Mo-Cr isotope evidence for a reducing Archean atmosphere in 3.46-2.76Ga black shales from the Pilbara, Western Australia

Chemical Geology

Volumn 340, Issue , 2013, Pages 68-76

  Wille, Martin ^a,b   Nebel, Oliver ^b   Van Kranendonk, Martin J ^c,d,e   Schoenberg, Ronny ^a   Kleinhanns, Ilka C ^a   Ellwood, Michael J ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TÜBINGEN   (Germany)

^b AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^c GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

^d UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES   (Australia)

^e UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

Author keywords

Archean; Atmospheric oxygen; Chromium isotopes; Molybdenum isotopes

Indexed keywords

ANOXIC CONDITIONS; ARCHEAN; ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN; AUTHIGENIC; BLACK SHALES; CR CONCENTRATION; CR ISOTOPES; DATA SETS; ENRICHMENT FACTORS; FREE OXYGEN; GEOCHEMICAL TRACER; GREAT OXIDATION EVENT; HIGH TEMPERATURE; ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION; ISOTOPIC DATA; ISOTOPIC RATIOS; ISOTOPIC VALUES; MAJOR AND TRACE ELEMENTS; MARINE SEDIMENTS; MOLYBDENUM ISOTOPES; PILBARA; REDOX CYCLING; SEDIMENTARY UNITS; STABLE ISOTOPES; TIME INTERVAL; WESTERN AUSTRALIA;

GALLIUM; MOLYBDENUM; OXIDATION; OXYGEN; OXYGENATION; SEAWATER; SEDIMENTOLOGY; SEDIMENTS; SHALE; SUBMARINE GEOLOGY; SULFUR;

ISOTOPES;

ANOXIC CONDITIONS; ARCHEAN; BLACK SHALE; CHROMIUM; MARINE SEDIMENT; MOLYBDENUM; OXYGENATION; PALEOATMOSPHERE; REDOX CONDITIONS; STABLE ISOTOPE;

AUSTRALIA; PILBARA; WESTERN AUSTRALIA;

EID: 84873877997     PISSN: 00092541     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2012.12.018     Document Type: Article

References (103)

1. Algeo T.J. Can marine anoxic events draw down the trace element inventory of seawater?. Geology 2004, 32(12):1057-1060.
2. Anbar A.D. Molybdenum Stable Isotopes: Observations, Interpretations and Directions 2004, 55.
3. Anbar A.D., Knoll A.H. Proterozoic ocean chemistry and evolution: a bioinorganic bridge?. Science 2002, 297(5584):1137-1142.
4. Anbar A.D., et al. A whiff of oxygen before the great oxidation event?. Science 2007, 317(5846):1903-1906.
5. Arnold G.L., Anbar A.D., Barling J., Lyons T.W. Molybdenum isotope evidence for widespread anoxia in mid-Proterozoic oceans. Science 2004, 304(5667):87-90.
6. Bagas L., Bierlein F.P., Bodorkos S., Nelson D.R. Tectonic setting, evolution and orogenic gold potential of the late Mesoarchaean Mosquito Creek Basin, North Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. Precambrian Research 2008, 160(3-4):227-244.
7. Barling J., Arnold G.L., Anbar A.D. Natural mass-dependent variations in the isotopic composition of molybdenum. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2001, 193(3-4):447-457.
8. Bekker A., et al. Dating the rise of atmospheric oxygen. Nature 2004, 427(6970):117-120.
9. Blake T.S., Buick R., Brown S.J.A., Barley M.E. Geochronology of a Late Archaean flood basalt province in the Pilbara Craton, Australia: constraints on basin evolution, volcanic and sedimentary accumulation, and continental drift rates. Precambrian Research 2004, 133(3-4):143-173.
10. Bonnand P., Parkinson I.J., James R.H., Fehr M.A., Connolly D.P. Cr isotopic composition of modern carbonates and seawater. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting, San Francisco 2010.
11. Brocks J.J., Logan G.A., Buick R., Summons R.E. Archean molecular fossils and the early rise of eukaryotes. Science 1999, 285(5430):1033-1036.
12. Brumsack H. The trace metal content of recent organic carbon-rich sediments: implications for Cretaceous black shale formation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 2006, 232(2-4):344-361.
13. Buick R. When did oxygenic photosynthesis evolve?. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2008, 363(1504):2731-2743.
14. Campbell J.A., Yeats P.A. Dissolved chromium in the St. Lawrence estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 1984, 19(5):513-522.
15. Colodner D., Edmond J., Boyle E. Rhenium in the Black Sea: comparison with molybdenum and uranium. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 1995, 131(1-2):1-15.
16. Condie K.C. Chemical composition and evolution of the upper continental crust: contrasting results from surface samples and shales. Chemical Geology 1993, 104(1-4):1-37.
17. Connelly D.P., Statham P.J., Knap A.H. Seasonal changes in speciation of dissolved chromium in the surface Sargasso Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 2006, 53(12):1975-1988.
18. Coogan L. Did natural reactors form as a consequence of the emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis during the Archean?. GSA Today 2009, 19(10):4-10.
19. Cranston R.E., Murray J.W. The determination of chromium species in natural waters. Analytica Chimica Acta 1978, 99(2):275-282.
20. Czaja A.D., et al. Iron and carbon isotope evidence for ecosystem and environmental diversity in the 2.7 to 2.5Ga Hamersley Province, Western Australia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2010, 292(1-2):170-180.
21. Czaja A.D., et al. Evidence for free oxygen in the Neoarchean ocean based on coupled iron-molybdenum isotope fractionation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2012, 86:118-137.
22. Dahl T.W., et al. Molybdenum evidence for expansive sulfidic water masses in ~750Ma oceans. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2011, 311(3-4):264-274.
23. de Jong J.T.M., et al. Inputs of iron, manganese and aluminium to surface waters of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the European continental shelf. Marine Chemistry 2007, 107(2):120-142.
24. Dickson A.J., Cohen A.S., Coe A.L. Seawater oxygenation during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. Geology 2012, 40(7):639-642.
25. Domagal-Goldman S.D., Kasting J.F., Johnston D.T., Farquhar J. Organic haze, glaciations and multiple sulfur isotopes in the Mid-Archean Era. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2008, 269(1-2):29-40.
26. Døssing L.N., Dideriksen K., Stipp S.L.S., Frei R. Reduction of hexavalent chromium by ferrous iron: a process of chromium isotope fractionation and its relevance to natural environments. Chemical Geology 2011, 285(1-4):157-166.
27. Duan Y., et al. Molybdenum isotope evidence for mild environmental oxygenation before the Great Oxidation Event. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2010, 74(23):6655-6668.
28. Dutkiewicz A., Volk H., George S.C., Ridley J., Buick R. Biomarkers from Huronian oil-bearing fluid inclusions: an uncontaminated record of life before the Great Oxidation Event. Geology 2006, 34(6):437-440.
29. Eary L.E., Rai D. Kinetics of chromate reduction by ferrous ions derived from hematite and biotite at 25 degrees C. American Journal of Science 1989, 289(2):180-213.
30. Eggins S.M., et al. A simple method for the precise determination of ≥40 trace elements in geological samples by ICPMS using enriched isotope internal standardisation. Chemical Geology 1997, 134(4):311-326.
31. Ellis A.S., Johnson T.M., Bullen T.D. Chromium isotopes and the fate of hexavalent chromium in the environment. Science 2002, 295(5562):2060-2062.
32. Emerson S.R., Huested S.S. Ocean anoxia and the concentrations of molybdenum and vanadium in seawater. Marine Chemistry 1991, 34(3-4):177-196.
33. Emerson S., Cranston R.E., Liss P.S. Redox species in a reducing fjord: equilibrium and kinetic considerations. Deep Sea Research Part A Oceanographic Research Papers 1979, 26(8):859-878.
34. Erickson B.E., Helz G.R. Molybdenum(VI) speciation in sulfidic waters: stability and lability of thiomolybdates. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2000, 64(7):1149-1158.
35. Eriksson P.G., et al. The 2.7-2.0Ga volcano-sedimentary record of Africa, India and Australia: evidence for global and local changes in sea level and continental freeboard. Precambrian Research 1999, 97(3-4):269-302.
36. Farquhar J., Wing B.A. Multiple sulfur isotopes and the evolution of the atmosphere. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2003, 213(1-2):1-13.
37. Farquhar J., Bao H., Thiemens M. Atmospheric influence of Earth's earliest sulfur cycle. Science 2000, 289(5480):756-758.
38. Farquhar J., et al. Isotopic evidence for Mesoarchaean anoxia and changing atmospheric sulphur chemistry. Nature 2007, 449(7163):706-709.
39. Frei R., Gaucher C., Poulton S.W., Canfield D.E. Fluctuations in Precambrian atmospheric oxygenation recorded by chromium isotopes. Nature 2009, 461(7261):250-253.
40. Frei R., Gaucher C., Dossing L.N., Sial A.N. Chromium isotopes in carbonates - a tracer for climate change and for reconstructing the redox state of ancient seawater. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2011, 312(1-2):114-125.
41. Gordon G.W., et al. When do black shales tell molybdenum isotope tales?. Geology 2009, 37(6):535-538.
42. Grassineau N.V., et al. Antiquity of the biological sulphur cycle: evidence from sulphur and carbon isotopes in 2700million-year-old rocks of the Belingwe Belt, Zimbabwe. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2001, 268(1463):113-119.
43. Helz G.R., et al. Mechanism of molybdenum removal from the sea and its concentration in black shales: EXAFS evidence. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1996, 60(19):3631-3642.
44. Helz G.R., Bura-Nakic E., Mikac N., Ciglenecki I. New model for molybdenum behavior in euxinic waters. Chemical Geology 2011, 284(3-4):323-332.
45. 98Mo as a global marine redox proxy. Chemical Geology 2012, 324-325:87-98.
46. Hickman A.H. Archaean diapirism in the Pilbara Block, Western Australia. Precambrian tectonics illustrated. IUGS, Subcommission on Precambrian Structural Type Regions, Final Report 1984, 113-128.
47. Hoashi M., et al. Primary haematite formation in an oxygenated sea 3.46billion years ago. Nature Geoscience 2009, 2(4):301-306.
48. Holland H.D. Why the atmosphere became oxygenated: a proposal. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2009, 73(18):5241-5255.
49. Holland H.D., Beukes N.J. A paleoweathering profile from Griqualand West, South Africa: evidence for a dramatic rise in atmospheric oxygen between 2.2 and 1.9bybp. American Journal of Science 1990, 290 A:1-34.
50. Hydes D.J. Dissolved aluminum concentration in sea water. Nature (London) 1977, 268(5616):136-137.
51. Johnson C.M., Beard B.L., Roden E.E. The Iron Isotope Fingerprints of Redox and Biogeochemical Cycling in Modern and Ancient Earth 2008, 36.
52. Kasting J. Earth's early atmosphere. Science 1993, 259(5097):920-926.
53. Kato Y., et al. Hematite formation by oxygenated groundwater more than 2.76billion years ago. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2009, 278(1-2):40-49.
54. Kaufman A.J., et al. Late Archean biospheric oxygenation and atmospheric evolution. Science 2007, 317(5846):1900-1903.
55. Kendall B., Creaser R.A., Gordon G.W., Anbar A.D. Re-Os and Mo isotope systematics of black shales from the Middle Proterozoic Velkerri and Wollogorang Formations, McArthur Basin, northern Australia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2009, 73(9):2534-2558.
56. Kendall B., et al. Pervasive oxygenation along late Archaean ocean margins. Nature Geoscience 2010, 3(9):647-652.
57. Kendall B., Gordon G.W., Poulton S.W., Anbar A.D. Molybdenum isotope constraints on the extent of late Paleoproterozoic ocean euxinia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2011, 307(3-4):450-460.
58. Kim C., Zhou Q.H., Deng B.L., Thornton E.C., Xu H.F. Chromium(VI) reduction by hydrogen sulfide in aqueous media: stoichiometry and kinetics. Environmental Science & Technology 2001, 35(11):2219-2225.
59. Kim C.S., Lan Y.Q., Deng B.L. Kinetic study of hexavalent Cr(VI) reduction by hydrogen sulfide through goethite surface catalytic reaction. Geochemical Journal 2007, 41(6):397-405.
60. Kitchen J.W., Johnson T.M., Bullen T.D., Zhu J., Raddatz A. Chromium isotope fractionation factors for reduction of Cr(VI) by aqueous Fe(II) and organic molecules. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2012, 89:190-201.
61. Lehmann B., et al. Highly metalliferous carbonaceous shale and Early Cambrian seawater. Geology 2007, 35(5):403-406.
62. Li W., Johnson C.M., Beard B.L. U-Th-Pb isotope data indicate Phanerozoic age for oxidation of the 3.4Ga Apex Basalt. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2012, 319-320:197-206.
63. 2. Precambrian Research 1994, 65(1-4):297-317.
64. McLennan S.M., Taylor S.R., Eriksson K.A. Geochemistry of Archean shales from the Pilbara Supergroup, Western Australia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1983, 47(7):1211-1222.
65. Morford J.L., Emerson S. The geochemistry of redox sensitive trace metals in sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1999, 63(11-12):1735-1750.
66. Nägler T.F., Neubert N., Böttcher M.E., Dellwig O., Schnetger B. Molybdenum isotope fractionation in pelagic euxinia: evidence from the modern Black and Baltic Seas. Chemical Geology 2011, 289(1-2):1-11.
67. Nance W.B., Taylor S.R. Rare earth element patterns and crustal evolution - II. Archean sedimentary rocks from Kalgoorlie, Australia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1977, 41(2):225-231.
68. Neubert N., Nägler T.F., Böttcher M.E. Sulfidity controls molybdenum isotope fractionation into euxinic sediments: evidence from the modern Black Sea. Geology 2008, 36(10):775-778.
69. Nielsen F.H. Evolutionary events culminating in specific minerals becoming essential for life. European Journal of Nutrition 2000, 39(2):62-66.
70. Nijman W., Clevis Q., de Vries S.T. The waning stage of a greenstone belt: the Mesoarchaean Mosquito Creek Basin of the East Pilbara, Western Australia. Precambrian Research 2010, 180(3-4):251-271.
71. Ohmoto H., Watanabe Y., Ikemi H., Poulson S.R., Taylor B.E. Sulphur isotope evidence for an oxic Archaean atmosphere. Nature 2006, 442(7105):908-911.
72. Oze C., Fendorf S., Bird D.K., Coleman R.G. Chromium geochemistry in serpentinized ultramafic rocks and serpentine soils from the Franciscan complex of California. American Journal of Science 2004, 304(1):67-101.
73. Palme H., O'Neill H.S.C. 2.01 - cosmochemical estimates of mantle composition. Treatise on Geochemistry 2007, 1-38. Pergamon, Oxford. D.H. Heinrich, K.T. Karl (Eds.).
74. Papineau D., Mojzsis S.J., Schmitt A.K. Multiple sulfur isotopes from Paleoproterozoic Huronian interglacial sediments and the rise of atmospheric oxygen. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2007, 255(1-2):188-212.
75. Pearce C.R., Cohen A.S., Coe A.L., Burton K.W. Molybdenum isotope evidence for global ocean anoxia coupled with perturbations to the carbon cycle during the Early Jurassic. Geology 2008, 36(3):231-234.
76. Pearce C.R., Coe A.L., Cohen A.S. Seawater redox variations during the deposition of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation, United Kingdom (Upper Jurassic): evidence from molybdenum isotopes and trace metal ratios. Paleoceanography 2010, 25(4):PA4213.
77. Pettine M., Millero F.J., Passino R. Reduction of chromium (VI) with hydrogen sulfide in NaCl media. Marine Chemistry 1994, 46(4):335-344.
78. Poulson R.L., Siebert C., McManus J., Berelson W.M. Authigenic molybdenum isotope signatures in marine sediments. Geology 2006, 34(8):617-620.
79. Reitz A., Wille M., Nägler T.F., de Lange G.J. Atypical Mo isotope signatures in eastern Mediterranean sediments. Chemical Geology 2007, 245(1-2):1-8.
80. Rudnick R.L., Gao S. Composition of the continental crust. Treatise on Geochemistry 2003, 1-64. Pergamon, Oxford. D.H. Heinrich, K.T. Karl (Eds.).
81. Rye R., Holland H.D. Geology and geochemistry of paleosols developed on the Hekpoort basalt, Pretoria Group, South Africa. American Journal of Science 2000, 300(2):85-141.
82. Sander S., Koschinsky A., Halbach P. Redox speciation of chromium in the oceanic water column of the Lesser Antilles and offshore Otago Peninsula, New Zealand. Marine and Freshwater Research 2003, 54(6):745-754.
83. Scheiderich K., Zerkle A.L., Helz G.R., Farquhar J., Walker R.J. Molybdenum isotope, multiple sulfur isotope, and redox-sensitive element behavior in early Pleistocene Mediterranean sapropels. Chemical Geology 2010, 279(3-4):134-144.
84. Schoenberg R., Zink S., Staubwasser M., von Blanckenburg F. The stable Cr isotope inventory of solid Earth reservoirs determined by double spike MC-ICP-MS. Chemical Geology 2008, 249(3-4):294-306.
85. Schwartzman D., Caldeira K., Pavlov A. Cyanobacterial emergence at 2.8Gya and greenhouse feedbacks. Astrobiology 2008, 8(1):187-203.
86. Siebert C., Nägler T.F., Kramers J.D. Determination of molybdenum isotope fractionation by double-spike multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 2001, 2(7). (16PP.-16PP).
87. Siebert C., Nägler T.F., von Blanckenburg F., Kramers J.D. Molybdenum isotope records as a potential new proxy for paleoceanography. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2003, 211(1-2):159-171.
88. Siebert C., Kramers J.D., Meisel T., Morel P., Nägler T.F. PGE, Re-Os, and Mo isotope systematics in Archean and early Proterozoic sedimentary systems as proxies for redox conditions of the early Earth. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2005, 69(7):1787-1801.
89. Smithies R.H., Champion D.C., Van Kranendonk M.J. Chapter 4.2 The Oldest Well-preserved Felsic Volcanic Rocks on Earth: Geochemical Clues to the Early Evolution of the Pilbara Supergroup and Implications for the Growth of a Paleoarchean Protocontinent 2007, 339-367. Elsevier. J. Martin, R.H.S. van Kranendonk, C.B. Vickie (Eds.).
90. Spencer D.W., Brewer P.G., Sachs P.L. Aspects of the distribution and trace element composition of suspended matter in the Black Sea. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1972, 36(1):71-86.
91. Thorne A.M., Trendall A.F., Geological Survey of Western A Geology of the Fortescue Group, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia 2001, Geological Survey of Western Australia, Perth.
92. Van Der Weijden C.H., Reith M. Chromium(III)-chromium(VI) interconversions in seawater. Marine Chemistry 1982, 11(6):565-572.
93. Van Kranendonk M.J. Geology of the Coongan 1:10000 Sheet: Geological Survey of Western Australia 2010, Geological Survey of Western Australia, East Perth, W.A.
94. Van Kranendonk M.J., Hugh Smithies R., Hickman A.H., Champion D.C. Review: secular tectonic evolution of Archean continental crust: interplay between horizontal and vertical processes in the formation of the Pilbara Craton, Australia. Terra Nova 2007, 19(1):1-38.
95. Van Kranendonk M.J., Philippot P., Lepot K., Bodorkos S., Pirajno F. Geological setting of Earth's oldest fossils in the ca. 3.5Ga Dresser Formation, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. Precambrian Research 2008, 167(1-2):93-124.
96. Voegelin A.R., Nägler T.F., Beukes N.J., Lacassie J.P. Molybdenum isotopes in late Archean carbonate rocks: implications for early Earth oxygenation. Precambrian Research 2010, 182(1-2):70-82.
97. Waldbauer J.R., Sherman L.S., Sumner D.Y., Summons R.E. Late Archean molecular fossils from the Transvaal Supergroup record the antiquity of microbial diversity and aerobiosis. Precambrian Research 2009, 169(1-4):28-47.
98. Wille M., et al. Evidence for a gradual rise of oxygen between 2.6 and 2.5Ga from Mo isotopes and Re-PGE signatures in shales. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2007, 71(10):2417-2435.
99. Wille M., Nagler T.F., Lehmann B., Schroder S., Kramers J.D. Hydrogen sulphide release to surface waters at the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary. Nature 2008, 453(7196):767-769.
100. Yang W., Holland H.D., Rye R. Evidence for low or no oxygen in the late Archean atmosphere from the ~2.76Ga Mt. Roe #2 paleosol, Western Australia: part 3. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2002, 66(21):3707-3718.
101. Zhou L., et al. A new paleoenvironmental index for anoxic events - Mo isotopes in black shales from Upper Yangtze marine sediments. Science China Earth Sciences 2011, 54(7):1024-1033.
102. 98/95Mo as local and global redox proxies during mass extinction events. Chemical Geology 2012, 324-325:99-107.
103. Zink S., Schoenberg R., Staubwasser M. Isotopic fractionation and reaction kinetics between Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in aqueous media. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2010, 74(20):5729-5745.