Characteristic Multifractal Element Distributions in Recent Bioactive Marine Sediments

It is shown that SEM/EDX imaging is a powerful tool for detecting the spatial distribution of different elements and minerals in recent bioactive sediments. The evaluation of these distribution patterns by multifractal analysis provides a quantitative assessment of the characteristic inhomogeneities.The combination of optical and multifractal techniques leads to the discrimination of intricate structures, the description of element — element correlations, and the identification of specific processes: e.g. the formation of (i) microbially induced calcite or (ii) authigenic clay—minerals indicated by an evident local correlation between aluminium and silicium.