Skeletal Low-Magnesium Calcite in Living Scleractinian Corals
- 19 September 1975
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 189 (4207) , 997-999
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.189.4207.997
Abstract
The skeletons of living specimens of the scleractinian coral Porites lobata have been found to contain up to 46 ± 5 percent low-magnesium calcite even though free of gross detrital inclusions and boring or encrusting organisms. The calcite crystals occur in the interior of skeletal structures, have dimensions of 20 micrometers or less, and are surrounded by typical aragonite needles. Biogenic deposition seems to be the most likely source of the calcite, although the evidence does not rule out diagenesis of metastable.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- Possible environmental index in tropical reef coralsNature, 1974
- The natural radiochemical and growth records in contemporary hermatypic corals from the Atlantic and CaribbeanEarth and Planetary Science Letters, 1974
- Radiographic studies of reef coral exoskeletons: Rates and patterns of coral growthJournal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 1974
- Skeletal chemistry of scleractinian reef corals; uptake of magnesium from seawaterAmerican Journal of Science, 1974
- Incorporation of strontium into reef coral skeletal carbonateGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1973
- Distribution and nature of incorporation of trace elements in modern aragonitic corals*Sedimentology, 1973
- Coral Chronometers: Seasonal Growth Bands in Reef CoralsScience, 1972
- TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS IN SOME MODERN CORALS1Limnology and Oceanography, 1971
- Aspects of the Biogeochemistry of Magnesium 1. Calcareous Marine OrganismsThe Journal of Geology, 1954
- A Solid Solution between Calcite and DolomiteThe Journal of Geology, 1952