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Decay of skeletal organic matrices and early diagenesis in coral skeletons

Christine Perrin 1 David Smith 2
1 HNHP - Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique
2 LEME / UNA - Laboratoire d'Etude de la Matière Extraterrestre / UMS Nano-analyses
Abstract : Due to its particular mode of growth, the coral skeleton provides a natural model for evaluating the successive stages of diagenesis in a still-living organism. The spatial distribution of skeletal organic matrices and their early diagenesis have been investigated in a scleractinian skeleton with in situ micron-scale analyses by Raman Microspectroscopy. Results indicate that the decay of the organic matrices occurs within a few years. We suggest that the gradual deterioration of the skeletal organic matrices is a keymechanism driving earliest diagenesis in coral skeletons and represents the starting-point of the process of fossilization.
Keywords : Raman Microspectroscopy Diagenesis Biominerals Aragonite Organic matrix Scleractinian corals
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https://hal-mnhn.archives-ouvertes.fr/mnhn-00491167
Contributor : Christine Perrin <>
Submitted on : Thursday, June 10, 2010 - 5:19:43 PM
Last modification on : Thursday, July 29, 2021 - 2:16:04 PM

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Christine Perrin, David Smith. Decay of skeletal organic matrices and early diagenesis in coral skeletons. Comptes Rendus Palevol, Elsevier Masson, 2007, 6, pp.253-260. ⟨10.1016/j.crpv.2007.02.003⟩. ⟨mnhn-00491167⟩

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