The solubility of fish‐produced high magnesium calcite in seawater

Woosley, Ryan J.; Millero, Frank J.; Grosell, Martin

doi:10.1029/2011jc007599

Cited by 44 publications

(35 citation statements)

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“…54 mol%) are the highest yet reported in CaCO 3 biominerals. The data presented here corroborate recently published findings of curiously high Mg 2+ levels in fish-produced carbonates of other species1516. The reason for such significant Mg 2+ content in these piscine intestinal deposits may contribute to their ability to remain an amorphous phase throughout their duration in the fish gut.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Though previous studies have identified the intestinal deposits as Mg-calcite51516, the widespread distribution of amorphous phases in biological systems1718192021 led us to investigate this possibility in fish-gut carbonates. Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is a unique mineral form produced either as a transient precursor to a final crystallized (calcite or aragonite) structure or as a stable form during the lifetime of the organism2223.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Biogenic Fish-gut Calcium Carbonate is a Stable Amorphous Phase in the Gilt-head Seabream, Sparus aurata

Foran

Weiner

Fine

2013

Sci Rep

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The main source of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the ocean comes from the shells of calcifying planktonic organisms, but substantial amounts of CaCO3 are also produced in fish intestines. The precipitation of CaCO3 assists fish in intestinal water absorption and aids in whole body Ca2+ homeostasis. Here we report that the product formed in the intestinal lumen of the gilt-head seabream, Sparus aurata, is an amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) phase. With FTIR spectroscopy and SEM imaging, our study shows that the fish-derived carbonates from S. aurata are maintained as a stable amorphous phase throughout the intestinal tract. Moreover, intestinal deposits contained up to 54 mol% Mg2+, the highest concentration yet reported in biogenic ACC. Mg is most likely responsible for stabilizing this inherently unstable mineral. The fish carbonates also displayed initial rapid dissolution when exposed to seawater, exhibiting a significant increase in carbonate concentration.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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confidence: 99%

Biogenic Fish-gut Calcium Carbonate is a Stable Amorphous Phase in the Gilt-head Seabream, Sparus aurata

Foran

Weiner

Fine

2013

Sci Rep

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“…Questions thus arise about their stability (Salter et al, 2012), and speculation regarding their dissolution in the upper one kilometre of the pelagic zone (Wilson et al, 2009) is supported by the solubility data of Woosley et al (2012), which indicates a lysocline depth in the North Atlantic of approximately 550 m for highMg calcite fish-derived carbonates. However, since periplatform deposits on the leeward slopes of the GBB commonly begin at depths of 140 to 180 m (Wilber et al, 1990), and because lysocline depths around the Bahamas are thought to be substantially depressed relative to those of the North Atlantic (Droxler et al, 1988), it is highly plausible that fish-derived carbonates will resist dissolution and may accumulate at the surfaces of periplatform deposits.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 98%

Size fraction analysis of fish-derived carbonates in shallow sub-tropical marine environments and a potentially unrecognised origin for peloidal carbonates

Salter¹,

Perry²,

Wilson³

2014

Sedimentary Geology

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Marine bony fish are now known as primary producers of calcium carbonate. Furthermore, within the shallow sub-tropical platform settings of the Bahamas, this production process has been shown to occur at rates relevant to carbonate sediment production budgets. Fish excrete these carbonates as loosely aggregated pellets which, post-excretion, exhibit a range of distinctive crystal morphologies and have mineralogies ranging from low (0-4 mol% MgCO 3 ) to high (4-40 mol% MgCO 3 ) Mg-calcites, aragonite and amorphous carbonate phases. Here we provide the first quantitative assessment of the size fractions of the carbonates produced by a range of tropical fish species, and document the extent of post-excretion carbonate pellet break down under a range of physical agitation conditions. Specifically, we document the morphologies and size fractions of: i) intact pellets at the point of excretion; ii) intact pellets after agitation in seawater; and iii) the particles released from pellets post-disaggregation. Results indicate that fish-derived pellets initially fall within the very fine to very coarse sand fractions. Exposure to conditions of moderate seawater agitation for 30 days results in significant pellet diminution; 66% of initial pellet mass being released as individual particles, whilst 34% is retained as partially intact pellets that are smaller (fine sand-grade) and more rounded than initial pellets. In contrast, pellets exposed to very gently agitated conditions for up to 200 days show little change. Where pellet disaggregation does occur, particles are commonly released as individual clay-and silt-grade crystals. However, some morphotypes (e.g., polycrystalline spheres) can be intergrown and are released as strongly cohesive particle clusters falling within the coarse silt to fine sand fractions. Only very vigorous agitation may disaggregate such particles, resulting in the release of their component clay-grade crystals. We conclude that fish-derived carbonates may thus contribute not only to the mud-fraction of marine carbonates, but also to the fine sand fraction as intergrown particles, and to the fine to coarse sand fractions as intact and partially intact pellets. These experimental data indicate that hydrodynamic regimes local to sites of excretion will influence the generation of carbonates with different size fraction ranges. Rapid pellet disaggregation is more likely in high energy settings, hypothesised to result in redistribution of liberated mud-grade particles to lower energy platform-top settings and/or offplatform. In contrast, pellets excreted in lower energy settings are more likely to be preserved intact, and are thus proposed as a previously unrecognised source of pelletal and peloidal carbonate sediments.

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“…In particular, the solubility, rate, and mechanisms of calcite dissolution have been extensively studied (e.g., Plummer and Wigley 1976;Sjöberg 1976;Plummer et al 1978;Rickard and Sjoeberg 1983;Arakaki and Mucci 1995;Hales and Emerson 1997). Fewer studies have attempted to investigate similar properties for biogenic carbonates, and only a fraction of these studies have attempted to characterize these properties in natural seawater and under conditions typically observed in the natural environment (e.g., Keir 1980;Morse 1984, 1985;Woosley et al 2012;Yamamoto et al 2012). Many experiments with biogenic carbonate substrates have been done in pure water (Chou et al 1989;Svensson and Dreybrodt 1992;Cubillas et al 2005), with samples that have not been ultrasonically cleaned to remove submicron particles (Keir 1980), with calcite powders or very small grain sizes (Sjöberg 1976;Busenberg and Plummer 1986) and/or at seawater pH levels and saturation states far from equilibrium and much lower than conditions commonly observed in the shallow marine environment (Walter and Morse 1985;Cubillas et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissolution Rates of Biogenic Carbonates in Natural Seawater at Different pCO2 Conditions: A Laboratory Study

Pickett

Andersson

2015

Aquat Geochem

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The bulk dissolution rates of six biogenic carbonates (goose barnacle, benthic foraminifera, bryozoan, sea urchin, and two types of coralline algae) and a sample of mixed sediment from the Bermuda carbonate platform were measured in natural seawater at pCO 2 values ranging from approximately 3000 to 5500 latm. This range of pCO 2 values encompassed values regularly observed in porewaters at a depth of a few cm in carbonate sediments at shallow water depths (\15 m) on the Bermuda carbonate platform. The biogenic carbonates included calcites of varying Mg content (2-17 mol%) and a range of specific surface areas (0.01-2.7 m 2 g -1 ) as determined by BET gas adsorption. Measured rates of dissolution increased with increasing pCO 2 treatment for all substrates and ranged from 2.5 to 18 lmol g -1 h -1 . The highest rates of dissolution were observed for the bryozoans and the lowest rates for the goose barnacles. The relative ranking in dissolution rates between different substrates was consistent at all pCO 2 levels, indicating that substrates dissolve sequentially and that some substrates will be more vulnerable than others to rising CO 2 and ocean acidification. Furthermore, dissolution rates were found to increase with increasing Mg content, though the relative dissolution rates were observed to be a function of both Mg content and microstructure (surface area).

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The solubility of fish‐produced high magnesium calcite in seawater

Cited by 44 publications

References 39 publications

Biogenic Fish-gut Calcium Carbonate is a Stable Amorphous Phase in the Gilt-head Seabream, Sparus aurata

Biogenic Fish-gut Calcium Carbonate is a Stable Amorphous Phase in the Gilt-head Seabream, Sparus aurata

Size fraction analysis of fish-derived carbonates in shallow sub-tropical marine environments and a potentially unrecognised origin for peloidal carbonates

Dissolution Rates of Biogenic Carbonates in Natural Seawater at Different pCO2 Conditions: A Laboratory Study

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