The oxygen isotopic signature of marine deep-sea cherts was previously used to reconstruct past ocean temperature and bottom water δ18O through the Cenozoic and Mesozoic periods. Oxygen isotopes of deep-sea cherts, which were never exposed to meteoric water, exhibit a wide range of values indicating that the evolution and maturation of biogenic amorphous opal (opal-A) to opal-CT and microquartz chert is accompanied by isotopic changes. We measured δ18O of diatom opal-A, opal-CT, and microquartz chert from deep sea cores retrieved from the Japan Sea. The δ18O of opal-CT and microquartz chert phases correspond to the depth in the sediments where these transitions occur, ~400 m and 40 °C for opal-A to opal-CT and ~500 m and 60 °C for opal-CT to microquartz chert. The δ18O values of opal-CT and microquartz chert appear to reflect equilibrium formation temperatures of silica, corresponding to the geothermal gradient and the local porewater δ18O. The δ18O of opal-CT and microquartz chert are controlled by the geothermal gradient and compositions of pore waters during polymorphic transformations deep within the sediment, indicating that the δ18O of these phases cannot be used to determine temperature or composition of seawater during diatom growth.
Opal-A is the most susceptible phase for isotope alteration. We separated opal-A (i.e., diatoms, radiolaria, and siliceous sponge spicules) of Cenozoic age and measured its isotope composition. The results do not indicate any significant change in δ18O. This will be discussed within the general framework of global climatic change.
