Multiple sulfur and carbon isotope composition of sediments from the Belingwe Greenstone Belt (Zimbabwe): A biogenic methane regulation on mass independent fractionation of sulfur during the Neoarchean?

Abstract To explore the linkage between mass-independent sulfur isotope fractionation (MIF-S) and δ13Corg excursions during the Neoarchean, as well as the contemporary redox state and biogeochemical cycling of carbon and sulfur, we report the results of a detailed carbon and multiple sulfur (δ34S, δ33S, δ36S) isotopic study of the ∼2.7 Ga Manjeri and ∼2.65 Ga Cheshire formations of the Ngezi Group (Belingwe Greenstone Belt, Zimbabwe). Multiple sulfur isotope data show non-zero Δ33S and Δ36S values for sediments older than 2.4 Ga (i.e. prior to the Great Oxidation Event, GOE), indicating MIF-S thought to be associated with low atmospheric oxygen concentration. However, in several 2.7–2.5 Ga …

Étude paléoenvironnementale et paléoclimatique multiproxiesdes bassins fini-carbonifères à permiens du N-E duMassif central.

National audience; Les bassins intracontinentaux fini-carbonifères à permiens d'Autun et de Decize-LaMachine (NE du Massif central) ont fait l'objet d'un travail de thèse s'appuyant sur denombreuses méthodes d'analyse appliquées à haute résolution sur des données deforages et quelques coupes.Les interprétations des résultats sédimentologiques (faciès, diagraphies, sismique), destratigraphie séquentielle, de géochimie et isotopie organique (carbone et azote) et deminéralogie ont permis de reconstituer de la manière la plus précise possible l'évolutiondes environnements sédimentaires de ces bassins dans l'espace et au cours du temps.Il en ressort que les deux bassins étudiés dominés par des d…

A diagenetic control on the Early Triassic Smithian-Spathian carbon isotopic excursions recorded in the marine settings of the Thaynes Group (Utah, USA)

17 pages; International audience; n the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction, Early Triassic sediments record some of the largest Phanerozoic carbon isotopic excursions. Among them, a global Smithian-negative carbonate carbon isotope excursion has been identified, followed by an abrupt increase across the Smithian–Spathian boundary (SSB; ~250.8 Myr ago). This chemostratigraphic evolution is associated with palaeontological evidence that indicate a major collapse of terrestrial and marine ecosystems during the Late Smithian. It is commonly assumed that Smithian and Spathian isotopic variations are intimately linked to major perturbations in the exogenic carbon reservoir. We present p…

Integrative analysis of the mineralogical and chemical composition of modern microbialites from ten Mexican lakes: What do we learn about their formation?

International audience; Interpreting the environmental conditions under which ancient microbialites formed relies upon comparisons with modern analogues. This is why we need a detailed reference framework relating the chemical and mineralogical compositions of modern microbialites to the physical and chemical parameters prevailing in the environments where they form. Here, we measured the chemical, including major and trace elements, and mineralogical composition of microbialites from ten Mexican lakes as well as the chemical composition of the surrounding waters. Saturation states of lakes with different mineral phases were systematically determined and correlations between solution and so…

Étude paléoenvironnementale et paléoclimatique multi-proxies des bassins fini-carbonifères à permiens du N-E du Massif central.

International audience

The late Hauterivian Faraoni "Oceanic Anoxic Event" at Río Argos (southern Spain): an assessment on the level of oxygen depletion.

14 pages; International audience; An integrated study of multiple geochemical proxies (TOC, δ13Ccarb, trace metallic elements, iron speciation) on the late Hauterivian Faraoni Oceanic Anoxic Event has been performed along the hemi-pelagic section of Río Argos (south-eastern Spain) in order to better constrain the environmental perturbations linked to this event in the Subbetic domain. In the studied section, the TOC is relatively low (b0.5 wt.%) except for one sample at the base of the Faraoni horizon, where it reaches 1.5 wt.%. The δ13Ccarb signal is characterized by a minor long-term increase, primarily attributed to an enhanced organic matter burial. However, both organic and isotopic si…

Microbial deposits in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction: A diverging case from the Mineral Mountains (Utah, USA)

40 pages; International audience; The Lower Triassic Mineral Mountains area (Utah, USA) preserves diversified Smithian and Spathian reefs and bioaccumulations that contain fenestral-microbialites and various benthic and pelagic organisms. Ecological and environmental changes during the Early Triassic are commonly assumed to be associated with numerous perturbations (productivity changes, acidifica-tion, redox changes, hypercapnia, eustatism and temperature changes) post-dating the Permian–Triassic mass extinction. New data acquired in the Mineral Mountains sediments provide evidence to decipher the relationships between depositional environments and the growth and distribution of microbial …

Possible nitrogen fertilization of the early Earth Ocean by microbial continental ecosystems

While significant efforts have been invested in reconstructing the early evolution of the Earth’s atmosphere–ocean–biosphere biogeochemical nitrogen cycle, the potential role of an early continental contribution by a terrestrial, microbial phototrophic biosphere has been largely overlooked. By transposing to the Archean nitrogen fluxes of modern topsoil communities known as biological soil crusts (terrestrial analogs of microbial mats), whose ancestors might have existed as far back as 3.2 Ga ago, we show that they could have impacted the evolution of the nitrogen cycle early on. We calculate that the net output of inorganic nitrogen reaching the Precambrian hydrogeological system could hav…

Biogeochemical Cycling of Nitrogen on the Early Earth

Variations in the nitrogen isotope composition of ancient organic matter and associated sediments provide clues for the early evolution of Earth's atmosphere–ocean–biosphere system. In particular, large isotopic variations have been linked to the protracted oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere during the Precambrian. Important problems being investigated include the nature of the variations observed at specific times in Earth's history and the degree of preservation of ancient nitrogen biogeochemical signatures during diagenesis and metamorphism. Interpreting these records in Archean sedimentary environments and their possible implications for the evolution of Earth's early atmosphere, ocean, …

Interpretation of the nitrogen isotopic composition of Precambrian sedimentary rocks: Assumptions and perspectives

International audience; Nitrogen isotope compositions in sedimentary rocks (d(15)N(sed)) are routinely used for reconstructing Cenozoic N-biogeochemical cycling and are also being increasingly applied to understanding the evolution of ancient environments. Here we review the existing knowledge and rationale behind the use of d(15)N(sed) as a proxy for the Precambrian N-biogeochemical cycle with the aims of (i) identifying the major uncertainties that affect analyses and interpretation of nitrogen isotopes in ancient sedimentary rocks, (ii) developing a framework for interpreting the Precambrian d(15)N(sed) record, (iii) testing this framework against a database of Precambrian d(15)N(sed) va…

Sulfur isotope's signal of nanopyrites enclosed in 2.7 Ga stromatolitic organic remains reveal microbial sulfate reduction.

18 pages; International audience; Microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) is thought to have operated very early on Earth and is often invoked to explain the occurrence of sedimentary sulfides in the rock record. Sedimentary sulfides can also form from sulfides produced abiotically during late diagenesis or metamorphism. As both biotic and abiotic processes contribute to the bulk of sedimentary sulfides, tracing back the original microbial signature from the earliest Earth record is challenging. We present in situ sulfur isotope data from nanopyrites occurring in carbonaceous remains lining the domical shape of stromatolite knobs of the 2.7-Gyr-old Tumbiana Formation (Western Australia). The anal…

Nitrogen isotope evidence for stepwise oxygenation of the ocean during the Great Oxidation Event

24 pages; International audience; The Earth’s oxygenation represents one of the most important environmental drivers of life’s evolution, with the first rise, known as ‘the Great Oxidation Event’ (GOE), corresponding to unpreceded accumulation of atmospheric O2, changes in the flux of marine nutrients and possibly global glaciations. However, the detailed evolution of the GOE is still debated, as for instance the accumulation trends of oceanic versus atmospheric oxygen and the nature of biogeochemical responses to oxygenation. Here, we combine organic carbon and bulk nitrogen isotope compositions with major element concentrations and iron speciation data of sedimentary rocks recovered from …

Microstructure-specific carbon isotopic signatures of organic matter from ∼3.5 Ga cherts of the Pilbara Craton support a biologic origin.

21 pages; International audience; The ∼3.5 Ga Dresser Formation from the North Pole Dome of the Pilbara Craton (Western Australia) contains some of the oldest evidence for life on Earth. Here, we present a detailed study of microstructure-specific carbon isotopic composition of organic matter (OM) preserved in Dresser Formation bedded cherts and hydrothermal chert vein using in situ Secondary-Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The OM in these rocks occurs mainly as clots that, together with minor fine OM layers and laminae, are considered primary textures formed prior to host rock lithification. Other than rare OM-rich stylolites, no evidence was found for later OM migration beyond the micromete…

Reconstitutions paléoenvironnementales et enregistrement paléoclimatique fini-carbonifère à permien du bassin d’Autun (Nord-Est du Massif Central)

International audience; Les bassins sédimentaires tardi-orogéniques fini-carbonifères à permiens du Nord-Est du Massif Central (bassins d’Autun, de l’Aumance, de Decize-La Machine et de Blanzy-Le Creusot) ont été principalement étudiés pour leur potentiel en ressources carbonées jusque dans les années 1980. Le regain d’intérêt qu’ils suscitent aujourd’hui s’appuie sur des aspects plus fondamentaux afin de mieux comprendre la période charnière qu’est la fin du Paléozoïque. Les séries sédimentaires préservées dans ces bassins continentaux enregistrent en effet le démantèlement des reliefs hercyniens ainsi que l’évolution climatique (transition icehouse-greenhouse) se produisant entre la fin d…

In Situ carbon and oxygen isotopes measurements in carbonates using laser-induced calcination: A step forward field isotopic characterization

Lithospheric strenght control over depositional environments and foreland accommodation in the Western USA Basin during the Early Triassic

International audience

In situ Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy as a tool to discriminate volcanic rocks and magmatic series, Iceland.

7 pages; International audience; This study evaluates the potentialities of a lab-made pLIBS (portable Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) to sort volcanic rocks belonging to various magmatic series. An in-situ chemical analysis of 19 atomic lines, including Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Si, Sr and Ti, from 21 sampled rocks was performed during a field exploration in Iceland. Iceland was chosen both for the various typologies of volcanic rocks and the rugged conditions in the field in order to test the sturdiness of the pLIPS. Elemental compositions were also measured using laboratory ICP-AES measurements on the same samples. Based on these latter results, which can be used to ident…

A genetic link between synsedimentary tectonics-expelled fluids, microbial sulfate reduction and cone-in-cone structures

14 pages; International audience; The late Jurassic (Tithonian) marlstones of the Boulonnais area (English Channel, France) contains diagenetic carbonate beds and nodules. Some nodules exhibit cone-in-cone structures on their lower face. We studied such nodules using various techniques of imaging and chemical (major and trace-elements) and isotopic analyses (Ccarb, Corg, O and S stable isotopes). We interpret the cone-in-cone to be the end product of carbonate-nodule formation during early diagenesis. The diagenetic carbonate precipitation was induced by microbial activity (bacteria and(?) archeae) fueled by upward-migrating fluids. Fluid expulsion was itself triggered by synsedimentary fau…

In situ carbon and oxygen isotopes measurements in carbonates by fiber coupled laser diode-induced calcination: A step towards field isotopic characterization

International audience; Natural stable isotopes ratios (δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb) of carbonates archived in the geological record are routinely used to reconstruct local and global paleo temperatures and the secular evolution of the biogeochemical carbon cycle. The state-of-the-art technique, employed since the mid 20th century, to measure these isotopic ratios starts with field sampling followed by several steps of physical and chemical laboratory preparation including: (i) microdrilling and/or sawing and crushing, (ii) CO2 release by wet acid digestion, (iii) gas equilibration, purification and transfer, before (iv) gas phase IRMS measurements. While these steps are time and resource consumi…

Aqueous system-level processes and prokaryote assemblages in the ferruginous and sulfate-rich bottom waters of a post-mining lake

Abstract. In the low-nutrient, redox-stratified Lake Medard (Czechia), reductive Fe(III) dissolution outpaces sulfide generation from microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) and ferruginous conditions occur without quantitative sulfate depletion. The lake currently has marked overlapping C, N, S, Mn and Fe cycles occurring in the anoxic portion of the water column. This feature is unusual in stable, natural, redox-stratified lacustrine systems where at least one of these biogeochemical cycles is functionally diminished or undergoes minimal transformations because of the dominance of another component or other components. Therefore, this post-mining lake has scientific value for (i) testing emergi…

Étude multi-isotopique de microbialites actuels au sein d'analogues Précambriens (lacs de cratères volcaniques alcalins)

Hydrothermalism in the Tyrrhenian Sea: Inorganic and microbial sulfur cycling as revealed by geochemical and multiple sulfur isotope data

15 pages; International audience; The Palinuro volcanic complex and the Panarea hydrothermal field, both located in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), are associated with island arc magmatism and characterized by polymetallic sulfide mineralization. Dissolved sulfide concentrations, pH, and Eh measured in porewaters at both sites reveal a variable hydrothermal influence on porewater chemistry. Multiple sulfur isotopic measurements for disseminated sulfides (CRS: chromium reducible sulfur) extracted from sediments at Palinuro yielded a broad range in δ34S range between −29.8 and +10.2‰ and Δ33S values between+0.015 and+0.134‰. In contrast, sediments at Panarea exhibit a much smaller range in δ34SCR…

Long-term lacustrine paleo-productivity and/or paleo-anoxia trends controlled by eccentricity cycles in the continental Autun Basin (France) at the Carboniferous/Permian boundary

<p>The organic-rich lacustrine beds of the Autun Basin (France) were deposited from the late Gzhelian (late Carboniferous) to the Sakmarian (early Permian), encompassing the Carboniferous-Permian boundary (∼299 Ma). Those deposits reach up to 1500 m thick, and correspond to a tropical, intra-mountainous late-orogenic basin infilling associated with the Variscan orogeny (Marteau, 1983; Schneider et al., 2006). Organic-rich and laminated facies are attributed to distal lacustrine environments which sometimes alternate with silty to sandy rich deltaic depositional environments (Mercuzot et al., 2019). The four successive formations (respectively the Igornay, Muse, …

Discussion on Palaeozoic discontinuities in the Kuh-e Surmeh area (Zagros, Iran).

20 pages; International audience; Evidence of several major unconformities in the Lower Palaeozoic succession in Iran lead to question the role of tectonic/eustatism/climate in terms of their formation. The studied Palaeozoic succession in the Kuh-e Surmeh Anticline is characterized by the preservation of two thin Ordovician and Lower Permian Formations separated by a large hiatus encompassing the Upper Ordovician up to the lowermost Permian. The Ordovician sequences were deposited in shallow shoreface to lower offshore environments and the Lower Permian corresponds to a wave-dominated estuarine system evolving to a delta system. These mainly clastic successions represent good reservoirs in…

Isotopic biomarkers.

5 pages

The marine geochemical record of the OAE 2 (~94 Ma) at high latitude: Example of the IODP Site U1516 (Exp. 369; Mentelle Basin, SW Australia)