Organic matter in foraminifer shells: its role in biomineralisation and response to fossilisation processes

Foraminifers are ubiquitous marine microplankton with calcareous shells, which are important for the global carbon cycle and provide one of the most important archives for paleoclimate reconstruction. Interpretation of the shell’s isotopic and trace elemental composition provides a window into environmental conditions in the geological past, although a mechanistic understanding of how these signals are recorded in the biomineral is lacking. To better constrain both biomineralisation and alteration processes during fossilisation, we will conduct high-resolution X-ray diffraction analyses to investigate the distribution of organic matter in the shell, and hence its relevance at the biomineralisation site and during taphonomic processes. By contributing to the understanding of foraminifer biomineralisation, these insights will provide crucial information to understand the reliability of the large number of geochemical tools that are based on the shells of these organisms.