Project Details
Description
Our overall aim is to assess the relationship between beryllium isotope signatures dissolved in the water column and those stored in the reactive phases of sediments on the sea floor.
To achieve this, we have several research questions:
1. Do the Beryllium signatures from specific sediment phases represent any single depth range (or an average) of the overlying
water column?
2. Can any chemical leach procedure isolate bottom water signatures from sediment?
3. How do Be isotope signatures vary between different water masses?
4. Can Be-isotopes be extracted from a high-volume seawater sample alongside other oceanography proxies, such as Th, and Nd?
The potential significance of this project is: 1) to make the first direct comparison between Be-isotope composition in seawater and in sediment; 2) to provide baseline Be-isotope signatures for multiple water masses including both Upper and Lower Circumpolar Deep Water, which could then be related to sediment signatures on the Antarctic continental shelf; 3) examine the potential method of extracting Be, Nd, and Th from the same water samples therefore expanding their utility; finally, 4) conduct a series of different extraction procedures upon the sediment – isolating chemical phases and biological skeletons to see how influential the waters may be upon them.
In achieving these objectives, we should produce evidence of how Be-isotopes are incorporated into the sediment, and, thus, significantly improve our understanding of how they may be better interpreted from the sedimentary record.
To achieve this, we have several research questions:
1. Do the Beryllium signatures from specific sediment phases represent any single depth range (or an average) of the overlying
water column?
2. Can any chemical leach procedure isolate bottom water signatures from sediment?
3. How do Be isotope signatures vary between different water masses?
4. Can Be-isotopes be extracted from a high-volume seawater sample alongside other oceanography proxies, such as Th, and Nd?
The potential significance of this project is: 1) to make the first direct comparison between Be-isotope composition in seawater and in sediment; 2) to provide baseline Be-isotope signatures for multiple water masses including both Upper and Lower Circumpolar Deep Water, which could then be related to sediment signatures on the Antarctic continental shelf; 3) examine the potential method of extracting Be, Nd, and Th from the same water samples therefore expanding their utility; finally, 4) conduct a series of different extraction procedures upon the sediment – isolating chemical phases and biological skeletons to see how influential the waters may be upon them.
In achieving these objectives, we should produce evidence of how Be-isotopes are incorporated into the sediment, and, thus, significantly improve our understanding of how they may be better interpreted from the sedimentary record.
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/01/24 → 31/12/24 |
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