Application of the Ce anomaly as a paleoredox indicator: The ground rules

Abstract
Much attention has been paid, in recent years, to the potential application of the Ce anomaly, measured in various marine phases, as a paleoceanographic indicator of widespread marine anoxia. In this paper we present and discuss results from recent studies of present‐day rare earth element (REE) distributions (and hence Ce anomaly distributions) in the marine environment which are particularly pertinent to paleoceanography. Subsequently, we review and discuss the validity of the recent literature in which Ce anomalies have been employed as paleoredox indicators.