Iron-mediated anaerobic ammonium oxidation recorded in the early Archean ferruginous ocean

The nitrogen isotopic composition of organic matter is controlled by metabolic activity and redox speciation and has therefore largely been used to uncover the early evolution of life and ocean oxygenation. Specifically, positive δ¹⁵ N values found in well-preserved sedimentary rocks are often interpreted as reflecting the stability of a nitrate pool sustained by water column partial oxygenation. This study adds much-needed data to the sparse Paleoarchean record, providing carbon and nitrogen concentrations and isotopic compositions for more than fifty samples from the 3.4 Ga Buck Reef Chert sedimentary deposit (BRC, Barberton Greenstone Belt). In the overall anoxic and ferruginous conditions of the BRC depositional environment, these samples yield positive δ¹⁵ N values up to +6.1‰. We argue that without a stable pool of nitrates, these values are best explained by non-quantitative oxidation of ammonium via the Feammox pathway, a metabolic co-cycling between iron and nitrogen through the oxidation of ammonium in the presence of iron oxides. Our data contribute to the understanding of how the nitrogen cycle operated under reducing, anoxic, and ferruginous conditions, which are relevant to most of the Archean. Most importantly, they invite to carefully consider the meaning of positive δ¹⁵ N signatures in Archean sediments.

Speciation of Paleoarchean Life Demonstrated by Analysis of the Morphological Variation of Lenticular Microfossils from the Pilbara Craton, Australia

The ca 3.4 Ga Strelley Pool Formation (SPF) of the Pilbara Craton, Australia, represents a Paleoarchean sedimentary succession preserving well-described and morphologically diverse biosignatures such as stromatolites and cellularly preserved microfossils. The SPF microfossil assemblage identified from three greenstone belts includes relatively large (20-80 μm in width), acid-resistant, organic-walled lenticular microfossils, which can be extracted using a palynological technique. In this study, we present results of measurements of over 800 palynomorphic specimens of SPF lenticular microfossils from 2 remote (∼80 km apart) localities that represent different depositional environments and thus different habitats, as evidenced by their distinct lithostratigraphic association and trace element geochemistry. We demonstrate statistically that the two populations are distinct in oblateness from a polar view and furthermore that each population comprises subpopulations defined by different areas and oblateness. This study may provide the earliest morphological evidence for speciation of unicellular organisms, which could have been allopatric (geographic) and adaptive. It can also be suggested that SPF lenticular microbes had highly organized cytoskeleton indispensable for strict control of the cell morphology of large and robust microbes, which in turn were likely advantageous to their prosperity and diversification.

3.5-Ga hydrothermal fields and diamictites in the Barberton Greenstone Belt-Paleoarchean crust in cold environments

Estimates of ocean temperatures on Earth 3.5 billion years ago (Ga) range between 26° and 85°C. We present new data from 3.47- to 3.43-Ga volcanic rocks and cherts in South Africa suggesting that these temperatures reflect mixing of hot hydrothermal fluids with cold marine and terrestrial waters. We describe fossil hydrothermal pipes that formed at ~200°C on the sea floor >2 km below sea level. This ocean floor was uplifted tectonically to sea level where a subaerial hydrothermal system was active at 30° to 270°C. We also describe shallow-water glacial diamictites and diagenetic sulfate mineral growth in abyssal muds. These new observations reveal that both hydrothermal systems operated in relatively cold environments and that Earth's surface temperatures in the early Archean were similar to those in more recent times.

Paleoarchean trace fossils in altered volcanic glass

Microbial corrosion textures in volcanic glass from Cenozoic seafloor basalts and the corresponding titanite replacement microtextures in metamorphosed Paleoarchean pillow lavas have been interpreted as evidence for a deep biosphere dating back in time through the earliest periods of preserved life on earth. This interpretation has been recently challenged for Paleoarchean titanite replacement textures based on textural and geochronological data from pillow lavas in the Hooggenoeg Complex of the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa. We use this controversy to explore the strengths and weaknesses of arguments made in support or rejection of the biogenicity interpretation of bioalteration trace fossils in Cenozoic basalt glasses and their putative equivalents in Paleoarchean greenstones. Our analysis suggests that biogenicity cannot be taken for granted for all titanite-based textures in metamorphosed basalt glass, but a cautious and critical evaluation of evidence suggests that biogenicity remains the most likely interpretation for previously described titanite microtextures in Paleoarchean pillow lavas.