Bone Detritus Research Articles

УГЛЕРОДИСТЫЕ ПОРОДЫ В МЕЛОВЫХ ОТЛОЖЕНИЯХ П-ОВА КАМЧАТСКИЙ МЫС: ГЕОХИМИЯ, МЕТАЛЛОНОСНОСТЬ И УСЛОВИЯ НАКОПЛЕНИЯ

In the Cretaceous paleoceanic deposits of Eastern Kamchatka, carbonaceous beds have been studied, the origin of which relates to the oceanic anoxic events. In carbonaceous rocks, the contents of trace elements and noble metals: Ba, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mo, V, U, Y, Au, rare-earth elements and platinoids are increased in comparison with the hosted jaspers and limestones. In particular, the Au content in ash-laden carbonaceous rocks reaches 0.8 ppm, and Pt 2.1 ppm. The geochemical proxies Mo/Mn and V/(V + Ni) indicate the accumulation of carbonaceous deposits in euxinic conditions. The significant non-lithogenic excess Ba indicates a high bio-productivity in the upper part of the water column. High bio-productivity and euxinic conditions of sedimentation caused the enrichment of carbonaceous rocks with many trace elements. Phosphorus trapped into the sediments with bone detritus, which subsequently sorbed rare-earth elements and yttrium from sea water during its fossilization. Copper, zinc and vanadium are associated with the Fe-sulfide phase (framboidal pyrite). Noble metals accumulated during sedimentation and early diagenesis were deposited with organic matter and/or directly from seawater. In carbonaceous rocks, they appear to be in the form of organometallic compounds or enter into the composition of framboidal pyrite. The sedimentation occurred at the top of a seamount in the Pacific Ocean. The studied deposits are similar to the Cretaceous sediments that formed at the tops of seamounts in the northwestern Pacific, where carbonaceous beds are also present in the sections. Organic-rich sediments were deposited within the oxygen minimum zone during periods of maximum bio-productivity of plankton.

Bone Detritus in Sediments of the Tethys Ocean

Comparative studies of the geochemistry of bone detritus were performed for the bottom of the Melovoe deposit (south of the Mangyshlak Peninsula; Oligocene–Miocene) and for the recent uranium-bearing sediments at the shelf of Namibia in which the concentrations of trace elements were determined. The similarity of trace-elemental compositions of bones and enclosing sediments was revealed for both cases, as well as a partial similarity of ancient and recent sediments and bones. Moreover, the similarity of uranium mineralization in Maikop bones and in the bone matter of the recent shelf was found. Paleographic data on the Maikop basin showed that the ore bodies were formed in shoal productive shelf zone characterized by frequent mass die-offs of fauna similarly to occasional events at the recent oceanic shelves. Certain geochemical differences in mineral and chemical compositions of ancient and recent bones are related to the increased concentrations of uranium and other trace elements in the Tethys waters owing to the evaporation of seawaters and associated concentrating of dissolved metals under the ocean regression.

Mineralogical–geochemical characteristics of the bone detritus of Pleistocene mammals as a source of paleontological information

A complex mineralogical geochemical study of the bone detritus of large Pleistocene mammals inhabiting the Pechora Fore-Urals, the northernmost European part of their geographical range, is performed for the first time. The chemical composition, microstructure, content of 50 chemical elements are analyzed. The taphonomy of bones, extent of preservation of their initial properties, character and extent of fossilization are considered. The ultraporosity in the nanometer range is examined for the first time; it is established that it can be a marker of epigenetic changes in bones, beginning from the earliest stage of their fossilization. Based on X-ray structure and spectroscopic data, bone bioapatite is referred to carbonate–apatite of the B type. The results of thermal, chromatographic, and spectroscopic studies of collagen extracted from the bones of Pleistocene animals are discussed for the first time. The general trend of chemical degradation of bone proteins during fossilization is determined. The amino acid composition of bone collagen, the isotope composition of C, O, and N in biomineral and organic components of bones in the course of two-stage mass-spectrometer analysis of a complex sample are analyzed for the first time. Based on isotope-geochemical data conclusions concerning the diet and paleoclimatic and paleolandscape conditions of Pleistocene mammals are made.

Усть-ишимская кость: минералогогеохимические свойства как источник палеонтологической, палеоантропологической и палеоэкологической информации

Ust-Ishim man was the representative of one of the ancestral groups of the Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans. The first results of a comprehensive mineralogical and geochemical study of fossil bones using a wide range of physical, chemical and physico-chemical methods: thermal analysis, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, nitrogen capillary condensation method, X-ray fluorescence analysis, ISP-MS, gas chromatography method, amino acid chromatography analysis’s, X-ray microprobe method, X-ray diffraction method, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, isotope spectrometry are presented in this article. The studied fragment of the skeleton is of higher preservation rate than the common bone detritus of this age and even the fossils of younger Pleistocene animals that allowed determining almost all its primary properties. The unique preservation presumably was provided by the favorable environment and a special way the Ust-Ishim man originally was buried. Results of study of the chemical and mineral composition of the bone fossils allowed a reconstruction of the Ust-Ishim man life history.

Influence of hydrodynamic regime on the mineral composition of deep-sea sediments

The composition of sand-silt and pelite fractions of deep-sea sediments deposited under different hydrodynamic conditions was studied. Assemblages of clastic, clayey, biogenic, and authigenic minerals formed under the influence of surface and bottom currents were traced. It is shown that biogenic opal, fine-dispersed celestobarite, and authigenic protosyngenetic ferromanganese micronodules, which are composed of only manganese phases, represent indicators of cyclonic gyres characterized by enhanced bioproductivity. Collophane (bone detritus), phillipsite, palagonite, and large celestobarite crystals prevail in mineral assemblages below the anticyclonic gyres, whereas ore micronodules are depleted in manganese. Surface and bottom currents control the distribution of clastic (terrigenous edaphogenic, terrestrial-volcanogenic) and clay minerals, as well as biogenic opal in the form of Ethmodiscus frustules in sediments. Edaphogenic mineral assemblages represent the reliable indicators of bottom currents.

Upper Oligocene Sediments of the Ciscaucasus, Volga–Don, and Mangyshlak Regions (Central Part of the Eastern Paratethys): Communication 3. Metal Potential and Formation Conditions of Fish Bone Detritus and Iron Sulfide Deposits

The structure of bone detritus and iron sulfide deposits is scrutinized based on the abundant analytical data on their component composition and metal potential. It is shown that maximal concentrations of bone detritus and iron sulfides are usually spatially separated. The metal potential of bone detritus does not depend on sulfides. Moreover, its massive accumulations are usually characterized by low uranium and REE contents in the phosphate matter of fish remains. Phosphate matter in the relatively deepwater deposits usually characterized by a lower content of bone detritus has the highest metal content. Deposits formed in the relatively shallow-water settings are characterized by a higher concentration of bone detritus and lower metal content. It is emphasized that sources of rare elements and iron remain unclear.

Upper Oligocene Sediments in the Ciscaucasus, Volga–Don, and Mangyshlak Regions (Central Part of the Eastern Paratethys): Communication 2. Facies–Paleogeographic Sedimentation Settings

Late Oligocene basins were very unusual in terms of sedimentation. The most remarkable example is the early Kalmykian basin that was characterized by the drastic morphological differentiation and deposition of substantially different lithofacies sediment types (shallow-water shelf to relatively deep-water facies in anoxic troughs). Slopes of the troughs and uncompensated areas are marked by the accumulation of thick sandy–silty–clayey (up to 1000 m) and thin calcareous–clayey (up to 100 m) sediments, respectively. The outer shelf zone with islands and shoals includes metalliferous fish bone detritus and iron sulfide deposits. This exotic feature of the Kalmykian basin has no genetic analogues among other formations of the world. This communication presents the first description of the late Kalmykian basin and its lithofacies map that demonstrates the abrupt transformation of the paleogeographic setting in the late Oligocene as a result of the general relative shoaling and basin bottom leveling. Consequently, metalliferous sediments ceased to accumulate in the northern shelf area, but bone–sulfide deposits could accumulate in the southern part of the basin along the Caucasian archipelago.

Upper Oligocene Sediments of the Ciscaucasus, Volga–Don, and Mangyshlak Regions (Central Eastern Paratethys): Communication 1. Main Compositional and Structural Features

Upper Oligocene sediments of the Eastern Paratethys are distinguished in the Maikop Group owing to several characteristic features. They form a thick (1000–1200 m) sequence with specific composition and structure in different structural–facies zones of the basin. The development of “fish facies” is the most remarkable feature. It includes unique sediments composed of fish bone detritus (FBD) and iron sulfides with high contents of REE, U, Sc, Re, Ni, Co, Mo, and other elements. These elements form commercial uranium–base metal deposits so far unknown in other formations of the Earth. The structure of thick rock sequences in the deepest part of the Eastern Paratethys is also characterized by specific features. Deep-sea clayey fish-facies sediments intercalate with beds of fine-grained sandy and silty material. Their influx into the central part of the basin was responsible for the clinoform structure of the rock sequence revealed by seismostratigraphic studies. This communication presents new data on the distribution of bone detritus deposits, composition and structure of sediments, and summary characteristics of Upper Oligocene sediments that are essential for the further analysis of facies–paleogeographic sedimentation conditions in the central Eastern Paratethys.

Specific features of the structure and evolution of u and REE-bearing organic phosphate deposits in the southern mangyshlak region

Specific structural features of giant fishbone detritus accumulations, which represent organic phosphate deposits with uranium and rare earth elements, are scrutinized. Based on the detailed examination of phosphate orebodies, regularities of the distribution and localization of uraniferous fish remains are studied. The obtained results have made it possible to reconstruct paleotectonic and paleogeographic conditions of the formation of orebodies, as well as the mechanism for the accumulation of metalliferous bone detritus.

Disseminated phosphorus in oceanic sediments — A review

The content of disseminated phosphorus in sediments of the World Oceans fluctuates between 0.01 and 4.36%. Terrigenous and hemipelagic sediments contain, on average, about 0.07% phosphorus. Higher concentrations are characteristic of sediments enriched in iron and manganese hydroxides or bone detritus and phosphoritic material. The general features of the phosphorus distribution in surface sediments depend on the ratio of continental runoff area to basin area which diminishes from the Atlantic to the Indian and Pacific areas. The relative extent of the nearshore phosphorus-rich zone contracts whereas that of the pelagic phosphorus-rich zone widens in the transition from the Atlantic through the Indian to the Pacific areas. The distribution of phosphorus in vertical sections of sediments gives some evidence of the diagenetic mobilisation of phosphorus and its partial loss to bottom water. The rate of phosphorus accumulation in oceanic sediments is evaluated as between < 0.05 and > 10 g cm −2 k.y −1. The bulk mass of phosphorus is accumulated in marginal zones of the oceans.

The Microscopic Anatomy of the Bone-Cement Interface in Failed Total Hip Arthroplasties

Thirty specimens were removed from the bone-cement interface in 25 hips revised for aseptic loosening of total hip arthroplasty. Histologic examination of the membranous tissues revealed that histiocytosis, fibrosis, and necrosis were present in every specimen. Other prominent features included particles of acrylic cement, polyethylene debris, and fragments of necrotic bone. Mechanical failure was characterized by cement fractures, and microfracture of bone. The presence of cement debris and bone detritus in the membranes, and smooth appearance of the removed cement mantles substantiated the presence of mechanical failure. The process of loosening was characterized by the recruitment of histiocytes into the interface and the subsequent resorption of bone around the prosthesis. This may be a manifestation of the rate of cement wear and tear, particle size, and the immunologic predispositions of the host. These observations on interfaces of loosened prostheses are reexamined and reinterpreted in the light of radiologic observations on interface radiolucent zones and well-functioning prostheses.