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Biogeochemistry

Carbonate rocks deconstructed

The ratios of stable isotopes, especially isotopes of carbon and oxygen, have tales to tell about Earth's history. Post-depositional alteration of the carbonate rocks being studied may radically alter the story.

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Figure 1: Crossplot fields of δ13C and δ18O for shallow-marine carbonate rocks, and the 'forbidden zone'.

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Arthur, M. Carbonate rocks deconstructed. Nature 460, 698–699 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/460698a

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