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Yang X, Mao J, Li R, Jiang Z, Yu M, Xu L, Reershemius T, Planavsky NJ. The deposition and significance of an Ediacaran non-glacial iron formation. GEOBIOLOGY 2023; 21:44-65. [PMID: 36200974 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Most Neoproterozoic iron formations (NIF) are closely associated with global or near-global "Snowball Earth" glaciations. Increasingly, however, studies indicate that some NIFs show no robust evidence of glacial association. Many aspects of non-glacial NIF genesis, including the paleo-environmental setting, Fe(II) source, and oxidation mechanisms, are poorly understood. Here, we present a detailed case study of the Jiapigou NIF, a major non-glacial NIF within a Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary sequence in North Qilian, northwestern China. New U-Pb geochronological data place the depositional age of the Jiapigou NIF at ~600 Ma. Petrographic and geochemical evidence supports its identification as a primary chemical sediment with significant detrital input. Major and trace element concentrations, REE + Y systematics, and εNd (t) values indicate that iron was sourced from mixed seawater and hydrothermal fluids. Iron isotopic values (δ56 Fe = -0.04‰-1.43‰) are indicative of partial oxidation of an Fe(II) reservoir. We infer that the Jiapigou NIF was deposited in a redox stratified water column, where hydrothermally sourced Fe(II)-rich fluids underwent oxidation under suboxic conditions. Lastly, the Jiapigou NIF has strong phosphorous enrichments, which in other iron formations are typically interpreted as signals for high marine phosphate concentrations. This suggests that oceanic phosphorus concentrations could have been enriched throughout the Neoproterozoic, as opposed to simply during glacial intervals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuqing Yang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, School of Earth Science and Resourses, Chang'an University, Xi'an, China
- Xi'an Key Laboratory for Mineralization and Efficient Utilization of Critical Metals, Xi'an, China
| | - Jingwen Mao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, School of Earth Science and Resourses, Chang'an University, Xi'an, China
- MNR Key Laboratory for Exploration Theory & Technology of Critical Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rongxi Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, School of Earth Science and Resourses, Chang'an University, Xi'an, China
- Xi'an Key Laboratory for Mineralization and Efficient Utilization of Critical Metals, Xi'an, China
| | - Zongsheng Jiang
- MNR Key Laboratory of Metallogeny and Mineral Assessment, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Miao Yu
- School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Lingang Xu
- MNR Key Laboratory for Exploration Theory & Technology of Critical Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tom Reershemius
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Noah J Planavsky
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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Konhauser KO, Robbins LJ, Pecoits E, Peacock C, Kappler A, Lalonde SV. The Archean Nickel Famine Revisited. ASTROBIOLOGY 2015; 15:804-815. [PMID: 26426143 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Iron formations (IF) preserve a history of Precambrian oceanic elemental abundance that can be exploited to examine nutrient limitations on early biological productivity. However, in order for IF to be employed as paleomarine proxies, lumped-process distribution coefficients for the element of interest must be experimentally determined or assumed. This necessitates consideration of bulk ocean chemistry and which authigenic ferric iron minerals controlled the sorption reactions. It also requires an assessment of metal mobilization reactions that might have occurred in the water column during particle descent and during post-depositional burial. Here, we summarize recent developments pertaining to the interpretation and fidelity of the IF record in reconstructions of oceanic trace element evolution. Using an updated compilation, we reexamine and validate temporal trends previously reported for the nickel content in IF (see Konhauser et al., 2009 ). Finally, we reevaluate the consequences of methanogen Ni starvation in the context of evolving views of the Archean ocean-climate system and how the Ni famine may have ultimately facilitated the rise in atmospheric oxygen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt O Konhauser
- 1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Canada
| | - Leslie J Robbins
- 1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Canada
| | - Ernesto Pecoits
- 1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Canada
- 2 Equipe Géobiosphère, Institut de Physique du Globe-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot , CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Caroline Peacock
- 3 School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds , Leeds, UK
| | - Andreas Kappler
- 4 Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen , Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Stefan V Lalonde
- 5 CNRS-UMR6538 Laboratoire Domaines Océaniques, European Institute for Marine Studies , Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané, France
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Chaudhuri SK, Lack JG, Coates JD. Biogenic magnetite formation through anaerobic biooxidation of Fe(II). Appl Environ Microbiol 2001; 67:2844-8. [PMID: 11375205 PMCID: PMC92949 DOI: 10.1128/aem.67.6.2844-2848.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of isotopically light carbonates in association with fine-grained magnetite is considered to be primarily due to the reduction of Fe(III) by Fe(III)-reducing bacteria in the environment. Here, we report on magnetite formation by biooxidation of Fe(II) coupled to denitrification. This metabolism offers an alternative environmental source of biogenic magnetite.
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Affiliation(s)
- S K Chaudhuri
- Department of Microbiology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901, USA
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