Glendonite concretion formation due to dead organism decomposition

Abstract

Glendonite is generally accepted as a calcite pseudomorph after ikaite (CaCO3·6H2O) and is commonly preserved in spherical carbonate concretions known as glendonite concretions in marine sedimentary rocks. Although they have widely attracted attention as environmental indicators, the detailed geochemical process underlying glendonite formation is not fully understood. Here to show the glendonite concretion formation process, we conducted detailed macro- and microscopic observations, carbon and oxygen isotopic analyses (δ13C and δ18O), chemical composition analyses, and elemental mapping of glendonite concretions from four Cenozoic marine sedimentary strata in Japan. The occurrence of glendonite and concretions around dead organisms such as bivalves, ghost shrimp, or soft-bodied organisms forming ichnofossils, and the negative δ13C values of glendonite concretions around −20‰ to −10‰ showed that organic matter in dead organisms served as a carbon source for both ikaite crystals and the surrounding concretions. Highly concentrated phosphorus and its distribution patterns in glendonite concretions showed that changes of phosphate concentration in porewater play a crucial role in the sequential formation process from ikaite crystallization to syngenetically surrounding calcite concretion growth. The sequential processes of glendonite concretion formation progressed rapidly owing to the supply of bicarbonate during the decomposition of organisms in marine sediments. Our work provides a phosphate concentration-controlled growth model of glendonite concretion involving organic decomposition that can be used to evaluate paleoporewater chemical conditions during early diagenesis.