Distributions of Trace Elements in Biogenic Carbonate Minerals of Precious Corals by X-ray Fluorescence Analysis

Precious coral is one of the natural resources of which Japan is a major supplier. Since the concentrations of trace elements in the skeletons are less than 1 ppm, it is difficult to determine the behavior of trace elements other than Ca, Mg and Sr using conventional instruments for mapping analysis at a laboratory scale. In this study, the distributions of trace elements in the skeletons of precious corals were analysed with XRF mapping employing synchrotron radiation at a large circular accelerator in SPring-8. Using 37.6 keV X-rays with a beam size of 50 mu m (horizontally) x 50 mu m (vertically), Ba, I, Mo, Sn, Mn, Zn, Cd and Br, as well as the major element of Ca and Sr, were detected in the skeletons. Two-dimensional maps of the trace element distribution showed that those of Ba, I and Mo concentrations form fine granular structure in the skeletons of precious corals, while Ca and Sr are almost homogeneously distributed. As compared with the element composition in the skeletons of Corallium rubrum from the Mediterranean Sea, Corallium japonicum from Japanese waters, and deep sea corals from Ogasawara and Midway Islands, relatively high contents of Cd and Ba were detected in the deep corals, which suggested that Cd and Ba are incorporated in proportion to the concentrations in the surrounding seawater. These elements are expected to be good marker elements for identifying species and harvest areas.