Fragmentation and dispersal of komatiitic pyroclasts in the 3.5-3.2 Ga Onverwacht Group, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa

Stiegler, M. Thompson; Lowe, Donald R.; Byerly, Gary R.

doi:10.1130/b30191.1

Cited by 17 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…S8, E and F) is a common attribute of fossilized microbial filaments [e.g., (4,(24)(25)(26)] and could reflect either or both structural (i.e., cell division points) (23,26) and taphonomic discontinuities (i.e., due to compressions or less preserved and degraded remains) (2,23,27). High morphological 3D fidelity of the filament preservation is consistent with very early and rapid silicification [e.g., (24,28,29)], which is to be expected of Paleoarchean silica-saturated hydrothermal systems (10,19).…”

Section: Filamentous Microfossilsmentioning

confidence: 84%

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Cellular remains in a ~3.42-billion-year-old subseafloor hydrothermal environment

et al. 2021

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Subsurface habitats on Earth host an extensive extant biosphere and likely provided one of Earth’s earliest microbial habitats. Although the site of life’s emergence continues to be debated, evidence of early life provides insights into its early evolution and metabolic affinity. Here, we present the discovery of exceptionally well-preserved, ~3.42-billion-year-old putative filamentous microfossils that inhabited a paleo-subseafloor hydrothermal vein system of the Barberton greenstone belt in South Africa. The filaments colonized the walls of conduits created by low-temperature hydrothermal fluid. Combined with their morphological and chemical characteristics as investigated over a range of scales, they can be considered the oldest methanogens and/or methanotrophs that thrived in an ultramafic volcanic substrate.

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Section: Filamentous Microfossilsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…The chert unit itself is in stratigraphic continuity with the ~3.42-Ga Buck Reef Chert (18) that hosts some of the best-preserved microfossils of the BGB (4)(5)(6). The hydrothermal vein system cuts ultramafic lapillistone that accumulated on a shallow-marine volcanic platform (19).…”

Section: The Hydrothermal Chert Vein Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%