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Control of seawater composition

Abstract

We have previously discussed1 the correlations between the seawater/rock partition function KY(sw) (mean concentration of Y in seawater/mean concentration of Y in crustal rock) and the electronegativity function QYO[=(xYxO)2 where x is the electronegativity of the subscripted element]2. The parameter QYO, which is a measure of the ionic interaction between the element Y and oxygen, was used to extimate the tendency of Y to become incorporated in the oxide-based mineral lattices which constitute most marine particulate matter. The nature of the correlations between KY(sw) and QYO (Fig. 2, ref. 1) led us to suggest that the partitioning of an element between seawater and crustal rock is controlled predominantly by its solid state chemistry with solution chemistry playing a secondary part. More recent estimates of the composition of mean world river water and mean crustal rock3 significantly improve the correlations described earlier and provide fresh data on the concentrations of the lanthanides in these reservoirs. Here we compare the chemistry of the lanthanides with that of alkali and alkaline earth metals with a similar electronegativity (the ‘lithium group’ Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, Table 1) to confirm that solid state chemistry plays a major part in controlling the composition of seawater.

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Turner, D., Whitfield, M. Control of seawater composition. Nature 281, 468–469 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/281468a0

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