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Boron isotopic fractionation in laboratory inorganic carbonate precipitation: evidence for the incorporation of B(OH)3 into carbonate

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Abstract

A laboratory inorganic carbonate precipitation experiment at high pH of 8.96 to 9.34 was conducted, and the boron isotopic fractionations of the precipitated carbonate were measured. The data show that boron isotopic fractionation factors (αcarb-3) between carbonate and B(OH)3 in seawater range 0.937 and 0.965, with an average value of 0.953. Our results together with those reported by Sanyal and collaborators show that the αcarb-3 values between carbonate and B(OH)3 in solution are not constant but are negatively correlated with the pH of seawater. The measured boron isotopic compositions of carbonate precipitation (δ11Bcarb) do not exactly lie on the best-fit theoretical δ11B4-pH curves and neither do they exactly parallel any theoretical δ11B4-pH curves. Therefore, it is reasonable to argue that a changeable proportion of B(OH)3 with pH of seawater should also be incorporated into carbonate except for the dominant incorporation of B(OH)4 − in carbonate. Hence, in the reconstruction of the paleo-pH of seawater from boron isotopes in marine biogenic carbonates, the use of theoretical boron isotopic fractionation factor (α4−3) between B(OH)4 − and B(OH)3 is not suitable. Instead, an empirical equation should be established.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, China

    YingKai Xiao, HuaLing Li & XiuFang Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    YingKai Xiao

  3. Nanjing Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, 210016, Nanjing, China

    HuaLing Li

  4. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, 710075, China

    WeiGuo Liu

  5. State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    ShaoYong Jiang

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  1. YingKai Xiao
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  2. HuaLing Li
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  3. WeiGuo Liu
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  4. XiuFang Wang
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Correspondence to YingKai Xiao.

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Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40573013 and 40776071), State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No SKLLQG0502) and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Xiao, Y., Li, H., Liu, W. et al. Boron isotopic fractionation in laboratory inorganic carbonate precipitation: evidence for the incorporation of B(OH)3 into carbonate. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 51, 1776–1785 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-008-0144-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-008-0144-y

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