Characterization and Geological Implications of Precambrian Calcite‐Hosted Phosphate


Journal article


J. A. Richardson, Sascha Roest-Ellis, B. Phillips, J. Strauss, S. Webb, N. Tosca
Geophysical Research Letters, 2022

Semantic Scholar DOI
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APA   Click to copy
Richardson, J. A., Roest-Ellis, S., Phillips, B., Strauss, J., Webb, S., & Tosca, N. (2022). Characterization and Geological Implications of Precambrian Calcite‐Hosted Phosphate. Geophysical Research Letters.


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Richardson, J. A., Sascha Roest-Ellis, B. Phillips, J. Strauss, S. Webb, and N. Tosca. “Characterization and Geological Implications of Precambrian Calcite‐Hosted Phosphate.” Geophysical Research Letters (2022).


MLA   Click to copy
Richardson, J. A., et al. “Characterization and Geological Implications of Precambrian Calcite‐Hosted Phosphate.” Geophysical Research Letters, 2022.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{j2022a,
  title = {Characterization and Geological Implications of Precambrian Calcite‐Hosted Phosphate},
  year = {2022},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  author = {Richardson, J. A. and Roest-Ellis, Sascha and Phillips, B. and Strauss, J. and Webb, S. and Tosca, N.}
}

Abstract

Constraints on marine phosphate availability and cycling directly inform our understanding of long‐term biological evolution. However, early Earth phosphate records are sparse, biased toward siliciclastic samples, and susceptible to post‐depositional modification. Well‐preserved shallow marine inorganic carbonate precipitates provide a complementary yet understudied record of phosphate cycling. We combined micro‐X‐ray fluorescence mapping, X‐ray absorption, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy on samples of Precambrian syndepositional herringbone calcite (HBC) and microspar to characterize phosphorus speciation and distribution in these carbonate fabrics. Phosphorus spectroscopy from synthetic calcite, HBC, and microspar, is qualitatively consistent with a disordered distribution of phosphate. These characteristics are diagnostic of calcite‐hosted phosphate, which is pervasive at low concentrations in HBC and microspar. This study provides evidence that ancient, well‐preserved carbonate fabrics retain phosphate sourced from seawater and highlights the potential for an unaltered archive of marine phosphate concentration over geologic time.


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