A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments

Existing techniques for measuring sediment Biogenic Silica (BSi) concentrations rely largely on conventional (Si-only) wet-alkaline digestion methods. Although results have provided detailed palaeoenvironmental information, potential errors can arise in accounting for sources of non-BSi. Here, I com...

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Main Author: Swann, George E.A.
Format: Article
Published: Springer 2010
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2014/
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author Swann, George E.A.
author_facet Swann, George E.A.
author_sort Swann, George E.A.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Existing techniques for measuring sediment Biogenic Silica (BSi) concentrations rely largely on conventional (Si-only) wet-alkaline digestion methods. Although results have provided detailed palaeoenvironmental information, potential errors can arise in accounting for sources of non-BSi. Here, I compare a conventional Si-only method to a Si/Al wet-alkaline digestion method, which in theory provides a more robust correction for concentrations of non-BSi. Late glacial/Holocene-aged sediment from Lake Baikal, Russia was used for the comparison. Results showed no significant difference between the two techniques, indicating that existing Si-only BSi methods are suitable for reconstructing environmental changes when levels of digested non-BSi are low to moderate.
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spelling nottingham-20142020-05-04T20:25:56Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2014/ A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments Swann, George E.A. Existing techniques for measuring sediment Biogenic Silica (BSi) concentrations rely largely on conventional (Si-only) wet-alkaline digestion methods. Although results have provided detailed palaeoenvironmental information, potential errors can arise in accounting for sources of non-BSi. Here, I compare a conventional Si-only method to a Si/Al wet-alkaline digestion method, which in theory provides a more robust correction for concentrations of non-BSi. Late glacial/Holocene-aged sediment from Lake Baikal, Russia was used for the comparison. Results showed no significant difference between the two techniques, indicating that existing Si-only BSi methods are suitable for reconstructing environmental changes when levels of digested non-BSi are low to moderate. Springer 2010 Article PeerReviewed Swann, George E.A. (2010) A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments. Journal of Paleolimnology, 44 (2). pp. 375-385. ISSN 0921-2728 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10933-009-9308-9 doi:10.1007/s10933-009-9308-9 doi:10.1007/s10933-009-9308-9
spellingShingle Swann, George E.A.
A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments
title A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments
title_full A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments
title_fullStr A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments
title_full_unstemmed A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments
title_short A comparison of the Si/Al and Si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments
title_sort comparison of the si/al and si/time wet-alkaline digestion methods for measurement of biogenic silica in lake sediments
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2014/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2014/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2014/