Uranium Redox State in Cretaceous Marine Shales of Australia

Nine samples of carbonaceous shale and two of coquinite from the Cretaceous Toolebuc Formation in Australia's Eromanga Basin. The dataset presents results from HERFD x-ray absorption spectroscopy and NanoSIMS analyses, characterizing uranium oxidation state and distribution. The abstract was submitted to the 2023 Goldschmidt Conference in Lyon.

Use Cases

• Modeling uranium redox behavior in anoxic marine environments based on reported U(VI) proportions.
• Correlating uranium speciation with total organic carbon content (5.9 to 13.4 wt%) and sediment type.
• Investigating nanoscale uranium associations with organic matter, sulphide, and phosphate minerals as described.
• Improving hydrocarbon and critical-metal exploration models in analogous geological settings.

Strengths

• Analysis includes 11 distinct geological samples with quantified TOC values.
• Uses high-energy resolution fluorescence detection (HERFD) x-ray absorption spectroscopy for speciation.
• Reports specific findings, such as 20-30% of uranium existing as U(VI) in black shales.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the single formation studied.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

High-energy resolution fluorescence detection (HERFD) x-ray absorption spectroscopy and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS).

Time Range

Cretaceous period (geological samples)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 06:18:07.439134; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Toolebuc Formation, Eromanga Basin, Australia