NPG Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics NPG Nonlin. Processes Geophys. 1607-7946 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/npg-14-811-2007 Statistical measures of distribution patterns of silicon and calcium in marine sedimentary layers Bube K. 1 Klenke T. 1 Freund J. A. 1 Feudel U. 1 Institut für Chemie und Biologie des Meeres, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany 10 12 2007 14 6 811 821 Copyright: © 2007 K. Bube et al. 2007 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ This article is available from https://npg.copernicus.org/articles/14/811/2007/npg-14-811-2007.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://npg.copernicus.org/articles/14/811/2007/npg-14-811-2007.pdf

We analyze electron microscope X-ray spectroscopy data of recent supratidal marine sediments. Statistical measures are used to characterize the distribution of silicon and calcium in different layers of the sediments. We also use cluster analysis and symbolic dynamics to filter measurement noise and to classify different density regions. This allows to calculate characteristic patch sizes which reflect the sizes of individual clastic grains and the corresponding pore sizes. Silicon indicates the independent processes in the sedimentation history of certain grains. Calcium is capable to monitor intrinsic early diagenetic processes of biogeochemical calcium mineralization of primary organic matter as documented in more organized distributions with higher clustering.

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