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North African Cretaceous Carbonate Platform Systems pp 229–238Cite as

Strontium Isotope Chemostratigraphy of Rudist Bivalves and Cretaceous Carbonate Platforms

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Part of the book series: NATO Science Series ((NAIV,volume 28))

Abstract

Strontium concentrations in modern seawater are at 8 ppm. The dominant input flux of the element to seawater is from continental weathering, and precipitation with marine carbonates is its major sink [1], The isotopic composition (87Sr/86Sr) of seawater is controlled by the rate of hydrothermal release of Sr with a low, mantle-derived 87Sr/86Sr value, and by the flux of Sr from continental weathering. This weathering flux has a high 87Sr/86Sr value due the decay of 87Rb in crustal rocks to 87Sr. Therefore, different rates of continental weathering and hydrothermal Sr fluxes, and the isotopic composition of the continental flux, drive changes in the 87Sr/86Sr value of seawater over geological time [2]. The 87Sr/86Sr values of biological carbonates such as low-Mg calcite which is relatively resistant against diagenetic alteration, provide a record of the changing isotopic composition of Sr in seawater during the Phanerozoic [3]. Due to the long residence time of Sr in seawater which is several orders of magnitude longer than that of ocean mixing, concentration and isotopic composition of the element in seawater are homogeneous. Sr isotope ratios are also not affected by dilution with freshwater over a large range of salinity [4].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics, Ruhr University, D-44801, Bochum, Germany

    T. Steuber

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  1. T. Steuber
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Eulàlia Gili

  2. Departement des Sciences de la Terre, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Mohamed El Hédi Negra

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Great Britain

    Peter W. Skelton

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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Steuber, T. (2003). Strontium Isotope Chemostratigraphy of Rudist Bivalves and Cretaceous Carbonate Platforms. In: Gili, E., El Hédi Negra, M., Skelton, P.W. (eds) North African Cretaceous Carbonate Platform Systems. NATO Science Series, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0015-4_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0015-4_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1607-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0015-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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