Show simple item record

Files in this item

Thumbnail

Item metadata

dc.contributor.authorMeyer, N. R.
dc.contributor.authorZerkle, A. L
dc.contributor.authorFike, D. A.
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-31T16:30:10Z
dc.date.available2017-01-31T16:30:10Z
dc.date.issued2017-05
dc.identifier.citationMeyer , N R , Zerkle , A L & Fike , D A 2017 , ' Sulphur cycling in a Neoarchean microbial mat ' , Geobiology , vol. 15 , no. 13 , pp. 353-365 . https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12227en
dc.identifier.issn1472-4677
dc.identifier.otherPURE: 248664718
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: ec5a8856-a7ca-458b-a332-5cdd4b6e86ef
dc.identifier.otherScopus: 85011372901
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0003-2324-1619/work/60427933
dc.identifier.otherWOS: 000399645500002
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/10207
dc.description.abstractMultiple sulphur (S) isotope ratios are powerful proxies to understand the complexity of S biogeochemical cycling through Deep Time. The disappearance of a sulphur mass independent fractionation (S-MIF) signal in rocks <~2.4 Ga has been used to date a dramatic rise in atmospheric oxygen levels. However, intricacies of the S-cycle before the Great Oxidation Event remain poorly understood. For example, the isotope composition of coeval atmospherically derived sulphur species is still debated. Furthermore, variation in Archaean pyrite δ34S values has been widely attributed to microbial sulphate reduction (MSR). While petrographic evidence for Archaean early diagenetic pyrite formation is common, textural evidence for the presence and distribution of MSR remains enigmatic. We combined detailed petrographic and in-situ, high-resolution multiple S-isotope studies (δ34S and Δ33S) using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to document the S-isotope signatures of exceptionally well-preserved, pyritised microbialites in shales from the ~2.65 Ga Lokammona Formation, Ghaap Group, South Africa. The presence of MSR in this Neoarchaean microbial mat is supported by typical biogenic textures including wavy crinkled laminae, and early-diagenetic pyrite containing <26‰ μm-scale variations in δ34S and Δ33S = -0.21 ± 0.65 ‰ (±1σ). These large variations in δ34S values suggest Rayleigh distillation of a limited sulphate pool during high rates of MSR. Furthermore, we identified a second, morphologically distinct pyrite phase that precipitated after lithification, with δ34S = 8.36 ± 1.16‰ and Δ33S = 5.54 ± 1.53‰ (±1σ). We propose that the S-MIF signature of this secondary pyrite does not reflect contemporaneous atmospheric processes at the time of deposition; instead, it formed by the influx of later stage sulphur-bearing fluids containing an inherited atmospheric S-MIF signal and/or from magnetic isotope effects during thermochemical sulphate reduction. These insights highlight the complementary nature of petrography and SIMS studies to resolve multigenerational pyrite formation pathways in the geological record
dc.format.extent13
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofGeobiologyen
dc.rights© 2017 The Authors Geobiology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.en
dc.subjectQH301 Biologyen
dc.subjectQE Geologyen
dc.subjectNDASen
dc.subject.lccQH301en
dc.subject.lccQEen
dc.titleSulphur cycling in a Neoarchean microbial maten
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.contributor.sponsorNERCen
dc.contributor.sponsorNERCen
dc.description.versionPublisher PDFen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Earth and Environmental Sciencesen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. St Andrews Centre for Exoplanet Scienceen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. St Andrews Isotope Geochemistryen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12227
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.identifier.grantnumberNE/J023485/2en
dc.identifier.grantnumberNE/H016805/2en


This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record