Ocean redox conditions between the snowballs – Geochemical constraints from Arena Formation, East Greenland

Scheller, Eva L.; Dickson, Alexander J.; Canfield, Donald E.; Korte, Christoph; Kristiansen, K.; Dahl, Tais W.

doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2017.12.009

Cited by 30 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…The timing of AOA evolving into marine settings is consistent with the well-established data that suggest atmospheric oxygenation preceded ocean oxygenation ( Scheller et al 2018 ). Regarding deep ocean redox conditions, the earliest evidence for widespread oxygenation of the deep ocean takes the form of trace metal data for a series of temporary “ocean oxygenation events,” starting after the Marinoan “Snowball Earth” ∼635 Ma ( Sahoo et al 2012 ), and continuing through the Ediacaran (635–541 Ma) and Cambrian (541–485 Ma) Periods ( Sahoo et al 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

The Evolution Pathway of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea Shaped by Major Geological Events

Zhang

Lenton

et al. 2021

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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Primordial nitrification processes have been studied extensively using geochemical approaches, but the biological origination of nitrification remains unclear. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are widely distributed nitrifiers and implement the rate-limiting step in nitrification. They are hypothesized to have been important players in the global nitrogen cycle in Earth’s early history. We performed systematic phylogenomic and marker gene analyses to elucidate the diversification timeline of AOA evolution. Our results suggested that the AOA ancestor experienced terrestrial geothermal environments at ∼1,165 Ma (1,928-880 Ma), and gradually evolved into mesophilic soil at ∼652 Ma (767-554 Ma) before diversifying into marine settings at ∼509 Ma (629-412 Ma) and later into shallow and deep oceans, respectively. Corroborated by geochemical evidence and modeling, the timing of key diversification nodes can be linked to the global magmatism and glaciation associated with the assembly and breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia, and the later oxygenation of the deep ocean. Results of this integrated study shed light on the geological forces that may have shaped the evolutionary pathways of the AOA, which played an important role in the ancient global nitrogen cycle.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

The Evolution Pathway of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea Shaped by Major Geological Events

Zhang

Lenton

et al. 2021

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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“…Multiple studies have reported anomalously high δ 34 S values in the Cryogenian Period (Fig. 1; Appendix 1 1), including the Datangpo Formation in South China (Wu et al 2016 and references therein), the Tapley Hill Formation in Australia (Hayes et al 1992;Gorjan et al 2000), the Court and Rasthof formations in Namibia (Hurtgen et al 2002;Gorjan et al 2003), the Bonahaven Dolomite Formation in Scotland (Parnell and Boyce 2017), and the Arena Formation in East Greenland (Scheller et al 2018). Notably, reported superheavy pyrites in these formations all overlie the Sturtian glacial diamictite, leading to the speculation of a potential linkage between the superheavy pyrite and the Sturtian glaciation (Gorjan et al 2000;Hurtgen et al 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…+26‰, red dash line), commonly known as superheavy pyrite signals (i.e., δ 34 S pyrite > δ 34 S sulfate ). Data source: (1) Tapley Hill Formation (Adelaide Rift Complex), Australia (Gorjan et al 2000); (2) Rasthof, Gruis, and Ombaatjie formations of the Otavi Group, Namibia (Hurtgen et al 2002);(3-14) Datangpo Formation in South China, including localities at (3) Yangjiaping, Hunan Province (Li et al 2012), (4) Tanganshan, Hunan Province (Liu et al 2006), (5) Dawu mine, Songtao County, Guizhou Province (Zhou et al 2007;), (6) Xiangtan, Hunan Province (Li et al 1999a;Liu et al 2006), (7) Zhailanggou mine, Songtao County, Guizhou Province (Chen et al 2008), (8) Yanglizhang mine, Songtao County, Guizhou Province (Zhou et al 2007), (9) Minle mine, Huayuan County, Hunan Province (Tang 1990;Li et al 1999a;Tang and Liu 1999;Feng et al 2010;Li et al 2012;), (10) Lijiawan, Songtao County, Guizhou Province (Wang et al 2016), (11) Xixibao mine, Songtao County, Guizhou Province (Zhang et al 2013;Wang et al 2016), (12) Gucheng, Hubei Province ), (13) Datangpo mine, Songtao County, Guizhou Province (Li et al 1999a;Zhou et al 2007;), ( 14) Daotuo mine, Songtao County, Guizhou Province (Zhu et al 2013;Wang et al 2016); (15) Tapley Hill Formation in the Adelaide Rift Complex, Australia (Gorjan et al 2000); (16) Tapley Hill Formation in the Amadeus Basin, Australia (Gorjan et al 2000); (17) Gobabis Member, Namibia (Gorjan et al 2003); (18) Arena Formation, East Greenland (Scheller et al 2018); (19) Bonahaven Dolomite Formation, U.K. (Parnell and Boyce 2017). All the compiled data are available in the online Appendix 1 1.…”

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confidence: 99%

Questioning the biogenicity of Neoproterozoic superheavy pyrite by SIMS

Cui

Kitajima

Spicuzza

et al. 2018

American Mineralogist

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The Neoproterozoic sulfur isotope (δ 34 S) record is characterized by anomalously high δ 34 S pyrite values. Many δ 34 S pyrite values are higher than the contemporaneous δ 34 S sulfate (i.e., δ 34 S pyrite > δ 34 S sulfate ), showing reversed fractionation. This phenomenon has been reported from the Neoproterozoic post-glacial strata globally and is called "Neoproterozoic superheavy pyrite." The commonly assumed biogenic genesis of superheavy pyrite conflicts with current understanding of the marine sulfur cycle. Various models have been proposed to interpret this phenomenon, including extremely low concentrations of sulfate in seawaters or pore waters, or the existence of a geographically isolated and geochemically stratified ocean. Implicit and fundamental in all these published models is the assumption of a biogenic origin for pyrite genesis, which hypothesizes that the superheavy pyrite is syngenetic (in the water column) or early diagenetic (in shallow marine sediments) in origin and formed via microbial sulfate reduction (MSR). In this study, the Cryogenian Datangpo Formation in South China, which preserves some of the highest δ 34 S pyrite values up to +70‰, is studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) at unprecedented spatial resolutions (2 μm). Based on textures and the new sulfur isotope results, we propose that the Datangpo superheavy pyrite formed via thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) in hydrothermal fluids during late burial diagenesis and, therefore, lacks a biogeochemical connection to the Neoproterozoic sulfur cycle. Our study demonstrates that SEM-SIMS is an effective approach to assess the genesis of sedimentary pyrite using combined SEM petrography and micrometer-scale δ 34 S measurements by SIMS. The possibility that pervasive TSR has overprinted the primary δ 34 S pyrite signals during late diagenesis in other localities may necessitate the reappraisal of some of the δ 34 S pyrite profiles associated with superheavy pyrite throughout Earth's history.

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“…The Cryogenian non-glacial interlude might be the only period in Earth's history with global occurrence of superheavy pyrite for over ∼10 million years. Superheavy pyrite of this geological interval has been reported from South China [ 11–13 ], Namibia [ 37 ], East Greenland [ 14 ], Scotland [ 38 ], Svalbard [ 39 ], Australia and Canada [ 37 , 40 ] (Fig. 1 A).…”

Section: Geological Record Of Superheavy Pyritementioning

confidence: 68%

“… A compilation of δ 34 S py data showing superheavy pyrite in Earth history. (A) is an expanded view of (B), modified from Canfield and Farquhar [ 16 ], highlighting superheavy pyrite from the Cryogenian non-glacial interval in South China [ 11 , 13 , 21 , 22 ], East Greenland [ 14 ], Australia [ 9 ], Canada [ 9 ], Namibia [ 17 , 37 ], Svalbard [ 39 ] and Scotland [ 38 ]. Seawater sulfate isotope values (δ 34 S sw ), green line in (A), are estimated from sulfur isotopic compositions of evaporates in Australia [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cracking the superheavy pyrite enigma: possible roles of volatile organosulfur compound emission

Lang

Zhao

et al. 2021

National Science Review

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The global deposition of superheavy pyrite (pyrite isotopically heavier than coeval seawater sulfate in the Neoproterozoic Era and particularly in the Cryogenian Period) defies explanation using the canonical marine sulfur cycle system. Here we report petrographic and sulfur isotopic data (δ34Spy) of superheavy pyrite from the Cryogenian Datangpo Formation (660–650 Ma) in South China. Our data indicate a syndepositional/early diagenetic origin of the Datangpo superheavy pyrite, with 34S-enriched H2S supplied from sulfidic (H2S rich) seawater. Instructed by a novel sulfur cycling model, we propose that the emission of 34S-depleted volatile organosulfur compounds (VOSC) that were generated via sulfide methylation may have contributed to the formation of 34S-enriched sulfidic seawater and superheavy pyrite. The global emission of VOSC may be attributed to enhanced organic matter production after the Sturtian glaciation in the context of widespread sulfidic conditions. These findings demonstrate that the VOSC cycling is an important component of the sulfur cycle in Proterozoic oceans.

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Ocean redox conditions between the snowballs – Geochemical constraints from Arena Formation, East Greenland

Cited by 30 publications

References 98 publications

The Evolution Pathway of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea Shaped by Major Geological Events

The Evolution Pathway of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea Shaped by Major Geological Events

Questioning the biogenicity of Neoproterozoic superheavy pyrite by SIMS

Cracking the superheavy pyrite enigma: possible roles of volatile organosulfur compound emission

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