Tellurium, selenium and cobalt enrichment in Neoproterozoic black shales, Gwna Group, UK: deep marine trace element enrichment during the Second Great Oxygenation Event

Armstrong, J. G.T., Parnell, J., Bullock, L. A., Perez, M., Boyce, A. J. and Feldmann, J. (2018) Tellurium, selenium and cobalt enrichment in Neoproterozoic black shales, Gwna Group, UK: deep marine trace element enrichment during the Second Great Oxygenation Event. Terra Nova, 30(3), pp. 244-253. (doi: 10.1111/ter.12331)

Abstract

Black shales of the late Neoproterozoic Gwna Group (570–580 Ma), UK, contain enrichments of tellurium (Te), selenium (Se) and cobalt (Co) relative to average shale compositions. The Te and Co enrichments bear comparison with those of ferromanganese crusts in the modern deep ocean. Gwna Group deposition coincides with the Second Great Oxidation Event, which had a significant effect on trace element fixation globally. Selenium and Te concentrations within these black shales indicate increased continental weathering rates, high biological productivity and corresponding increases in atmospheric O2 concentrations. Cobalt, nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As) enrichments in this succession are secondary mineralisation phases. Demand for many of the trace elements found enriched in the Gwna Group black shales make their mechanisms of accumulation, and variations through the geological record, important to understand, and suggests that new resources may be sought based on black shale protoliths from this period.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Research funded by NERC grant NE/M010953/1 and NERC facility grant IP-1631-0516. AJB is funded by NERC support of the Isotope Community Support Facility SUERC.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Boyce, Professor Adrian
• Authors: Armstrong, J. G.T., Parnell, J., Bullock, L. A., Perez, M., Boyce, A. J., and Feldmann, J.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Terra Nova
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 0954-4879
• ISSN (Online): 1365-3121
• Published Online: 09 February 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Terra Nova 30(3):244-253
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License