What regulates trace element paleoredox proxies in black shales?

Trace elements in black shales encode information about profound events in earth history, including mass extinction events. Reading the code requires understanding the chemical processes that trigger transfer of trace elements from seawater to sediments in response to changing environmental conditions. Trace elements that form stable oxyanions in seawater are of particular interest because they have long mean residence times which favor their global homogenization and enrichment in seawater.

Conventionally, transfer of these elements to sediments has been attributed simply to reduction. Through study of chemical mechanisms, a more detailed characterization of ancient environments should become possible. Current research on this problem will be reviewed, focusing particularly on molybdenum (Mo) and rhenium (Re).

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Invited by the Environmental Geochemistry Group (Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich)
- anyone who would like to join is cordially invited!