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Updated: May 20, 2026

Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
Published on: November 5, 2014
Rapid variability of seawater chemistry over the past 130 million years
Ulrich G Wortmann1, Adina Paytan
1Geobiology Isotope Laboratory, Department of Geology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3B1, Canada. uli.wortmann@utoronto.ca
Abstract:
Fluid inclusion data suggest that the composition of major elements in seawater changes slowly over geological time scales. This view contrasts with high-resolution isotope data that imply more rapid fluctuations of seawater chemistry. We used a non-steady-state box model of the global sulfur cycle to show that the global δ(34)S record can be explained by variable marine sulfate concentrations triggered by basin-scale evaporite precipitation and dissolution. The record is characterized by long phases of stasis, punctuated by short intervals of rapid change. Sulfate concentrations affect several important biological processes, including carbonate mineralogy, microbially mediated organic matter remineralization, sedimentary phosphorous regeneration, nitrogen fixation, and sulfate aerosol formation. These changes are likely to affect ocean productivity, the global carbon cycle, and climate.
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