable Li isotopes and did not consider clay mineral dissolution as an alternative interpretation for their very low δ 7 Li values across the Plenus Marls (Seyedali et al., 2021; Taylor et al., 2019).…”

An efficient Li dual-column system and high-precision Li isotope measurement of high matrix and low-Li samples by MC-ICP-MS

“…1–4 Lithium and its isotopes are useful tracers for chemical weathering, clay formation, and hydrothermal alteration as well as cosmochemistry processes. 5–11 Over the last decade, emerging studies have been focused on using marine carbonates as Li isotope archives to shed light on climate change, chemical weathering and clay formation in the Earth's history. 6,8,11–32 Although analytical methods to determine Li isotope ratios have been well developed using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), existing methods are often challenged by carbonates and other high matrix and low-Li samples like seawater, hydrothermal fluids, and altered oceanic crust.…”

“…5–11 Over the last decade, emerging studies have been focused on using marine carbonates as Li isotope archives to shed light on climate change, chemical weathering and clay formation in the Earth's history. 6,8,11–32 Although analytical methods to determine Li isotope ratios have been well developed using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), existing methods are often challenged by carbonates and other high matrix and low-Li samples like seawater, hydrothermal fluids, and altered oceanic crust. 33–49 As such, the advent of Li isotope proxies still calls for method refinement including column chromatography and instrumental techniques to overcome the matrix effect and low-Li concentrations.…”

Dolostone as a reliable tracer of seawater lithium isotope composition

“…Laboratory experiments demonstrated varying Li isotope fractionation factors between seawater and calcite or aragonite [14][15][16] , with aragonite generally having higher Li isotope fractionation factors (Δ sw-arag = 8-12‰) compared to those of calcite (Δ sw-cal = 3-8.5‰). Recently, laboratory synthetic experiments showed that Li isotope compositions in calcite can be sensitive to pH and temperature, yet it is unclear whether they are specific to a particular carbonate phase [17][18][19] . While synthetic experiments are limited by reaction kinetics and are unable to reproduce the natural carbonate precipitation rates, other studies have instead focused on marine carbonates formed in natural environments.…”