Massive recycling of nitrogen and other fluid-mobile elements (K, Rb, Cs, H) in a cold slab environment: evidence from HP to UHP oceanic metasediments of the Schistes Lustrés nappe (western Alps, Europe)

Busigny, Vincent; Cartigny, Pierre; Philippot, Pascal; Ader, Magali; Javoy, M.

doi:10.1016/s0012-821x(03)00453-9

Cited by 205 publications

(170 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…However, the overall effect is variable and not always expressed (Busigny et al, 2003;Plessen et al, 2010;Yui et al, 2009), which prohibits precise corrections. However, the effect appears to be insignificant below greenschist facies (<1‰) and minor within the greenschist facies (1-2‰) (reviewed by Ader et al, 2016;Thomazo and Papineau, 2013).…”

Section: Preservation Of Nitrogen Isotopes In the Rock Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Stüeken

Kipp

Koehler

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

286

281

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Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for all life on Earth and it acts as a major control on biological productivity in the modern ocean. Accurate reconstructions of the evolution of life over the course of the last four billion years therefore demand a better understanding of nitrogen bioavailability and speciation through time. The biogeochemical nitrogen cycle has evidently been closely tied to the redox state of the ocean and atmosphere. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the Earth"s surface has passed in a non-linear fashion from an anoxic state in the Hadean to an oxic state in the later Phanerozoic. It is therefore likely that the nitrogen cycle has changed markedly over time, with potentially severe implications for the productivity and evolution of the biosphere. Here we compile nitrogen isotope data from the literature and review our current understanding of the evolution of the nitrogen cycle, with particular emphasis on the Precambrian. Combined with recent work on redox conditions, trace metal availability, sulfur and iron cycling on the early Earth, we then use the nitrogen isotope record as a platform to test existing and new hypotheses about biogeochemical pathways that may have controlled nitrogen availability through time. Among other things, we conclude that (a) abiotic nitrogen sources were likely insufficient to sustain a large biosphere, thus favoring an early origin of biological N 2 fixation, (b) evidence of nitrate in the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic confirm current views of increasing surface oxygen levels at those times, (c) abundant ferrous iron and sulfide in the midPrecambrian ocean may have affected the speciation and size of the fixed nitrogen reservoir, and (d) nitrate availability alone was not a major driver of eukaryotic evolution.

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Section: Preservation Of Nitrogen Isotopes In the Rock Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Stüeken

Kipp

Koehler

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

286

281

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“…2F). Various studies have shown that subduction zone dehydration reactions across a range of temperatures (200-600°C) and pressures release nitrogen that is able to enter the overriding forearc directly or travel with the expelled fluids upward through the subduction zone channel (53)(54)(55). Moreover, recent thermodynamic calculations of the nitrogen speciation in aqueous fluids under upper mantle conditions suggest that the oxidized mantle wedge of subduction zones favors nitrogen over ammonium (NH 4 + ), promoting outgassing rather than mineral trapping of nitrogen (56).…”

Section: ) Indicate Thatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subduction zone forearc serpentinites as incubators for deep microbial life

Plümper

Geisler

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Serpentinization-fueled systems in the cool, hydrated forearc mantle of subduction zones may provide an environment that supports deep chemolithoautotrophic life. Here, we examine serpentinite clasts expelled from mud volcanoes above the Izu-BoninMariana subduction zone forearc (Pacific Ocean) that contain complex organic matter and nanosized Ni-Fe alloys. Using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy, we determined that the organic matter consists of a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic compounds and functional groups such as amides. Although an abiotic or subduction slab-derived fluid origin cannot be excluded, the similarities between the molecular signatures identified in the clasts and those of bacteria-derived biopolymers from other serpentinizing systems hint at the possibility of deep microbial life within the forearc. To test this hypothesis, we coupled the currently known temperature limit for life, 122°C, with a heat conduction model that predicts a potential depth limit for life within the forearc at ∼10,000 m below the seafloor. This is deeper than the 122°C isotherm in known oceanic serpentinizing regions and an order of magnitude deeper than the downhole temperature at the serpentinized Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex, MidAtlantic Ridge. We suggest that the organic-rich serpentinites may be indicators for microbial life deep within or below the mud volcano. Thus, the hydrated forearc mantle may represent one of Earth's largest hidden microbial ecosystems. These types of protected ecosystems may have allowed the deep biosphere to thrive, despite violent phases during Earth's history such as the late heavy bombardment and global mass extinctions.deep biosphere | serpentinization | subduction zone | forearc

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“…A huge amount of investigations reports that diamonds can incorporate nitrogen by up to several thousands of ppm (e.g., De Corte et al, 1998;Davies et al, 2004), and nitrogen isotope ratios measured in diamonds, mantle xenoliths, basalts, and volcanic gases have been used to speculate about possible input of isotopically different nitrogen into the mantle via subducted sediments (e.g., Mohapatra and Murty, 2000;Pinti et al, 2001;Busigny et al, 2003a;Cartigny and Ader, 2003;Marty and Dauphas, 2003a,b;Mather et al, 2004;Thomassot et al, 2007). Busigny et al (2003a) have shown that in blueschist and eclogite facies rocks from the Western Alps the entire nitrogen content inherited from organic material remained in the rocks, mainly as NH 4 in high-pressure phengites. Estimating the global nitrogen input they calculated that currently about 3 to 5 · 10 10 mol nitrogen per year are transported into the mantle via cold slab subduction.…”

Section: Implications For Nitrogen and Hydrogen Storage In The Earth'mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most environments nitrogen is soon released to the surface via arc volcanism (e.g., Sano et al, 2001;Fischer et al, 2002) or lost during increasing metamorphic grade (Bebout and Fogel, 1992;Bebout et al, 1999;Sadofsky and Bebout, 2000;Mingram and Bräuer, 2001;Pöter et al, 2004;Plessen et al, in revision). By contrast, at cold slab conditions nitrogen remains in the rocks at least down to 90 km and very probably beyond the depth locus of island arc magmatism (Busigny et al, 2003a). This is because the ammonium cation, NH + 4 , inherited from organic material, has a similar ionic radius as Rb + and can replace K + in the respective K-bearing phases (e.g., Williams et al, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This supports the idea that substantial amounts of nitrogen are recycled into the deep mantle. Busigny et al (2003a) presented a mass balance indicating that currently about 3 to 5 · 10 10 mol nitrogen are annually transported to greater depths via cold slabs. At the other end of the deep nitrogen cycle, molecular nitrogen, N 2 , is discharging from the Earth's mantle for a long time in hydrothermal and volcanic activities (e.g., Javoy et al, 1986;Marty, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ammonium-bearing clinopyroxene: A potential nitrogen reservoir in the Earth's mantle

et al. 2010

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In the pseudobinary system CaMgSi 2 O 6 − (NH 4 )M 3+ Si 2 O 6 , with M = Cr or Al, and NH 4 OH in excess, multi-anvil experiments at 9.5 to 12.8 GPa, 725 to 750 • C produced NH 4 -bearing diopside. Incorporation mainly follows the coupled substitution (Ca. Ammonium was identified and quantified by IR spectroscopy. In Cr-bearing diopside we found maximum concentrations in the range of 500 to 1000 ppm of NH 4 .The storage capacity of mantle clinopyroxenes for ammonium turns them to potential candidates for the nitrogen reservoir in the Earth's upper mantle, and this mechanism also contributes to its water budget. While nitrogen is transported into the mantle via cold slabs through NH 4 inherited from sedimentary material, and stored in K-bearing minerals and successor high-pressure phases, nitrogen output from the mantle is through degassing of N 2 . A probable mechanism for that is that nitrogen is kept as NH 4 in clinopyroxene in the Earth's mid and lower mantle, whereas in the upper part, it is lost due to oxidation to molecular nitrogen. It is most likely that clinopyroxene plays a major role in the long-time, large-scale nitrogen cycle between surface and deep mantle of the Earth.

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Massive recycling of nitrogen and other fluid-mobile elements (K, Rb, Cs, H) in a cold slab environment: evidence from HP to UHP oceanic metasediments of the Schistes Lustrés nappe (western Alps, Europe)

Cited by 205 publications

References 64 publications

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Subduction zone forearc serpentinites as incubators for deep microbial life

Ammonium-bearing clinopyroxene: A potential nitrogen reservoir in the Earth's mantle

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