Vanadium Isotopes
A Proxy for Ocean Oxygen Variations

Vanadium isotopes is a very new proxy that has significant potential to trace non-zero marine oxygen variations.

Sune G. Nielsen (Author)

9781108797948, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 January 2021

75 pages
15 x 23 x 0.4 cm, 0.67 kg

Vanadium isotope ratios (51V/50V) have potential to provide information about changes in past ocean oxygen contents. In particular, V isotopes may find utility in tracing variations at non-zero oxygen concentrations because the redox couple that controls V elemental and isotopic abundances in seawater (vanadate-vanadyl) appears to operate around 10M O2. This characteristic sets V isotopes apart from many other metal isotope redox proxies that require more reducing conditions to register significant changes in their isotope budgets. The oxygen abundance sensitivity range of V isotopes suggests that this paleoproxy could be particularly useful in tracing marine oxygenation changes throughout the Phanerozoic and potentially beyond.

1. Introduction
2. Marine elemental and isotopic cycle of vanadium
3. Analytical methodologies
4. Potential for applications of V isotopes to reconstruct past ocean redox.

Subject Areas: Environmental monitoring [TQD], Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Meteorology & climatology [RBP], Oceanography [seas RBKC], Geochemistry [RBGK], Biochemistry [PSB]