499 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Controls on development and diversity of Early Archean stromatolites
The ≈3,450-million-year-old Strelley Pool Formation in Western Australia contains a reef-like assembly of laminated sedimentary accretion structures (stromatolites) that have macroscale characteristics suggestive of biological influence. However, direct microscale evidence of biology—namely, organic microbial remains or biosedimentary fabrics—has to date eluded discovery in the extensively-recrystallized rocks. Recently-identified outcrops with relatively good textural preservation record microscale evidence of primary sedimentary processes, including some that indicate probable microbial mat formation. Furthermore, we find relict fabrics and organic layers that covary with stromatolite morphology, linking morphologic diversity to changes in sedimentation, seafloor mineral precipitation, and inferred microbial mat development. Thus, the most direct and compelling signatures of life in the Strelley Pool Formation are those observed at the microscopic scale. By examining spatiotemporal changes in microscale characteristics it is possible not only to recognize the presence of probable microbial mats during stromatolite development, but also to infer aspects of the biological inputs to stromatolite morphogenesis. The persistence of an inferred biological signal through changing environmental circumstances and stromatolite types indicates that benthic microbial populations adapted to shifting environmental conditions in early oceans
Anomalous Carbonate Precipitates: Is the Precambrian the Key to the Permian?
Late Permian reefs of the Capitan complex, west Texas; the Magnesian Limestone, England; Chuenmuping reef, south China; and elsewhere contain anomalously large volumes of aragonite and calcite marine cements and seafloor crusts, as well as abundant microbial precipitates. These components strongly influenced reef growth and may have been responsible for the construction of rigid, open reefal frames in which bryozoans and sponges became encrusted and structurally reinforced. In some cases, such as the upper biostrome of the Magnesian Limestone, precipitated microbialites and inorganic crusts were the primary constituents of the reef core. These microbial and inorganic reefs do not have modern marine counterparts; on the contrary, their textures and genesis are best understood through comparison with the older rock record, particularly that of the early Precambrian. Early Precambrian reefal facies are interpreted to have formed in a stratified ocean with anoxic deep waters enriched in carbonate alkalinity. Upwelling mixed deep and surface waters, resulting in massive seafloor precipitation of aragonite and calcite. During Mesoproterozoic and early Neoproterozoic time, the ocean became more fully oxidized, and seafloor carbonate precipitation was significantly reduced. However, during the late Neoproterozoic, sizeable volumes of deep ocean water once again became anoxic for protracted intervals; the distinctive "cap carbonates" found above Neoproterozoic tillites attest to renewed upwelling of anoxic bottom water enriched in carbonate alkalinity and ^(12)C. Anomalous late Permian seafloor precipitates are interpreted as the product, at least in part, of similar processes. Massive carbonate precipitation was favored by: 1) reduced shelf space for carbonate precipitation, 2) increased flux of Ca to the oceans during increased continental erosion, 3) deep basinal anoxia that generated upwelling waters with elevated alkalinities, and 4) further evolution of ocean water in the restricted Delaware, Zechstein, and other basins. Temporal coincidence of these processes resulted in surface seawater that was greatly supersaturated by Phanerozoic standards and whose only precedents occurred in Precambrian oceans
Large sulfur isotope fractionations in Martian sediments at Gale crater
Variability in the sulfur isotopic composition in sediments can reflect atmospheric, geologic and biological processes. Evidence for ancient fluvio-lacustrine environments at Gale crater on Mars and a lack of efficient crustal recycling mechanisms on the planet suggests a surface environment that was once warm enough to allow the presence of liquid water, at least for discrete periods of time, and implies a greenhouse effect that may have been influenced by sulfur-bearing volcanic gases. Here we report in situ analyses of the sulfur isotopic compositions of SO_2 volatilized from ten sediment samples acquired by NASA’s Curiosity rover along a 13 km traverse of Gale crater. We find large variations in sulfur isotopic composition that exceed those measured for Martian meteorites and show both depletion and enrichment in ^(34)S. Measured values of δ^(34)S range from −47 ± 14‰ to 28 ± 7‰, similar to the range typical of terrestrial environments. Although limited geochronological constraints on the stratigraphy traversed by Curiosity are available, we propose that the observed sulfur isotopic signatures at Gale crater can be explained by equilibrium fractionation between sulfate and sulfide in an impact-driven hydrothermal system and atmospheric processing of sulfur-bearing gases during transient warm periods
Scaling properties of gravity-driven sediments
International audienceRecent field observations of the statistical distribution of turbidite and debris flow deposits are discussed. In some cases one finds a good fit over 1.5-2 orders of magnitude to the scaling law N(h) ? h-B, where N(h) is the number of layers thicker than h. Observations show that the scaling exponent B varies widely from deposit to deposit, ranging from about 1/2 to 2. Moreover, one case is characterized by a sharp crossover in which B increases by a factor of two as h increases past a critical thickness. We propose that the variations in B, either regional or within the same deposit, are indicative of the geometry of the sedimentary basin and the rheological properties of the original gravity-driven flow. The origin of the power-law distribution remains an open question
Integrated chronostratigraphy of Proterozoic-Cambrian boundary beds in the western Anabar region, northern Siberia
Carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks of the western Anabar region, northern Siberia, preserve an
exceptional record of evolutionary and biogeochemical events near the Proterozoic/Cambrian boundary.
Sedimentologically, the boundary succession can be divided into three sequences representing successive
episodes of late transgressive to early highstand deposition; four parasequences are recognized in the
sequence corresponding lithostratigraphically to the Manykai Formation. Small shelly fossils are abundant
and include many taxa that also occur in standard sections of southeastern Siberia. Despite this coincidence
of faunal elements, biostratigraphic correlations between the two regions have been controversial because
numerous species that first appear at or immediately above the basal Tommotian boundary in southeastern
sections have first appearances scattered through more than thirty metres of section in the western Anabar.
Carbon- and Sr-isotopic data on petrographically and geochemically screened samples collected at one- to
two-metre intervals in a section along the Kotuikan River, favour correlation of the Staraya Reckha
Formation and most of the overlying Manykai Formation with sub-Tommotian carbonates in southeastern
Siberia. In contrast, isotopic data suggest that the uppermost Manykai Formation and the basal 26 m of the
unconformably overlying Medvezhya Formation may have no equivalent in the southeast; they appear to
provide a sedimentary and palaeontological record of an evolutionarily significant time interval represented
in southeastern Siberia only by the sub-Tommotian unconformity. Correlations with radiometrically dated
horizons in the Olenek and Kharaulakh regions of northern Siberia suggest that this interval lasted approximately
three to six million years, during which essentially all 'basal Tommotian' small shelly fossils
evolved
Taphonomy of Biosignatures in Microbial Mats on Little Ambergris Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands
Microbial mats are taxonomically and metabolically diverse microbial ecosystems, with a characteristic layering that reflects vertical gradients in light and oxygen availability. Silicified microbial mats in Proterozoic carbonate successions are generally interpreted in terms of the surficial, mat building community. However, information about biodiversity in the once-surface-layer can be lost through decay as the mats accrete. To better understand how information about surface microbial communities is impacted by processes of decay within the mat, we studied microbial mats from Little Ambergris Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands. We used molecular techniques, microscopy and geochemistry to investigate microbial mat taphonomy – how processes of degradation affect biological signatures in sedimentary rocks, including fossils, molecular fossils and isotopic records. The top < 1 cm of these mats host cyanobacteria-rich communities overlying and admixed with diverse bacterial and eukaryotic taxa. Lower layers contain abundant, often empty, sheaths of large filamentous cyanobacteria, preserving their record as key mat-builders. Morphological remains and free lipid biomarkers of several bacterial groups, as well as diatoms, arthropods, and other eukaryotes also persist in lower mat layers, although at lower abundances than in surface layers. Carbon isotope signatures of organic matter were consistent with the majority of the biomass being sourced from CO2-limited cyanobacteria. Porewater sulfide sulfur isotope values were lower than seawater sulfate sulfur isotope values by ∼45–50‰, consistent with microbial sulfate reduction under sulfate-replete conditions. Our findings provide insight into how processes of degradation and decay bias biosignatures in the geological record of microbial mats, especially mats that formed widely during the Proterozoic (2,500–541 million years ago) Eon. Cyanobacteria were the key mat-builders, their robust and cohesive fabric retained at depth. Additionally, eukaryotic remains and eukaryotic biosignatures were preserved at depth, which suggests that microbial mats are not inherently biased against eukaryote preservation, either today or in the past
Large sulfur isotope fractionations in Martian sediments at Gale crater
Variability in the sulfur isotopic composition in sediments can reflect atmospheric, geologic and biological processes. Evidence for ancient fluvio-lacustrine environments at Gale crater on Mars and a lack of efficient crustal recycling mechanisms on the planet suggests a surface environment that was once warm enough to allow the presence of liquid water, at least for discrete periods of time, and implies a greenhouse effect that may have been influenced by sulfur-bearing volcanic gases. Here we report in situ analyses of the sulfur isotopic compositions of SO_2 volatilized from ten sediment samples acquired by NASA’s Curiosity rover along a 13 km traverse of Gale crater. We find large variations in sulfur isotopic composition that exceed those measured for Martian meteorites and show both depletion and enrichment in ^(34)S. Measured values of δ^(34)S range from −47 ± 14‰ to 28 ± 7‰, similar to the range typical of terrestrial environments. Although limited geochronological constraints on the stratigraphy traversed by Curiosity are available, we propose that the observed sulfur isotopic signatures at Gale crater can be explained by equilibrium fractionation between sulfate and sulfide in an impact-driven hydrothermal system and atmospheric processing of sulfur-bearing gases during transient warm periods
- …