Element Patterns of Primary Low-Magnesium Calcite from the Seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico

High-magnesium calcite (HMC) and aragonite are metastable minerals, which tend to convert into low-magnesium calcite (LMC) and dolomite. During this process, primary compositions are frequently altered, resulting in the loss of information regarding the formation environment and the nature of fluids from which the minerals precipitated. Petrological characteristics have been used to recognize primary LMC, however, neither the element distribution within primary LMC nor the effect of diagenetic alteration on element composition have been studied in detail. Here, two mostly authigenic carbonate lithologies from the northern Gulf of Mexico dominated by primary LMC were investigated to distinguish element compositions of primary LMC from LMC resulting from diagenetic alteration. Primary LMC reveals similar or lower Sr/Ca ratios than primary HMC. The lack of covariation between Sr/Ca ratios and Mg/Ca ratios in the studied primary LMCs are unlike compositions observed for LMC resulting from diagenetic alteration. The Sr/Mn ratios and Mn contents of the primary LMCs are negatively correlated, similar to secondary, diagenetic LMC. Element mapping for Sr and Mg in the primary LMC lithologies revealed no evidence of conversion from aragonite or HMC to LMC, and a homogenous distribution of Mn is in accordance with the absence of late diagenetic alteration. Our results confirm that Sr/Ca ratios, Mg/Ca ratios, and element systematics of primary LMC are indeed distinguishable from diagenetically altered carbonates, enabling the utilization of element geochemistry in recognizing primary signals in carbonate archives.