Structural characterization by Raman hyperspectral mapping of organic carbon in the 3.46 billion-year-old Apex chert, Western Australia

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

Volumn 124, Issue , 2014, Pages 18-33

  Sforna, M C ^a   van Zuilen, M A ^a   Philippot, P ^a  

^a INSTITUT DE PHYSIQUE DU GLOBE DE PARIS   (France)

Author keywords

CM

Indexed keywords

CHERT; HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEM; MICROFOSSIL; ORGANIC CARBON; THERMAL ALTERATION;

AUSTRALIA; PILBARA BLOCK; WESTERN AUSTRALIA;

EID: 84886505724     PISSN: 00167037     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2013.09.031     Document Type: Article

References (74)

1. Aoya M., Kouketsu Y., Endo S., Shimizu H., Mizukami T., Nakamura D., Wallis S. Extending the applicability of the Raman carbonaceous-material geothermometer using data from contact metamorphic rocks. J. Metamorph. Geol. 2010, 28:895-914.
2. Barker C. Thermal modeling of petrol generation: theory and application. Developments in Petroleum Science 1996, vol. 45. Elsevier.
3. Behar F., Lorant F., Lewan M. Role of NSO compounds during primary cracking of a type II kerogen and a Type III lignite. Org. Geochem. 2008, 39:1-22.
4. Bernard S., Beyssac O., Benzerara K., Findling N., Tzvetkov G., Brown G.E. XANES, Raman and XRD study of anthracene-based cokes and saccharose-based chars submitted to high-temperature pyrolysis. Carbon 2010, 48:2506-2516.
5. Beyssac O., Goffé B., Chopin C., Rouzaud J.-N. Raman spectra of carbonaceous material in metasediments: a new geothermometer. J. Metamorph. Geol. 2002, 20:859-871.
6. Beyssac O., Goffé B., Petitet J.-P., Froigneux E., Moreau M., Rouzaud J.-N. On the characterization of disordered and heterogeneous carbonaceous materials by Raman spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta Part A 2003, 59:2267-2276.
7. Bonal L., Quirico E., Bourot-Denise M., Montagnac G. Determination of the petrologic type of CV3 chondrites by Raman spectroscopy of included organic matter. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2006, 70:1849-1863.
8. Brasier M.D., Green O.R., Jephcoat A.P., Kleppe A.K., van Kranendonk M.J., Lindsay J.F., Steele A., Grassineau N.V. Questioning the evidence for Earth's oldest fossils. Nature 2002, 416:76-81.
9. Brasier M.D., Green O.R., Lindsay J.F., McLoughlin N., Steele A., Stoakes C. Critical testing of Earth's oldest putative fossil assemblage from the 3.5Ga Apex chert, Chinaman Creek, Western Australia. Precambr. Res. 2005, 140:55-102.
10. Brasier M.D., McLoughlin N., Green O.R., Wacey D. A fresh look at the fossil evidence for early Archean cellular life. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B 2006, 361:887-902.
11. Brasier M. D., Green O. R., Lindsay J. F., McLoughlin N., Stoakes C. A., Brasier A. T. and Wacey D. (2011) Geology and putative microfossil assemblage of the c. 3460 Ma 'Apex chert', Chinaman creek, Western Australia - a field and petrographic guide. Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2011/7. p. 60.
12. Buseck P.R., Huang B.-J. Conversion of carbonaceous material to graphite during metamorphism. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 1985, 49:2003-2016.
13. Busemann H., Alexander C.M.O.D., Nittler L.R. Characterization of insoluble organic matter in primitive meteorites by microRaman spectroscopy. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 2007, 42:1347-1416.
14. Bustin R.M., Ross J.V., Rouzaud J.-N. Mechanisms of graphite formation from kerogen: experimental evidence. Int. J. Coal Geol. 1995, 28:1-36.
15. De Gregorio B. T. and Sharp T. G. (2003) Determining the biogenecity of microfossils in the Apex chert, Western Australia. Thirty-fourth Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Houston, Texas. #1267 (abstr.).
16. De Gregorio B.T., Sharp T.G. The structure and distribution of carbon in 3.5Ga Apex chert: implications for the biogenecity of Earth's oldest putative microfossils. Am. Mineral. 2006, 91:784-789.
17. De Gregorio B. T. and Sharp T. G. (2006b) Possible abiotic formation of kerogen-like carbon in the Strelley Pool chert. Thirty-seventh Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Houston, Texas. #2318 (abstr.).
18. De Gregorio B.T., Sharp T.G., Flynn G.J., Wirick S., Hervig R.L. Biogenic origin for Earth's oldest putative microfossils. Geology 2009, 37:631-634.
19. Dippel B., Heintzenberg J. Soot characterization in atmospheric particles from different sources by NIR FT Raman spectroscopy. J. Aerosol Sci. 1999, 30(Suppl. 1):S907-S908.
20. Everall N.J., Lumsdon J., Christopher D.J. The effect of laser-induced heating upon the vibrational raman spectra of graphites and carbon fibres. Carbon 1991, 29:133-137.
21. Ferrari A.C., Robertson J. Interpretation of Raman spectra of disordered and amorphous carbon. Phys. Rev. 2000, 61:14095-14107.
22. Garcia-Ruiz J.M., Hyde S.T., Carnecup A.M., Christy A.G., van Kranendonk M.J., Welham N.J. Self-assembled silica-carbonate structures and detection of ancient microfossils. Science 2003, 302:1194-1197.
23. Jehlicka J., Bény C. Application of Raman microspectrometry in the study of structural changes in Precambrian kerogens during regional metamorphism. Org. Geochem. 1992, 18:211-213.
24. Jehlicka J., Urban O., Pokorny J. Raman spectroscopy of carbon and solid bitumens in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Spectrochim. Acta Part A Mol. Biomol. Spectrosc. 2003, 59:2341-2352.
25. Kagi H., Tsuchida I., Wakatsuki M., Takahashi K., Kamimura N., Iuchi K., Wada H. Proper understanding of down-shifted Raman spectra of natural graphite: direct estimation of laser-induced rise in sample temperature. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 1994, 58:3527-3530.
26. Kelemen S.R., Fang H.L. Maturity trends in Raman spectra from kerogen and coal. Energy Fuels 2001, 15:653-658.
27. Lahfid A., Beyssac O., Deville E., Negro F., Chopin C., Goffé B. Evolution of the Raman spectrum of carbonaceous material in low-grade metasediments of the Glarus Alps (Switzerland). Terra Nova 2010, 22:354-360.
28. Larouche N., Stansfield B.L. Classifying nanostructured carbons using graphitic indices derived from Raman spectra. Carbon 2010, 48:620-629.
29. Lepland A., van Zuilen M.A., Philippot P. Fluid-deposited graphite and its geobiological implications in early Archean gneiss from Akilia, Greenland. Geobiology 2011, 9:2-9.
30. Lepot K., Williford K.H., Ushikubo T., Sugitani K., Mimura K., Spicuzza M.J., Valley J.W. Texture-specific isotopic compositions in 3.4Gyr old organic matter support selective preservation in cell-like structures. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2013, 112:66-86.
31. Lindsay J.F., Brasier M.D., McLoughlin N., Green O.R., Fogel M., Steele A., Mertzman S.A. The problem of deep carbone-An Archean paradox. Precambr. Res. 2005, 143:1-22.
32. Lünsdorf N. K., Dunkl I., Schmidt B. C., Rantitsch G., and Eynatten H. V., Towards a higher comparability of geothermometric data obtained by Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material Part I: Evaluation of biasing factors, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 2013, doi: 10.1111/j.1751-908X.2013.12011.x.
33. Marshall C.P., Olcott Marshall A. Hematite and carbonaceous materials in geological samples: a cautionary tale. Spectrochim. Acta Part A Mol. Biomol. Spectrosc. 2011, 80:133-137.
34. Marshall C.P., Mar G.L., Nicoll R.S., Wilson M.A. Organic geochemistry of artificially matured conodonts. Org. Geochem. 2001, 32:1055-1071.
35. Marshall C.P., Love G.D., Snape C.E., Hill A.C., Allwood A.C., Walter M.R., Van Kranendonk M.J., Bowden S.A., Sylva S.P., Summons R.E. Structural characterization of kerogen in 3.4Ga Archaean cherts from the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. Precambr. Res. 2007, 155:1-23.
36. Marshall C.P., Emry J.R., Olcott Marshall.A. Haematite pseudomicrofossils present in the 3.5-billion-year-old Apex chert. Nat. Geosci. 2011, 4:240-243.
37. Mostefaoui S.L., Perron C., Zinner E., Sagon G.R. Metal-associated carbon in primitive chondrites: structure, isotopic composition, and origin. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2000, 64:1945-1964.
38. Nasdala L., Brenker F.E., Glinnemann J., Hofmeister W., Gasparik T., Harris J.W., Stachel T., Reese I. Spectroscopic 2D-tomography: residual pressure and strain around mineral inclusions in diamonds. Eur. J. Mineral. 2003, 15:931-935.
39. Nemanich R.J., Solin S.A. First- and second-order Raman scattering from finite-size crystals of graphite. Phys. Rev. B 1979, 20:392-401.
40. Nijman W., de Bruijne K.C.H., Valkering M.E. Growth fault control of Early Archaean cherts, barite mounds and chert-barite veins, North Pole Dome, Eastern Pilbara, Western Australia. Precambr. Res. 1998, 88:25-52.
41. Olcott Marshall A., Marshall C.P. Comment on "Biogenicity of Earth's earliest fossils: a resolution of the controversy" by J. W. Schopf and A. B. Kudryavtsev, Gondwana Research, 22(3-4), pp. 761-771. Gondwana Res. 2013, 23:1654-1655.
42. Olcott Marshall A., Emry J.R., Marshall C.P. Multiple generations of carbon in the Apex chert and Implications for preservation of microfossils. Astrobiology 2012, 12:160-166.
43. Olcott Marshall A., Jehlicka J., Rouzaud J. -N., and Marshall C. P. Multiple generations of carbonaceous material deposited in Apex chert by basin-scale pervasive fluid flow. Gondwana Res., 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2013.04.006.
44. Pasteris J.D. In situ analysis in geological thinsections by laser Raman microprobe spectroscopy: a cautionary note. Appl. Spectrosc. 1989, 43:567-570.
45. Pinti D.L., Hashizume K., Sugihara A., Massault M., Philippot P. Isotopic fractionation of nitrogen and carbon in Paleoarchean cherts from Pilbara Craton, Western Australia: origin of 15N-depleted nitrogen. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2009, 73:3819-3848.
46. Pinti D.L., Mineau R., Clement V. Comment on "Biogenicity of Earth's earliest fossils: a resolution of the controversy" by J. William Schopf and Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev, Gondwana Research 22 (2012), 761-771. Gondwana Res. 2013, 23:1652-1653.
47. Qu Y., van Zuilen M. A., and Lepland A. (2011) Raman spectroscopic analysis of heterogeneous carbonaceous matter in the 2.0Ga Zaonega Fm, Karelia, Russia. Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference, Prague, Czech Republic.
48. Qu Y., Črne A.E., Lepland A., van Zuilen M.A. Methanotrophy in a paleoproterozoic oil field ecosystem, zaonega formation, Karelia, Russia. Geobiology 2012, 10:467-478.
49. Qu, Y. (2013) Isotopic and structural characteristics of organic matter in the Paleoproterozoic Zaonega Formation, Karelia, Russia. Doctoral dissertation, The University of Bergen.
50. Quirico E., Raynal P.-I., Bourot-Denise M. Metamorphic grade of organic matter in six unequilibrated ordinary chondrites. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 2003, 38:795-811.
51. Rahl J.M., Anderson K.M., Brandon M.T., Fassoulas C. Raman spectroscopic carbonaceous material thermometry of low-grade metamorphic rocks: calibration and application to tectonic exhumation in Crette, Greece. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2005, 240:339-354.
52. Ross J.V., Bustin R.M. The role of strain energy in creep graphitization of anthracite. Nature 1990, 343:58-60.
53. Sadezsky A., Muckenhuber H., Grothe H., Niessner R., Pöschl U. Raman microspectroscopy of soot and related carbonaceous materials: spectral analysis and structural information. Carbon 2005, 43:1731-1742.
54. Schopf J.W. Microfossils of the early Archean apex chert: new evidence of the antiquity of life. Science 1993, 260:640-646.
55. Schopf J.W., Kudryavtsev A.B. Biogenicity of Earth's earliest fossils: a resolution of the controversy. Gondwana Res. 2012, 22:761-771.
56. Schopf J.W., Kudryavtsev A.B. Reply to the comments of D.L. Pinti, R. Mineau and V. Clement, and of A.O. Marshall and C.P. Marshall on "Biogenicity of Earth's earliest fossils: a resolution of the controversy" by J. William Schopf and Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev, Gondwana Research 22 (2012), 761-771. Gondwana Res. 2013, 23:1656-1658.
57. Schopf J.W., Packer B.M. Early Archean (3.3-Billion to 3.5-Billion-Year-Old) microfossils from Warrawoona group, Australia. Science 1987, 237:70-73.
58. Schopf J.W., Kudryavtsev A.B., Agresti D.G., Wdowiak T.J., Czaja A.D. Laser-Raman imagery of Earth's earliest fossils. Nature 2002, 416:73-76.
59. Schopf J.W., Kudryavtsev A.K., Czaja A.C., Tripathi A.B. Evidence of Archean life: stromatolites and microfossils. Precambr. Res. 2007, 158:141-155.
60. Thébaud N., Rey P.F. Archean gravity-driven tectonics on hot and flooded continents: controls on long-lived mineralised hydrothermal systems away from continental margins. Precambr. Res. 2013, 229:93-104.
61. Tice M., Bostick B.C., Lowe D.R. Thermal history of the 3.5-3.2Ga Onverwacht and Fig Tree Groups, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, inferred by Raman microspectroscopy of carbonaceous material. Geology 2004, 32:37-40.
62. Tuinstra F., Koenig J.L. Raman spectrum of graphite. J. Chem. Phys. 1970, 53:1126-1130.
63. Ueno Y., Yoshioka H., Maruyama S., Isozaki Y. Carbon isotopes and petrography of kerogens in 3.5-Ga hydrothermal silica dikes in the North Pole area, Western Australia. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2004, 68:573-589.
64. van den Boorn S.H.J.M., van Bergen M.J., Nijman W., Vroon P.Z. Dual role of seawater and hydrothermal fluids in early Archean chert formation: evidence from silicon isotopes. Geology 2007, 35:939-942.
65. van Kranendonk M. J. (2000) Geology of the North Shaw 1:100 000 sheet: Western Australia Geological Survey, 1:100 000. Geological Series Explanatory Notes. p. 86.
66. van Kranendonk M.J. Volcanic degassing, hydrothermal circulation and the flourishing of early life on Earth: a review of the evidence from c. 3490-3240Ma rocks of the Pilbara supergroup, Pilbara craton, western Australia. Earth Sci. Rev. 2006, 74:197-240.
67. van Kranendonk M.J., Pirajno F. Geochemistry of metabasalts and hydrothermal alteration zones associated with c. 3.45Ga chert and barite deposits: implications for the geological setting of the Warrawoona Group, Pilbara craton, Australia. Geochem.: Explor. Environ., Anal. 2004, 4:253-278.
68. van Kranendonk M.J., Hickman A.H., Smithies R.H., Nelson D.R. Geology and tectonic evolution of the Archean North Pilbara Terrain, Pilbara craton, Western Australia. Econ. Geol. 2002, 97:695-732.
69. van Zuilen M.A., Fliegel D., Wirth R., Lepland A., Qu Y., Schreiber A., Romashkin A.E., Philippot P. Mineral-templated growth of natural graphite films. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2012, 83:252-262.
70. Wacey D., Saunders M., Brasier M.D., Kilburn M.R. Earliest microbially mediated pyrite oxidation in ~3.4 billion-year-old sediments. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2011, 301:393-402.
71. Wang A., Dhamenincourt P., Dubessy J., Guerard D., Landais P., Lelaurain M. Characterization of graphite alteration in an uranium deposit by micro-Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Carbon 1989, 27:209-218.
72. Waples D.W. Maturity modeling: thermal indicators, hydrocarbon generation, and oil cracking. In The petroleum system - from source to trap (eds. L.B. Magoon and W.G. Dow). AAPG Mem. 1994, 60:285-306.
73. Wopenka B., Pasteris J.D. Raman spectra of graphite as indicators of degree of metamorphism. Can. Mineral. 1991, 29:1-9.
74. Wopenka B., Pasteris J.D. Structural characterization of kerogens to granulite-facies graphite: applicability of Raman microprobe spectroscopy. Am. Mineral. 1993, 78:533-557.