Investigation of the role of strontium in the morphogenesis of anisotropic biogenic crystals

We will study Ca/Sr heterogeneities in coccoliths to understand their role in the formation of complex biogenic crystals. We aim to acquire high-resolution 3D X-ray fluorescence (3D-XRF) data from two types of coccoliths (holococcoliths and heterococcoliths) that represent two morphologies: expected calcite habit and asymmetrically grown crystals. We will use the acquired data to correlate Ca/Sr distribution with our previously obtained 3D nanoscale strain maps. We expect that the results of this proposal will allow us to elucidate the role of elemental heterogeneities in the biological control of strain and crystal morphogenesis.