◆Research findings by Professor Minoru Ikehara and colleagues at Marine Core Research Institute(MaCRI) have been published in the journal *Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology*

Release Date:

Research team from Chiba Institute of Technology, the University of Tokyo, and Kochi University uncovers the diversity of “oxygen-depleted oceans” throughout Earth’s history
Using a New Data-Driven Approach
—New Developments in the Exploration of Rare Metal Resources in the Ocean—

 海洋コア国際研究所の池原実教授らの研究チームは、酸素に乏しい海洋で生成された堆積岩(黒色頁岩)の化学組成を解析し、レアメタル濃集の要素を特定しました。これにより、酸素に乏しい海洋環境の推定が可能となり、レアメタル資源の探査にも役立つことが示されました。さらに、ペルム紀/トリアス紀境界、白亜紀海洋無酸素事変、現世の堆積物を分析し、異なる元素濃集パターンを抽出しました。これまで、貧酸素/無酸素海洋で形成された堆積物の化学組成については、個々の時代や元素に注目した研究が行われていましたが、今回の研究では、時代や海域ごとの黒色頁岩の化学組成の普遍性と特異性を初めて明らかにしました。

 These findings provide important insights that contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying element enrichment in black shales formed during an oxygen-deficient era, as well as the environmental changes on Earth that led to this phenomenon.

 The research findings were published on April 7, 2025, in *Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology*, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

[Joint Press Release by Kochi University and Others] New Developments in the Exploration of Rare Metal Resources in the Ocean [PDF: 6.01 MB]

[Paper Information]

Journal Title: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (Publication Date: April 7, 2025)

Title of Thesis: Geochemical variations in sedimentary records of oxygen-depleted marine environments during representative geological periods: New perspectives from an independent component analysis

Authors: Moei Yano, Kazutaka Yasukawa, Kentaro Nakamura, Junichiro Kuroda, Minoru Ikehara, Hikaru Iwamori, Yasuhiro Kato

Paper link:  https://doi.org/10.1029/2024PA005004  (Open Access)