The isotopic composition of neodymium in the North Pacific

Conference · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA)

OSTI ID:5510328

Piepgras, D J; Jacobsen, S B ^[1]

---

1. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (USA)

The authors have determined the isotopic composition of neodymium in two water column profiles in the western North Pacific and in bottom waters from three other locations in the North Pacific. The vertical profiles reveal that the water column is stratified with respect to isotopic composition. Mid-depths associated with Pacific Deep Water are uniform having {epsilon}{sub Nd}(O) {approx} {minus}3. Shallow waters are variable, but deep waters are less radiogenic having {epsilon}{sub Nd}(O) = {minus}4.4 to {minus}5 in the western basin. The more negative bottom waters in the western North Pacific provide evidence for the advective transport of rare earth elements from Antarctic sources to this region. Bottom waters in the eastern North Pacific are more radiogenic ({epsilon}{sub Nd}(O) = {minus}3.3 to {minus}3.8) indicating very little transport of REE from Antarctic sources to this basin. Overall, the isotopic composition of Nd in Pacific bottom waters appears to be conservative when compared to the silica distribution in spite of evidence for Nd removal. The findings are generally compatible with other parameters such as temperature, salinity and nutrient distributions. The presence of Nd isotopic signatures associated with Antarctic sources in these waters provides evidence for a small component of rare earth elements of North Atlantic origin in the bottom waters of the North Pacific. This is the first tracer evidence to corroborate the suggestion of Reid and Lynn (1971) that some of the temperature and salinity properties of the deep waters of the North Pacific originated in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas.

• OSTI ID: 5510328
• Report Number(s): CONF-8703325--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA) Journal Volume: 52:6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580400* -- Geochemistry-- (-1989)
580500 -- Oceanography-- (1980-1989)
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMISTRY
CORRELATIONS
CURRENTS
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOLOGY
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPE RATIO
ISOTOPES
METALS
NEODYMIUM
NEODYMIUM 143
NEODYMIUM 144
NEODYMIUM ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
OCEANIC CIRCULATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PACIFIC OCEAN
RADIOISOTOPES
RARE EARTH NUCLEI
RARE EARTHS
SALINITY
SEAS
SEAWATER
STABLE ISOTOPES
STRATIGRAPHY
SURFACE WATERS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
WATER
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER CURRENTS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES