Carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur geochemistry of Archean and Proterozoic shales from the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

Volumn 61, Issue 16, 1997, Pages 3441-3459

  Watanabe, Yumiko ^a   Naraoka, Hiroshi ^a,e   Wronkiewicz, David J ^b   Condie, Kent C ^c   Ohmoto, Hiroshi ^a,d  

^a TOHOKU UNIVERSITY   (Japan)

^b ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^c NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

^d PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^e TOKYO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY   (Japan)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARCHAEAN; CARBON; DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT; GEOCHEMISTRY; NITROGEN; PROTEROZOIC; SHALE; SULPHUR;

SOUTH AFRICA, KAAPVAAL CRATON;

EID: 0031470067     PISSN: 00167037     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0016-7037(97)00164-6     Document Type: Article

References (81)

1. Armstrong R. A., Compton W., Retief E. A., Williams I. S., and Welke H. J. (1991) Zircon ion microprobe studies bearing on the age and evolution of the Witwatersrand triad. Precamb. Res. 53, 243-266.
2. Barnicoat A. C. et al. (1997) Hydrothermal gold mineralization in the Witwatersrand Basin. Nature. 386, 820-824.
3. Berner R. A. (1982) Burial of organic carbon and pyrite sulfur in the modern ocean: Its geochemical and environmental significance. Amer. J. Sci. 282, 451-473.
4. Berner R. A. (1984) Sedimentary pyrite formation: An update. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 48, 605-615.
5. Berner R. A., Lasaga A. C., and Garrels R. M. (1983) The carbonate-silicate geochemical cycle and its effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past 100 million years. Amer. J. Sci. 283, 641-683.
6. Beukes N., Klein C., Kaufman A., and Hayes J. M. (1990) Carbonate petrography, kerogen distribution, and carbon and oxygen isotope variations in an early Proterozoic transition from limestone to iron-formation deposition, Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa. Econ. Geol. 85, 663-690.
7. Button A. (1975) A paleocurrent study of the Dwaal Heuvel Formation, Transvaal Supergroup. Trans. Geol. Soc. South Africa 78, 173-183.
8. Button A. (1986) The Transvaal sub-basin of the Transvaal sequence. In Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. I (ed. C. R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske), pp. 811-817. Geol. Soc. South Africa.
9. Clendenin C. W., Charlesworth E. G., and Maske S. (1988) An early Proterozoic three-stage rift system, Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa. Tectonophisics 145, 73-86.
10. Condie K. C. (1993) Chemical composition and evolution of the upper continental crust: Contrasting results from surface samples and shales. Chem. Geol. 104, 1-37.
11. Condie K. C. and Wronkiewicz D. J. (1990) The Cr/Th ratio in Precambrian pelites from the Kaapvaal craton as an index of craton evolution. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 97, 256-267.
12. Crampton D. (1974) A note on the age of the Matsop Formation of the Cape Province. Trans. Geol. Soc. South Africa 77, 71-72.
13. Crow C. and Condie K. C. (1987) Geochemistry and origin of late Archean volcanics rocks from the Rhenosterhoek Formation, Dominion Group, South Africa. Precambr. Res. 37, 217-229.
14. Des Marais D. J., Strauss H., Summons R. E., and Hayes J. M. (1992) Carbon isotope evidence for the stepwise oxidation of the Proterozoic environment. Nature 359, 605-609.
15. Dimorth E. and Kimberley M. M. (1976) Precambrian atmospheric oxygen: Evidence in the sedimentary distributions of carbon, sulfur, uranium, and iron. Canadian J. Earth Sci. 13, 1161-1185.
16. Doolittle R. F., Feng D-F., Tsang S., Cho G., and Little E. (1996) Determining divergence times of the major kingdoms of living organisms with a protein clock. Science 271, 470-477.
17. Eriksson K. A. (1983) A paleohydrologic model for early Proterozoic dolomitization and silicification. Precambr. Res. 21, 299-321.
18. Eriksson K. A., Tuner B. R., and Vos R. G. (1981) Evidence of tidal processes from the lower part of the Witwatersrand Supergroup. South Africa. Sediment. Geol. 29, 309-325.
19. Faure G. (1986) Principles of Isotope Geology. 2d ed. John Wiley & Sons.
20. 2 levels. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 6, 185-198.
21. Hamilton J. O. (1977) Sr isotope and trace element studies of the Great Dyke and Bushveld mafic phase and their relation to early Proterozoic magma genesis in southern Africa. J. Petrol. 18, 24-52.
22. Hammerbeck E. C. I. (1986) Andalusite in the metamorphic aureole of the Bushveld Complex. In Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa. Vol. I (ed. C. R., Anhaeusser and S. Maske), pp. 993-1004. Geol. Soc. South Africa.
23. Hayes J. M. (1994) Global methanotrophy at the Archean-Proterozoic transition. In Early Life on Earth, Nobel Symposium No. 84. (ed. S. Bengtson), pp. 220-236. Columbia Univ. Press.
24. Hayes J. M., Kaplan I. R., and Wedeking K. M. (1983) Precambrian organic geochemistry, Preservation of the record. In Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution (ed. J. W. Schopf), Chap. 5, pp. 93-135. Princeton Univ. Press.
25. Holland H. D. (1984) The Chemical Evolution of the Atmosphere and Oceans. Princeton Univ. Press.
26. Holland H. D. (1994) Early Proterozoic atmospheric change. In Early Life on Earth, Nobel Symposium No. 84. (ed. S. Bengtson), pp. 237-244. Columbia Univ. Press.
27. Holland H. D. and Beukes K. (1990) A paleoweathering profile from Griqualand West, South Africa: Evidence for a dramatic rise in atmospheric oxygen between 2.2 and 1.9 bybp. Amer. J. Sci. 290-A, 1-34.
28. Hunt J. M. (1979) Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology. W. H. Freeman and Company.
29. Imbus S. W. and McKirdy D. M. (1993) Organic geochemistry of Precambrian sedimentary rocks. In Organic Geochemistry (ed. M. H. Engel and S. A. Macko), Chap. 32, pp. 657-684. Plenum.
30. Ingall E. D., Bustin R. M., and Van Cappellen P. (1993) Influence of water column anoxia on the burial and preservation of carbon and phosphorus in marine shales. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 57, 303-316.
31. Jahn B-M., Bertrand-Sarfati J., Morin N., and Mace J. (1990) Direct dating of stromatolitic carbonates from the Schmidtsdrif Formation (Transvaal Dolomite), South Africa, with implications on the age of the Ventersdorp Supergroup. Geology 18, 1211-1214.
32. 2 levels during the late Quaternary. Nature 347, 462-464.
33. Kasting J. F. (1987) Theoretical constraints on oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the Precambrian atmosphere. Precambr. Res. 34, 205-228.
34. Killops S. D. and Killops V. J. (1993) An Introduction to Organic Geochemistry. Longman.
35. 2 fluctuations over the past 100 million years. Geophysical Mon. 32, 397-396.
36. Leventhal J. S. (1983) Interpretation of C and S relationships in Black Sea sediments. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 47, 133-137.
37. Lewan M. D. (1983) Effects of thermal maturation on stable organic carbon isotopes as determined by hydrous pyrolysis of Woodford Shale. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 47, 1471-1479.
38. Liu Y., Hayashi K., and Ohmoto H. (1997) Carbon isotopic composition of kerogens in the Marra Mamba Iron Formation from the Hamersley Basin, Western Australia, (in prep.).
39. Logan G. A., Hayes J. M., Hieshima G.B., and Summons R. E. (1995) Terminal Proterozoic reorganization of biogeochemical cycles. Nature 376, 53-56.
40. Martin D. McB., Stanistreet I. G., and Camden-Smith P. M. (1989) The interaction between tectonics and mudflow deposits within the Main Conglomerate Formation in the 2.8-2.7 Ga Witwatersrand Basin. Precambr. Res. 44, 19-38.
41. Minter W. E. L. (1978) A sedimentological synthesis of placer gold, uranium and pyrite concentrations in Proterozoic Witwatersrand sediments. In Fluvial Sedimentology (ed. A. D. Miall); Can. Soc. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 5, 801-829.
42. Miyano T. and Beukes N. J. (1984) Phase relations of stilpnomelane, ferriannite and riebeckeite in very low-grade metamorphosed iron formations. Geol. Soc. South Africa Trans. 87, 111-124.
43. Myers R. E., Zhou T., and Phillips G. N. (1993) Sulphidation in the Witwatersrand and Goldfields: Evidence from the Middlevlei Reef. Mineral. Mag. 57, 395-405.
44. Naraoka H., Hayashi, K. and Ohmoto H. (1997) Chemical and isotope compositions of the ∼2.5 Ga Mount McRae Shale, the Hamersley district, Western Australia: Implications for biological activities and the Earth's surface environments, (in prep.).
45. Ohmoto H. (1986) Stable isotope geochemistry of ore deposits. In Stable Isotopes in High Temperature Geological Processes; Rev. Mineral. 16, 491-560. Mineralogical Society of America.
46. Ohmoto H. (1992) Biogeochemistry of sulfur and the mechanisms of sulfide-sulfate mineralization in Archean oceans. In Early Organic Evolution: Implications for Mineral and Energy Resources (ed. M. Schidlowski et al.), pp. 378-397. Springer-Verlag.
47. Ohmoto H. (1996) Evidence in pre-2.2 Ga paleosols for the early evolution of atmospheric oxygen and terrestrial biota. Geology 24, 1135-1138.
48. Ohmoto H. and Felder R. P. (1987) Bacterial activity in warmer, sulphate-bearing, Archean oceans. Nature 238, 244-246.
49. Ohmoto H. and Goldhaber M. (1997) Applications of sulfur and carbon isotopes in ore deposit research. In Geochemistry of Hydrothermal Ore Deposits. Vol. 3. (ed. H. L. Barnes) (in press). Wiley.
50. Ohmoto H. and Rye R. O. (1979) Isotopes of sulfur and carbon. In Geochemistry of Hydrothermal Ore Deposits, 2d. ed. (ed. H. L. Barnes), pp. 509-567. Wiley.
51. Ohmoto H., Kaiser C. J., and Geer K. A. (1990) Systematics of sulfur isotopes in recent marine sediments and ancient sediment-hosted basemetal deposits. In Stable Isotopes and Fluid Processes in Mineralization (ed. Herbert H. M. and Ho S. E.); Univ. of Western Australia Publication No. 23, 70-120.
52. Ohmoto H., Kakegawa T., and Lowe D. R. (1993) 3.4-billion-year-old biogenic pyrites from Barberton, South Africa: Sulfur isotope evidence. Science 262, 555-557.
53. Ohmoto H., Kassai N., Hayashi K., Wronkiewicz D. J., and Condie K. (1997) Geochemistry of the Archean to Proterozoic shales from the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa, (in prep.).
54. Peters K. E., Rohrback B. G., and Kaplan I. R. (1981) Geochemistry of artificially heated humic and sapropelic sediments I: Protokerogen. Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. 65, 688-705.
55. Philips G. N. (1986) Metamorphism of shales in the Witwatersrand goldfields. Information Circular 192, Econ. Geol. Res. Unit. Univ. Witwatersrand.
56. Phillips G. N. and Dong G (1993) Cher-plus-pyrite pebbles in the Witwatersrand Goldfield. Intl. Geol. Rev. 36, 65-71.
57. Phillips G. N. et al. (1989) The Witwatersrand Gold Fields: Part 1. Postdepositional History, Synsedimentary Processes, and Gold Distribution. Econ. Geol. Mon. 6, 585-597.
58. Pretorius D. A. (1976) The nature of the Witwatersrand gold-uranium deposits. In Handbook of Strat-Bound Stratiform Ore Deposits (ed. K. E. Wolf), pp. 29-88. Elsevier.
59. Pretorius D. A. (1981) Gold and uranium in quartz-pebble conglomerates. In Econ. Geol. 75th Anniv. Vol. (ed. B. J. Skinner), pp. 117-138.
60. Reimer T. O. (1992) Carbonaceous high-alumina shale in the Transvaal Supergroup: Evidence of Early Proterozoic clastic weathering in a marine environment. In Early Organic Evolution: Implications for Mineral and Energy Resources (ed. M. Schidlowski et al.), pp. 106-114. Springer-Verlag.
61. Ronov A. B. and Migdisov A. A. (1971) Geochemical history of the crystalline basement and the sedimentary cover of the Russian and North American Platforms. Sedimentol. 16, 167-185.
62. Schidlowski M. and Aharon P. (1992) Carbon cycle and carbon isotope record: Geochemical impact of life over 3.8 Ga of earth history. In Early Organic Evolution: Implications for Mineral and Energy Resources (ed. M. Schidlowski et al.), pp. 147-175. Springer-Verlag.
63. Schidlowski M., Hayes J. M., and Kaplan I. R. (1983) Isotopic Influences of ancient biochemistries: Carbon, sulfur, hydrogen, and nitrogen. In Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution (ed. J. W. Schopf), Chap. 7, pp. 149-184. Princeton Univ. Press.
64. Schidlowski M., Gorzawski H., and Dor I. (1994) Carbon isotope variations in a solar pond microbial mat: Role of environmental gradients as steering variables. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58, 2289-2298.
65. Schreiber U. M., Eriksson R. G., van der Neut M., and Snyman C. P. (1992) Sedimentary petrography of the Early Proterozoic Pretoria Group, Transvaal Sequence, South Africa: Implications for tectonic setting. Sediment. Geol. 80, 89-103.
66. Schweitzer J. and Kroner A. (1985) Geochemistry and petrogenesis of early Proterozoic intracratonic volcanic rocks of the Ventersdorp Supergroup, South Africa. Chem. Geol. 51, 265-288.
67. Simoneit B. R. T., Brenner S., Peters K. E., and Kaplan I. R. (1981) Thermal alteration of Cretaceous black shale by diabase intrusions in the Eastern Atlantic: II. Effects on bitumen and kerogen. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 45, 1581-1602.
68. Songe A. P. G. (1986) Mineral provinces of southern Africa. In Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa, Vol. 1. (ed. C. R. Anhaeusser and S. Maske), pp. 1-23. Geol. Soc. South Africa.
69. Strauss H. (1986) Carbon and sulfur isotopes in Precambrian sediments from the Canadian Shield. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 2633-2662.
70. Strauss H. and Beukes N. J. (1996) Carbon and sulfur isotopic compositions of organic carbon and pyrite in sediments from the Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa. Precambr. Res. 79, 57-71.
71. Strauss H. and Moore T. B. (1992) Abundances and isotopic compositions of carbon and sulfur species in whole rock and kerogen. In Proterozoic Biosphere: A multidisciplinary study (ed. J. W. Schopf and C. Klein), pp. 709-797. Princeton Univ. Press.
72. Strauss H., Des Marais D. J., Hayes J. M., and Summons R. E. (1992) The carbon-isotope record. In Proterozoic Biosphere: A multidisciplinary study (ed. J. W. Schopf and C. Klein), pp. 117-127. Princeton Univ. Press.
73. Tankard A. J., Jackson M. P., Eriksson K. A., Hobday D. K., Hunter D. R., and Minter W. E. L. (1982) Crustal Evolution of Southern Africa. Springer-Verlag.
74. Taylor S. R. and McLennan S. M. (1985) The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. Blackwell.
75. Tissot B., Pelet R., Roucache J., and Combaz A. (1974) Influence of nature and diagenesis of organic matter in formation of petroleum. AAPG Bull. 58, 499-506.
76. Towe K. M. (1994) Earth's early atmosphere: Constraints and opportunities for early evolution. In Early Life on Earth, Nobel Symposium No. 84 (ed. S. Bengtson), pp. 36-47. Columbia Univ. Press.
77. Watanabe Y., Suzuki A., and Ohmoto H. (1996) Thermal alteration of organic matter in oil shales: Chemical and isotopic effects. GSA Abstr. 28, A-28 (abstr.).
78. Winter H. de la R. (1976) A lithostratigraphic classification of the Ventersdorp succession. Geol. Soc. South Africa Trans. 79, 31-48.
79. Wronkiewicz D. J. (1989) Geochemical and petrographic investigation of Mid-Archean to Mid-Proterozoic metasediment from the Kaapvaal craton, South Africa: Source-area Provenance, Weathering and Tectonic Setting. Ph. D. thesis, New Mexico Tech.
80. Wronkiewicz D. J. and Condie K. C. (1987) Geochemistry of Archean shales from the Witwatersrand Supergroup, South Africa: Source area weathering and provenance. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 51, 2401-2416.
81. Wronkiewicz D. J. and Condie K. C. (1990) Geochemistry and mineralogy of sediments from the Ventersdorp and Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa: Cratonic evolution during the early Proterozoic. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 54, 343-354.