Calcium Carbonate Precipitation in Diatom-rich Microbial Mats: The Laguna Negra Hypersaline Lake, Catamarca, Argentina

Gómez, Fernando J.; Mlewski, Cecilia; Boidi, Flavia Jaquelina; Farı́as, Marı́a Eugenia; Gérard, Emmanuelle

doi:10.2110/jsr.2018.37

Cited by 42 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Black pustular mats are composed of bacterial filaments and associated coccoids. No specific characterization is available for microbial communities in Pastos Grandes, but the black pustular mats show similarities with those described at Laguna Negra in Argentina [66,67]. Diatoms are accumulated and associated with slime (EOM and organic matter) in shallow waters (>2 cm deep), and their frustules are observed in every active zone of the hydrothermal system.…”

Section: Microbial and Mud Depositsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…By contrast, black microbial mats seem to be favored by fluctuating conditions, with high salinity. The transition from green to black microbial mats may also be constrained by greater desiccation and UV radiation flux, as observed in the highaltitude Laguna Negra (Argentina, ~4000 m in elevation) [66]. This modification in microbial mat type is also visible in microbialite microfabrics, with the transition from the bundles of microbial sheaths associated with green mats to the isolated microbial sheaths associated with black mats.…”

Section: Controlling Factors In the Development Of Biotic/abiotic Promentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Three main biological communities were differentiated based on morphological observations of mats in the field: green microbial mats, black microbial mats, and diatoms. A common feature throughout La Salsa is the abundance of diatoms and bacteria usually embedded in Extracellular Organic Matter (EOM), the main site for mineral precipitation [64][65][66]. Both diatoms and bacteria are associated in all mat types, either as main producers, or trapped in the EOM.…”

Section: Microbial and Mud Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biotic–Abiotic Influences on Modern Ca–Si-Rich Hydrothermal Spring Mounds of the Pastos Grandes Volcanic Caldera (Bolivia)

et al. 2019

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The lacustrine-to-palustrine Pastos Grandes Laguna (Bolivia) is located in a volcanic caldera fed by active hot springs, with a carbonate crust extending over 40 km2. An integrated approach based on geology and hydrochemistry was used to characterize La Salsa, one of its hydrothermal systems, composed of a flat mound with a hydrothermal discharge. The mound is composed of carbonate–diatom aggregates, forming muds that accumulate and undergo slight swelling. The discharge area along the hydrothermal pathway exhibits several facies and microfabrics, with considerable biological activity and microbialite development. Both the downstream evolution of carbonate and silica content in sediments and the distribution of microbialites can be linked to changes in biotic-abiotic processes occurring along the pathway. The spatial distribution of microbialites and their morphologies are related to hydrodynamic conditions, the nature of the substrate on which they grow and, to a lesser extent, to the accommodation space available. The evolution of the physicochemical properties of the water and biological activity mainly impact mineral precipitation but also affect microbialite morphologies and microstructures. This atypical Si- and Ca-rich hydrothermal system therefore provides insights into the diversity of environmental, chemical, and biotic factors controlling mineralization, which also responds to independent thermodynamic controls.

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Section: Microbial and Mud Depositsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Controlling Factors In the Development Of Biotic/abiotic Promentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Microbial and Mud Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Biotic–Abiotic Influences on Modern Ca–Si-Rich Hydrothermal Spring Mounds of the Pastos Grandes Volcanic Caldera (Bolivia)

et al. 2019

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“…This suggests that instead of metabolic activity of micro‐organisms inducing carbonate precipitation, microbial components may simply be acting as nucleation sites for precipitation. Studies examining microbe–mineral interactions in Laguna Negra mats have observed carbonate precipitation within cyanobacterial sheaths (Shalygin et al., ) and diatom EPS (Gomez et al., ), but the extent to which environmental precipitation is controlled by microbial activity is unknown. While their influence on carbonate chemistry may not be substantial in situ, the presence of microbial constituents does have a high impact on microfabric texture.…”

Section: Interpretation and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The microbial component of the oncolites in this study also includes phototrophs that may be responsible for localized decreases in CO 2 with photosynthesis. Previous scanning electron microscopy captured instances of carbonate precipitation in matrices of diatom EPS (Gomez et al., ) and confocal laser microscopy showed the presence of Rivularia sheaths encased in calcite (Gomez et al., ; Shalygin et al., ). Photosynthetic CO 2 drawdown has been implicated as a player in carbonate precipitation through pH alteration (Riding, ).…”

Section: Interpretation and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralized microbialites as archives of environmental evolution, Laguna Negra, Catamarca Province, Argentina

et al. 2018

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Environmental fluctuations are recorded in a variety of sedimentary archives of lacustrine depositional systems. Geochemical signals recovered from bottom sediments in closed‐basin lakes are among the most sensitive paleoenvironmental indicators and are commonly used in reconstructing lake evolution. Microbialites (i.e., organosedimentary deposits accreted through microbial trapping and binding of detrital sediment or in situ mineral precipitation on organics [Palaios, 2, 1987, 241]), however, have been largely overlooked as paleoenvironmental repositories. Here, we investigate concentrically laminated mineralized microbialites from Laguna Negra, a high‐altitude (4,100 m above sea level) hypersaline, closed‐basin lake in northwestern Argentina, and explore the potential for recovery of environmental signals from these unique sedimentary archives. Spatial heterogeneity in hydrological regime helps define zones inside Laguna Negra, each with their own morphologically distinct microbialite type. Most notably, platey microbialites (in Zone 3A) are precipitated by evaporative concentration processes, while discoidal oncolites (in Zone 3C) are interpreted result from fluid mixing and biologically mediated nucleation. This spatial heterogeneity is reflected in petrographically distinct carbonate fabrics: micritic, botryoidal, and isopachous. Fabric type is interpreted to reflect a combination of physical and biological influences during mineralization, and paired C‐isotope measurement of carbonate and organic matter supports ecological differences as a dominant control on C‐isotopic evolution between zones. Laminae of Laguna Negra microbialites preserve a range of δ13Ccarb from +5.75‰ to +18.25‰ and δ18Ocarb from −2.04‰ to +9.28‰. Temporal trends of lower carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions suggest that the influence of CO2 degassing associated with evaporation has decreased over time. Combined, these results indicate that microbialite archives can provide data that aid in interpretation of both lake paleohydrology and paleoenvironmental change.

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Stromatolites and calcitized evaporite in a hypersaline playa lake: Rossport Formation (Mesoproterozoic, Ontario)

Bartley

Firmin

Berger

2021

The Depositional Record

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The Mesoproterozoic Rossport Formation of Ontario, Canada is generally interpreted as having been deposited in an intracratonic basin, most probably a rift‐related lake. While the Rossport, overall, is dominated by sandstone and shale, the Middlebrun Bay Member, in the middle of the formation, is a carbonate unit. The Middlebrun Bay Member, in exposures on the Channel Islands and along the north Shore of Lake Superior, consists most commonly of cherty, dolomitic microbial laminites and low‐relief columnar to conical forms. In contrast to typical outcrops, the Middlebrun Bay Member on Copper Island expresses as a massive, coarsely crystalline limestone unit, devoid of stromatolites or microbial laminae. Several features suggest dissolution and replacement of a primary, soluble phase such as an evaporite mineral. The top of the unit is marked by evidence of dissolution and collapse, including large sandstone clasts let down from the overlying bed. At petrographic scale, the Copper Island Carbonate comprises millimetre‐scale anhedral spar with abundant stylolites and concentration of insoluble material at grain boundaries, indicating recrystallization from a previous phase. Geochemical data from Copper Island and from correlative stromatolitic carbonate on Channel Island and mainland Ontario are consistent with hypersaline conditions, with elevated concentrations of carbonate‐associated sulphate, V and Ba. Based on these data, the massive carbonate exposed on Copper Island is interpreted as a calcitized evaporite, probably deposited originally as gypsum, and replaced by calcite during diagenesis. These data support previous work suggesting that the Middlebrun Bay interval was deposited during a period of increased aridity and low clastic influx, and further suggest that this restricted, hypersaline lake precipitated both carbonate and gypsum, comparable to modern arid playa lakes.

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Calcium Carbonate Precipitation in Diatom-rich Microbial Mats: The Laguna Negra Hypersaline Lake, Catamarca, Argentina

Cited by 42 publications

References 92 publications

Biotic–Abiotic Influences on Modern Ca–Si-Rich Hydrothermal Spring Mounds of the Pastos Grandes Volcanic Caldera (Bolivia)

Biotic–Abiotic Influences on Modern Ca–Si-Rich Hydrothermal Spring Mounds of the Pastos Grandes Volcanic Caldera (Bolivia)

Mineralized microbialites as archives of environmental evolution, Laguna Negra, Catamarca Province, Argentina

Stromatolites and calcitized evaporite in a hypersaline playa lake: Rossport Formation (Mesoproterozoic, Ontario)

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