Lacustrine stromatolites as multi-scale recorders of climate change: Insights from the Miocene Ebro Basin

Martín‐Bello, Leticia; Arenas, Concha; Andrews, Julian E.; Alonso-Zarza, Ana María; Marca, Alina

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.05.001

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Positive correlation between  18 O carb and  13 C carb are found in hydrologically closed basin lakes (Fig. 6a; 72 Talbot, 1990;Li & Ku, 1997;Lettéron et al, 2018;Martin-Bello et al, 2019)) such as GSL. It is 73 thought that  13 C DIC increases during intervals of lake level drop due to increased primary productivity by cyanobacteria and algae (Leng & Marshall, 2004).…”

Section: Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 94%

Carbonate facies‐specific stable isotope data record climate, hydrology, and microbial communities in Great Salt Lake, UT

et al. 2020

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Section: Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 94%

Carbonate facies‐specific stable isotope data record climate, hydrology, and microbial communities in Great Salt Lake, UT

et al. 2020

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“…Santa Juana boundstones are composed of crinkly to smooth laminations with alternations of porous light and dark dense layering containing filamentous fossil moulds and clotted textures, features typical of stromatolites (Arenas et al, 2019; Della Porta, 2015; Kah et al, 2009). Non‐marine stromatolites occur in numerous fossil freshwater systems such as the Eocene Green River Formation (Frantz et al, 2014), Plio‐Pleistocene East African rift lakes (Casanova, 1986), Miocene Ebro Basin (Martin‐Bello et al, 2019), the Miocene Ries Crater deposits (Arp, 1995) and Miocene–Pliocene palustrine carbonates in the Calama Basin (de Wet et al, 2020), among other examples. Stromatolites are documented from numerous fluvial systems in Europe and South America (ex.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their fabrics may yield information about turbulent versus calm water conditions, for example, cascade or flowstone fabrics indicate rapid water flow whereas stromatolitic or oncoid‐rich tufas indicate less agitated depositional conditions (Pedley et al, 1996). Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes can be used to track evaporation/precipitation budgets, often in closed lake basins, but are effective where evaporation rates are high, and they may help to determine the primary source of carbon and the extent of biomediation (Ashley et al, 2016; Martin‐Bello et al, 2019). Tufa precipitation rates have the potential to record small scale temperature and/or salinity variations, given that precipitation rates may be positively correlated with temperature (Arenas et al, 2013; Capezzuoli et al, 2014) and salinity with evaporation, linking hydrologic budgets and temperature (Andrews & Brasier, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exceptional preservation in Quaternary Atacama Desert Tufas: Evidence for increased groundwater and surface water in the Calama Basin, Atacama, Chile

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et al. 2023

The Depositional Record

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Exceptionally well‐preserved tufas located west of Calama, Atacama Desert, Chile, designated Santa Juana tufas, record episodic wetter conditions, relative to today, over the past 500,000 years. Globally, tufa architecture and depositional details are poorly understood as most described tufas have been degraded by weathering and erosion. In the hyperarid Atacama, post‐depositional alteration is negligible, therefore, the exceptional preservation of Santa Juana tufas documented in this study provides new information about tufa facies and their complex interactions. Santa Juana facies include microbial stromatolites, phytoherms, cascadestone, flowstone and porous limestone. Phytoherms, consisting of former plant stems coated with calcite, developed in channels, within pools, and along spring discharge aprons. Cascadestone, representing former waterfalls, preserves microbial filaments and delicate V‐shaped calcite crystals. Flowstone lines shallow subvertical to subhorizontal channels, representing sites of rapidly sluicing water flow. Porous limestone, containing sparse calcite and/or gypsum and anhydrite cement crystals, represents detrital accumulations. Stable isotope results, coupled with U/Th ages, show that by the Quaternary, relative to the Neogene, groundwater was less supercharged with volcanogenic CO2 so degassing was moderated. The δ18O ratios from Miocene–Pliocene palustrine and lacustrine freshwater carbonates that underlie Santa Juana tufas indicate significant evaporation, but the tufa δ18O signal indicates a less evaporative trend due to shorter atmosphere exposure time. Biological fractionation in δ13C is largely masked by the region's volcanogenic carbon footprint, although tufa petrography shows well‐preserved microbial filaments and laminations. The range of tufa ages in this study shows that there were wetter time periods within the drainage basin headwater area in the Quaternary, but that by the late Pleistocene to early Holocene, aridity to hyperaridity became established. The lack of diagenesis or alteration within the Santa Juana tufas indicates that there has been minimal rainfall since their deposition.

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“…microbes and lake chemistry) controls on the development of stromatolite morphologies that are found in geophysical surveys of subsurface systems should enable better predictions of chemical and physical attributes important to reservoir quality (for example, primary and secondary porosity, lateral continuity and organic preservation potential). Although stromatolite macromorphologies and micromorphologies (observable at the field‐scale and microscope‐scale, respectively) are likely influenced by both microbial community composition and local aqueous chemistry, the mechanics of how these factors control morphology are debated (Grotzinger & Knoll, 1999; Arenas & Pomar, 2010; Bosak et al ., 2013; Arenas & Jones, 2017; Martin‐Bello et al ., 2019a,b). On modern Earth, stromatolite formation is primarily limited to chemical precipitation by in situ microbial mediation of water chemistry or trapping and binding by cyanobacterial filaments in shoreline environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lacustrine microbial carbonates of the Eocene Green River Formation (Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, USA) have been described for a century (Bradley, 1929; Surdam & Stanley, 1979; Roehler, 1993). However, studies of the autocyclic and allocyclic controls on lacustrine stromatolite formation have been limited (Arp et al ., 2005; Frantz et al ., 2014; Awramik & Buchheim, 2015; Roche et al ., 2018; Martin‐Bello et al ., 2019a,b) despite the use of other Green River Formation outcrops for palaeoclimate and tectonic reconstruction (Carroll et al ., 2008; Doebbert et al ., 2010; Smith et al ., 2014, 2015; Graf et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake level controls the recurrence of giant stromatolite facies

et al. 2022

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Stromatolites have often served as a diagnostic carbonate facies for deep-time palaeoclimatic and geobiological studies because they may form under favourable environmental conditions for microbially mediated carbonate production. 'Giant' (<5 m) stromatolites occur in the Laney Member of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Vermillion Creek section of the Sand Wash Basin (northwest Colorado, USA). Giant stromatolite growth was hypothesized to have been promoted by both availability of large substrates as nucleation sites and physicochemical factors, including increased calcium carbonate mineral saturation states due to the generally warmer Eocene climate and a dynamic period in Lake Gosiute's hydrological balance. Depositional horizons of giant stromatolites were observed at two distinct stratigraphic levels, which demonstrated that the formation of the giant morphotype was not a unique occurrence, and provided an opportunity to examine both onset and cessation of stromatolite development. Coincident increases in carbonate clumped isotope-derived Accepted ArticleThis article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved temperatures, the carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of lake water (δ 18 O w ), carbonate mineral saturation states (Ω) estimated by ooid size, and salinity estimated by ostracod assemblages demonstrated that formation of giant stromatolites was facilitated by lake level drawdown. Decreased lake levels: (i) promoted carbonate precipitation; and (ii) positioned benthic microbial communities within the photic zone. Field and petrographic analyses revealed that the giants preserved micritic laminations, 'trapped and bound' grains, and aragonite fans, interpreted as reflecting contributions from both microbially mediated and abiotic carbonate mineral precipitation. Field and microscopic sedimentological and stable isotope data indicated that giant stromatolite growth ceased as a result of subaerial exposure of mounds during lake level lows. Although microbial mediation of carbonate chemistry was seemingly important for initiation of stromatolite growth, this work demonstrated that stromatolite macromorphology was dominantly controlled by availability of large substrates, lake level and resultant solute chemistry, i.e. increased Ω.

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Lacustrine stromatolites as multi-scale recorders of climate change: Insights from the Miocene Ebro Basin

Cited by 18 publications

References 59 publications

Carbonate facies‐specific stable isotope data record climate, hydrology, and microbial communities in Great Salt Lake, UT

Carbonate facies‐specific stable isotope data record climate, hydrology, and microbial communities in Great Salt Lake, UT

Exceptional preservation in Quaternary Atacama Desert Tufas: Evidence for increased groundwater and surface water in the Calama Basin, Atacama, Chile

Lake level controls the recurrence of giant stromatolite facies

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