Outlines of Distribution of Strontium in Marine Limestones

Abstract

The strontium content of marine limestones is governed by four factors:Age. The aragonite-calcite transition is the reason for the strong diminution of the strontium content during diagenesis. This is efficient for 50 to 100 mill. years.Clay mineral content. Diagenetically altered limestones show a relationship between the Sr-content and the insoluble residue. This is explained by the adsorption of Sr by clay minerals during the aragonite-calcite transition.Salinity. Limestones of evaporitic series show a relative high Sr-content.Environment. In alternating limestone-marl-series no relationship between the Sr-content and the insoluble residue seems to exist.Contrary to the relationships found in recent carbonates, in fossil limestones the reef complexes have a minimal Sr-content, for they have small clay mineral content.