Unusual, basin-scale, fluid–rock interaction in the Palaeoproterozoic Onega basin from Fennoscandia : Preservation in calcite δ18O of an ancient high geothermal gradient

Acknowledgements We acknowledge financial support from ICDP for the drilling programme. AEF, ATB and ARP thank NERC for financial support through NE/G00398X/1. VAM thanks the Norwegian Research Council for financial support through 191530/V30. We are grateful for sample preparation and analyses to all the personnel at NGU lab. At SUERC we enjoyed exceptional analytical support from Julie Dougans. Anonymous reviewers and the editor provided comments that improved the final manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin

Ocean acidification in the aftermath of the Marinoan glaciation

Boron isotope patterns preserved in cap carbonates deposited in the aftermath of the younger Cryogenian (Marinoan, ca. 635 Ma) glaciation confirm a temporary ocean acidification event on the continental margin of the southern Congo craton, Namibia. To test the significance of this acidification event and reconstruct Earth’s global seawater pH states at the Cryogenian-Ediacaran transition, we present a new boron isotope data set recorded in cap carbonates deposited on the Yangtze Platform in south China and on the Karatau microcontinent in Kazakhstan. Our compiled δ11B data reveal similar ocean pH patterns for all investigated cratons and confirm the presence of a global and synchronous ocean acidification event during the Marinoan deglacial period, compatible with elevated postglacial pCO2 concentrations. Differences in the details of the ocean acidification event point to regional distinctions in the buffering capacity of Ediacaran seawater

Petrography and geochemistry of carbonate rocks of the Paleoproterozoic Zaonega Formation, Russia : Documentation of C-13-depleted non-primary calcite

The Norwegian Research Council grant 191530/V30 to V.A. Melezhik fully funded the work of AEC, VAM and AL. ATB was supported by NERC grant NE/G00398X/1 to AEF and ARP. We are grateful for sample preparation and analyses to all the personnel at NGU lab. We appreciate the work on carbon and oxygen isotope analyses by Julie Dougans and Chris Taylor. Bojan Otoničar organized and helped with the CL work at the Karst Research Institute at Postojna. Arrangement of TOC, IC, and TC analyses at University of Münster is acknowledged to Harald Strauss.Peer reviewedPostprin

High Precision, High Spatial Resolution Analysis of Sulfur Isotopes by Laser Combustion of Natural Sulfide Minerals

Laser induced combustion provides a powerful new technique for sulfur isotope measurements in natural sulfides. A high power continuous laser, focused through a modified microscope system onto a sulfide mineral target, produces highly localized heating. The laser beam is focused to a spot 25 μm in diameter at the sample surface. In the presence of low pressure oxygen, temperatures at the centre of the spot are sufficiently high to produce localized oxidation. Resultant SO2 is transferred to a gas source isotope ratio mass spectrometer, where the 34S can be measured to a precision better than 0.25‰. Sulfur isotopes are fractionated during the combustion by an amount which is reproducible, mineral specific and favours the lighter isotopes. The system is calibrated for given sulphide minerals and specified operating conditions. Laser combustion analysis of sulfur isotopes in pyrite chimneys from the Silvermines ore deposit in Ireland, illustrates the benefits of 100 μm spatial resolution possible with this technique

Carbonate deposition in the Palaeoproterozoic Onega basin from Fennoscandia : a spotlight on the transition from the Lomagundi-Jatuli to Shunga events

Date of Acceptance: 08/05/2015 Date of online publication: 16/05/2015 Acknowledgements Elemental and isotopic data, thin and polished sections used in this contribution were obtained through two large umbrella-projects with grants provided by the Norwegian Research Council grant 191530/V30 to VAM and NERC grant NE/G00398X/1 to AEF. We thank A. Črne, the editor A. Strasser as well as one anonymous reviewer and D. Papineau for providing their valuable criticism and suggestions.Peer reviewedPostprin

The laurentian record of neoproterozoic glaciation, tectonism, and eukaryotic evolution in Death Vally, California

Neoproterozoic strata in Death Valley, California contain eukaryotic microfossils and glacial deposits that have been used to assess the severity of putative Snowball Earth events and the biological response to extreme environmental change. These successions also contain evidence for syn-sedimentary faulting that has been related to the rifting of Rodinia, and in turn the tectonic context of the onset of Snowball Earth. These interpretations hinge on local geological relationships and both regional and global stratigraphic correlations. Here we present new geological mapping, measured stratigraphic sections, carbon and strontium isotope chemostratigraphy, and micropaleontology from the Neoproterozoic glacial deposits and bounding strata in Death Valley. These new data enable us to refine regional correlations both across Death Valley and throughout Laurentia, and construct a new age model for glaciogenic strata and microfossil assemblages. Particularly, our remapping of the Kingston Peak Formation in the Saddle Peak Hills and near the type locality shows for the first time that glacial deposits of both the Marinoan and Sturtian glaciations can be distinguished in southeastern Death Valley, and that beds containing vase-shaped microfossils are slump blocks derived from the underlying strata. These slump blocks are associated with multiple overlapping unconformities that developed during syn-sedimentary faulting, which is a common feature of Cyrogenian strata along the margin of Laurentia from California to Alaska. With these data, we conclude that all of the microfossils that have been described to date in Neoproterozoic strata of Death Valley predate the glaciations and do not bear on the severity, extent or duration of Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth events