Open AccessBoron and magnesium isotopic composition of seawater
Author(s) -
Foster G. L.,
Pogge von Strandmann P. A. E.,
Rae J. W. B.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.928
H-Index - 136
ISSN - 1525-2027
DOI - 10.1029/2010gc003201
Subject(s) - seawater , isotopes of boron , boron , salinity , magnesium , isotope , geology , composition (language) , environmental chemistry , residence time (fluid dynamics) , mineralogy , geochemistry , oceanography , chemistry , linguistics , philosophy , organic chemistry , physics , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics
The isotopic systems of boron and magnesium are increasingly being used as proxies for a number of environmental variables and processes. The isotopic composition of seawater for both systems plays a central role in these studies and is an important interlaboratory standard. Given the long residence times of both elements (∼10 7 years) it is commonly assumed that seawater is isotopically homogenous for these systems, yet no systematic studies currently exist. Here we present the B and Mg isotopic composition of 26–28 seawater samples from a number of ocean basins that encompass a significant range in salinity (32 to 38 psu), temperature (−0.3 to +25.9°C) and water depth (0 to 1240 m). We find no significant or systematic variation for either system in accordance with their long residence times. We recommend that the mean values we report ( δ 11 B = 39.61 ± 0.04 ‰ (2 s.e.; n = 28), δ 25 Mg = −0.43 ± 0.01 ‰ (2 s.e.; n = 26), δ 26 Mg = −0.82 ± 0.01 ‰ (2 s.e.; n = 26)) be used in future studies involving Mg and B isotopes.