Rhenium and molybdenum enrichments in sediments as indicators of oxic, suboxic and sulfidic conditions of deposition

Abstract

The trace elements Re and Mo both behave conservatively in seawater yet are strongly enriched in reducing sediments. Their potential for authigenic enrichment above crustal concentrations is greater than for many other elements, due to the high ratio of [metal] sw/[metal] crust. We present sedimentary Re and Mo data from box- and multi-cores spanning a range of redox conditions, from well-oxygenated sites to locations with substantial sulfide concentrations. At the oxic sites, Re and Mo, as expected, accumulate at concentrations close to their crustal abundances. Re shows substantial enrichment in suboxic (absence of O 2 and H 2S) sediments of the Sea of Japan, in sediments within the oxygen minimum of the Pakistan margin, as well as in sediments underlying the sulfide-bearing waters of the Black Sea and Saanich Inlet. Re enrichment occurs in these cores just below the depths of Fe and U reduction. Only in the sediments underlying the sulfidic waters of the Black Sea and Saanich Inlet is there substantial authigenic Mo accumulation. Absence of Re and Mo enrichments in sediment trap samples from the sulfide-bearing basins suggests that the addition of both metals occurs at or below the sediment-water interface. The Re and Mo concentration profiles are modeled to hindcast the removal depth of Re and Mo in the sediments which, along with the Re/Mo ratio, determine whether oxic, suboxic or sulfidic conditions were present in the water column or in the sediments in the past. Using this approach, historical redox conditions can be inferred even in environments such as continental margins where a substantial lithogenic component can obscure authigenic enrichments of other metals.