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The Origin and Preservation of Suspended Barites near the 90°E Ridge in the Northeastern Indian Ocean

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Abstract

Suspended particulate barite crystals were detected in the water columns at four different stations near the 90°E ridge in the Indian Ocean. Four distinct morphological types of marine barites were distinguished: euhedral-subhedral crystals, oval or round crystals, rhombic crystals, and irregular crystals. The barite crystals in the study area are typically fine, with a dominant size of 1–3 µm. The vertical distribution of barites is significantly affected by the formation and sedimentation processes. Barites begin to appear at a depth of 30 m and are formed primarily from the surface to the depth of 2000 m with a concentration peak at the depth of 200 m, where particles are coarser than those in the other layers. The barites begin to settle and dissolve once formed in the water column, resulting in finer barite particles and lower particle concentrations. The formation of barite crystals is related to biological processes associated with the decomposition of barium-rich skeletons in the microenvironment of decaying organic matter that is affected by the primary productivity and dissolved oxygen content in the water column. The dissolving process of barite crystals showed similar variation with the concentration of dissolved barium in ocean water, and the substitution of strontium for barite in crystals promotes the selective dissolution of barite and exerts an important impact on its morphology. It is approximately 33% of barites in the amount and 22% in the concentration to settle to the bottom of the water column compared to that observed in the main barite formation zone.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the captain and the crew of the R/V Dayangyihao for field sampling assistance and Prof. Tan Jinshan of Qingdao University for assistance in SEM observations. This study was supported by the COMRA Major Project (No. DY135-S1-01-09), and the Opening Foundation of Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, Ocean University of China (No. SGPT-2019OF-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Xuejiao Bu, Ming Liu, Yi Ding, Xiaoxia Sun, Dejiang Fan & Zuosheng Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences and Technology, MOE, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Xuejiao Bu, Ming Liu, Xiaoxia Sun, Dejiang Fan & Zuosheng Yang

  3. Shandong Provincial No.4 Institute of Geological and Mineral Survey, Weifang, 261021, China

    Yadi Yang

  4. Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Metallogeny, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Mu Huang & Dejiang Fan

  5. Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Mu Huang

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  1. Xuejiao Bu
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Correspondence to Ming Liu.

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Bu, X., Liu, M., Ding, Y. et al. The Origin and Preservation of Suspended Barites near the 90°E Ridge in the Northeastern Indian Ocean. J. Ocean Univ. China 22, 88–98 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-023-5257-6

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