Cited by 1,194Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsGeochemistry and Elemental AnalysisMarine and coastal ecosystems

Mo–total organic carbon covariation in modern anoxic marine environments: Implications for analysis of paleoredox and paleohydrographic conditions

Algeo, Thomas J., Lyons, Timothy W.·2006·Paleoceanography

Abstract

Sedimentary molybdenum, [Mo] s , has been widely used as a proxy for benthic redox potential owing to its generally strong enrichment in organic‐rich marine facies deposited under oxygen‐depleted conditions. A detailed analysis of [Mo] s –total organic carbon (TOC) covariation in modern anoxic marine environments and its relationship to ambient water chemistry suggests that (1) [Mo] s , while useful in distinguishing oxic from anoxic facies, is not related in a simple manner to dissolved sulfide concentrations within euxinic environments and (2) patterns of [Mo] s ‐TOC covariation can provide information about paleohydrographic conditions, especially the degree of restriction of the subchemoclinal water mass and temporal changes thereof related to deepwater renewal. These inferences are based on data from four anoxic silled basins (the Black Sea, Framvaren Fjord, Cariaco Basin, and Saanich Inlet) and one upwelling zone (the Namibian Shelf), representing a spectrum of aqueous chemical conditions related to water mass restriction. In the silled‐basin environments, increasing restriction is correlated with a systematic decrease in [Mo] s /TOC ratios, from ∼45 ± 5 for Saanich Inlet to ∼4.5 ± 1 for the Black Sea. This variation reflects control of [Mo] s by [Mo] aq , which becomes depleted in stagnant basins through removal to the sediment without adequate resupply by deepwater renewal (the “basin reservoir effect”). The temporal dynamics of this process are revealed by high‐resolution chemostratigraphic data from Framvaren Fjord and Cariaco Basin sediment cores, which exhibit long‐term trends toward lower [Mo] s /TOC ratios following development of water column stratification and deepwater anoxia. Mo burial fluxes peak in weakly sulfidic environments such as Saanich Inlet (owing to a combination of greater [Mo] aq availability and enhanced Mo transport to the sediment‐water interface via Fe‐Mn redox cycling) and are lower in strongly sulfidic environments such as the Black Sea and Framvaren Fjord. These observations demonstrate that, at timescales associated with deepwater renewal in anoxic silled basins, decreased sedimentary Mo concentrations and burial fluxes are associated with lower benthic redox potentials (i.e., more sulfidic conditions). These conclusions apply only to anoxic marine environments exhibiting some degree of water mass restriction (e.g., silled basins) and are not valid for low‐oxygen facies in open marine settings such as continent‐margin upwelling systems.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1029/2004pa001112

Cites

125 of 125 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • A direct relationship between concentrations in organic-rich sediments and dissolved concentrations in overlying anoxic and sulfidic bottom waters has been demonstrated for some trace elements such as Mo and Zn.

    “(4) a direct relationship between concentrations in organic-rich sediments and dissolved concentrations in overlying anoxic and sulfidic bottom waters has been demonstrated for some trace elements (e.g., Mo, Zn; Algeo and Lyons, 2006;Scott et al., 2013).”

    From Trace elements at the intersection of marine biological and geochemical evolution (2016) · cites this paper as Algeo and Lyons, 2006

  • Several trace elements such as Mo and U are known to scale with organic carbon during deposition and burial in euxinic water columns.

    “(3) several trace elements (e.g., Mo, U) are known to scale with organic carbon during deposition and burial in euxinic water columns (Algeo and Lyons, 2006)”

    From Trace elements at the intersection of marine biological and geochemical evolution (2016) · cites this paper as Algeo and Lyons, 2006

  • Algeo and Lyons (2006) found that dissolved Mo in euxinic bottom waters scales with Mo/TOC ratios in underlying organic-rich sediments.

    “Algeo and Lyons (2006) showed that the dissolved Mo concentration in euxinic bottom waters is proportional to the observed Mo/TOC ratios in the underlying organic-rich sediments.”

    From Trace elements at the intersection of marine biological and geochemical evolution (2016) · cites this paper as Algeo and Lyons (2006)

  • Enrichments in euxinic and anoxic sediments are primarily controlled by the marine metal reservoir.

    “the marine metal reservoir exerts a first order control on enrichments in euxinic and anoxic sediments (Algeo and Lyons, 2006;Lyons et al., 2009;Scott et al., 2008;Reinhard et al., 2013b).”

    From Trace elements at the intersection of marine biological and geochemical evolution (2016) · cites this paper as Algeo and Lyons, 2006

  • Black shales rich in organic matter and deposited beneath anoxic, sulfidic pore waters can accumulate redox-sensitive metals, particularly Mo.

    “By contrast, organic-rich black shales deposited under anoxic and sulfidic pore waters may become enriched in redox-sensitive trace metals, especially Mo (Algeo and Lyons, 2006;März et al., 2008;Scott and Lyons, 2012).”

    From Trace elements at the intersection of marine biological and geochemical evolution (2016) · cites this paper as Algeo and Lyons, 2006

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Algeo, T. J., & Lyons, T. W.
Affiliations
  • University of Cincinnati (US)
  • University of California, Riverside (US)
Venue
Paleoceanography
Published
2006-03
Volume
21
Issue
1
ISSN
  • 0883-8305 (ISSN-L)
  • 1944-9186
OpenAlex
W1648236804
Cited by
1,194
References
125
Citations by year
2026: 93 · 2025: 102 · 2024: 96 · 2023: 102 · 2022: 94 · 2021: 114 · 2020: 96 · 2019: 68 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 71 · 2016: 59 · 2015: 44 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 26
FWCI
14.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Paleoceanography (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
Keywords
total organic carbon, anoxic marine environment, euxinia, dissolved sulfide, paleohydrography, chemostratigraphy, Black Sea, Cariaco Basin, Saanich Inlet, Namibian shelf, upwelling zones

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review