Abstract Marine authigenic carbonates form shallow-water microbialites, mud mounds, and hydrocarbon-seep deposits and contain appreciable amounts of trace elements that yield information on paleoenvironments. Element patterns of some of these carbonates archive metabolic processes through geologic time since many trace elements are redox-sensitive and participate in biological cycling. Trace element distributions in microbial carbonates not only yield information on the redox state of ancient oceans, but also on the chemical evolution of Earth’s hydrosphere and atmosphere. Trace element patterns can be used to distinguish marine from freshwater sources, to estimate water depth, and can help identify microbial metabolisms through time. A major issue concerning the use of marine carbonates as a paleoenvironmental archive is assessing the degree of early and late diagenetic alteration, which can modify or even reset the original content and distribution of trace elements. The degree and effect of early and late diagenetic alteration can be evaluated by comparing element contents to organic and other inorganic geochemical proxies. Authigenic hydrocarbon-seep carbonates forming in seafloor sediments are the product of microbial oxidation of methane and other hydrocarbon compounds. Seep carbonates are excellent archives, whose trace element contents yield information on sedimentary redox processes, as well as information on seepage intensity and fluid composition. Trace elements serve as proxies in these highly dynamic environments shaped by fluid seepage and chemosynthesis, and can help to reconstruct the evolution of chemosynthesis-based life at seeps through the Phanerozoic.

中文翻译：

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甲烷渗出碳酸盐中的微量元素：潜力、局限性和前景

摘要 海洋自生碳酸盐形成浅水微生物岩、泥丘和碳氢化合物渗漏沉积物，并含有大量可提供古环境信息的微量元素。由于许多微量元素对氧化还原敏感并参与生物循环，因此其中一些碳酸盐的元素模式记录了地质时间的代谢过程。微生物碳酸盐中的微量元素分布不仅可以提供有关古代海洋氧化还原状态的信息，还可以提供有关地球水圈和大气化学演化的信息。微量元素模式可用于区分海洋和淡水来源，估计水深，并有助于识别微生物随时间的代谢。将海洋碳酸盐用作古环境档案的一个主要问题是评估早期和晚期成岩作用的程度，这可以改变甚至重置微量元素的原始含量和分布。可以通过将元素含量与有机和其他无机地球化学指标进行比较来评估早期和晚期成岩蚀变的程度和影响。在海底沉积物中形成的自生碳酸盐岩是甲烷和其他碳氢化合物的微生物氧化产物。渗出碳酸盐是极好的档案，其微量元素含量可提供有关沉积氧化还原过程的信息，以及有关渗流强度和流体成分的信息。微量元素在这些由流体渗漏和化学合成形成的高度动态环境中充当代理，