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On mudrock quartz and marine plankton
New evidence indicates that silica in mudstones may have derived from the dissolution of skeletons of planktonic organisms rather than from pre-existing rocks, and this suggests the sedimentary record in mudstones may have been misinterpreted by past researchers. There are important consequences for estimates of paleoproductivity as well as for perceptions of the dynamics and magnitude of global biogeochemical cycling of silica. |