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    Late Archean euxinic conditions before the rise of atmospheric oxygen

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Scott, C.
    Bekker, A.
    Reinhard, C.
    Schnetger, B.
    Krapez, Bryan
    Rumble, D.
    Lyons, T.
    Date
    2011
    Type
    Journal Article
    
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    Citation
    Scott, Clinton T. and Bekker, Andrey and Reinhard, Christopher T. and Schnetger, Bernhard and Krapez, Bryan and Rumble, Douglas III and Lyons, Timothy W. 2011. Late Archean euxinic conditions before the rise of atmospheric oxygen. Geology. 39 (2): pp. 119-122.
    Source Title
    Geology
    DOI
    10.1130/G31571.1
    ISSN
    0091-7613
    School
    Department of Applied Geology
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25183
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Life on Earth is thought to have coevolved with the chemistry of the oceans and atmosphere, and the shift from an anoxic to an oxic world across the Archean-Proterozoic boundary represents a fundamental step in this process. In order to understand the relative influence of biological and geological factors on this transition, we must constrain key variables in seawater chemistry before the Great Oxidation Event (ca. 2500 Ma). We present a multi-element (C-S-Fe-Mo) biogeochemical study of ca. 2662 Ma shales from the Hamersley Province in Western Australia. Our data reveal a sustained episode of Fe-limited pyrite formation under an anoxic and sulfidic (euxinic) water column. This is the oldest known occurrence of euxinia in Earth’s history and challenges the paradigm of persistently Fe-rich Archean oceans. Bulk trace metal chemistry and preservation of strong mass-independent S isotope fractionations in sedimentary pyrites indicate that ocean euxinia was possible prior to oxidative weathering, suggesting that sulfidic waters may have been common throughout the Archean Eon. C-S-Fe systematics suggest that oxygenic photosynthesis was the primary source of organic carbon in the basin, and the absence of Mo enrichments highlights a potential link between inefficient nitrogen fixation and the delayed arrival of the Great Oxidation Event.

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