The trace metal content of recent organic carbon-rich sediments: Implications for Cretaceous black shale formation

Organic carbon-rich sediments are enriched in several redox-sensitive and stable sulfide-forming trace metals (TM) and form an important sink in global TM cycles. In today's ocean such sediments are deposited in coastal upwelling areas like those in the Gulf of California, off Peru or off the Namibian coast and euxinic basins like the Black Sea. In an attempt to distinguish both environments by their specific TM patterns, some important...