Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Limits of calcium isotopes diagenesis in fossil bone and enamel
- Diagenesis has been recognized for decades to significantly alter the trace elements biogenic signatures in fossil tooth enamel and bone that are routinely used for paleobiological and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. This signature is modified during diagenesis according to a complex continuum between two main processes, addition and substitution. For an additive-like, or early diagenesis, the trace elements biogenic profiles can be restored by leaching secondary minerals, but this technique is inefficient for a substitutive-like, or extensive diagenesis for which secondary trace elements are incorporated into the biogenic mineral. This scheme is however unclear for Ca, the major cation in tooth enamel and bone hydroxylapatite, whose stable isotope composition (δ44/42Ca) also conveys biological and environmental information. We present a suite of leaching experiments for monitoring δ44/42Ca values in artificial and natural fossil enamel and bone from different settings. The results show that enamel δ44/42Ca values are insensitive to an additive-like diagenesis that involves the formation of secondary Ca- carbonate mineral phases, while bone shows a consistent offset toward 44Ca-enriched values, that can be restored to the biogenic baseline by a leaching procedure. In the context of a substitutive-like diagenesis, bone exhibits constant δ44/42Ca values, insensitive to leaching, and shows a REE pattern symptomatic of extensive diagenesis. Such a REE pattern can be observed in fossil enamel for which δ44/42Ca values are still fluctuating and follow a trophic pattern. We conclude that Ca isotopes in fossil enamel are probably not prone to extensive diagenesis and argue that this immunity is due to the very low porosity of enamel that cannot accommodate enough secondary minerals to significantly modify the isotopic composition of the enamel Ca pool.
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Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Trictenotoma Gray, 1832 (Coleoptera: Trictenotomidae). Part 3 – Species from the Philippine Archipelago, with Description of a New Species
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Coronene, mercury, and biomarker data support a link between extinction magnitude and volcanic intensity in the Late Devonian
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Observation d’une alouette calandre Melanocorypha calandra en Condroz, en mai 2011 : seconde mention wallonne
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Higher trophic levels: at-sea distribution of seabirds and marine mammals
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Analyse typologique et technologique des fibules romaines de Han-sur-Lesse
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Rochefort/Han-sur-Lesse : le matériel gallo-romain du "Trou de Han"
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Impact of the introduction of turkey on poultry husbandry in Northwestern Europe
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Avian resources in Medieval and Modern Belgium
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Oiseaux et sociétés humaines de la préhistoire à nos jours
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Oiseaux des villes, oiseaux des champs. Réflexions sur le rôle des espaces ruraux dans l’approvisionnement en oiseaux des zones urbanisées au Moyen Âge.
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Il était une fois Clairefontaine : le quotidien des nonnes d’une abbaye cistercienne au 18ème siècle.
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Het marmeren pronkstuk van de Sint-Pieterskerk.
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De abdij van Averbode, een verhaal van steen en marmer
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Documentering van de tijdelijke ontsluiting ‘Bufferbekken Ardo’
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The demise of the natural building stone industry in Belgian Limburg, a case study on the last underground quarries of Maastricht stone
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Documentering van de tijdelijke ontsluiting ‘bouwput Gasthuisberg’
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Update of the natural building stone atlas for Belgian Limburg.
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Geologica Belgica annual report on 2017
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Restauratie Molenromp van Betekom, controle van een partij ijzerzandsteen, te Rillaar. Studie op verzoek van Natuurpunt voor molenwerkgroep
