Marine phosphorite (phosphate-rich sedimentary rock) deposits form predominantly in areas of coastal upwelling, where nutrient-rich (phosphate-laden) deep water is brought to the sunlit surface, fueling high biological productivity whose organic remains and associated phosphate minerals accumulate and get preserved on the seafloor under oxygen-poor conditions.
Coastal upwelling zones (e.g., off Peru, California, Namibia, western India) bring cold, nutrient- and phosphate-rich deep water to the surface along continental margins. This drives...
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