Nitrogen and argon isotopic signatures in graphite from the 3.8-Ga-old Isua Supracrustal Belt, Southern West Greenland

Zuilen, Mark A. van; Mathew, K. J.; Wopenka, B.; Lepland, Aivo; Marti, K.; Arrhenius, Gustaf

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2004.08.033

Cited by 54 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…In rocks between 3.8 Gyr and 3.5 Gyr, negative values down to -4.4‰ (Fig. 6, 7) have been interpreted as representing hydrothermal NH 4 + assimilation by thermophilic microbes (Pinti et al, 2001;Pinti et al, 2009), metasomatic alteration (Li et al, 2014;van Zuilen et al, 2005), or biological N 2 fixation with alternative V or Fe nitrogenases (Zhang et al, 2014). Positive values up to +12.2‰ from rocks of similar age are most commonly interpreted as reflecting metamorphic overprinting, which is known to increase δ 15 N (Papineau et al, 2005;Thomazo and Papineau, 2013).…”

Section: Hadean and Paleoarchean (~46 -35 Gyr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Stüeken

Kipp

Koehler

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

329

287

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Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for all life on Earth and it acts as a major control on biological productivity in the modern ocean. Accurate reconstructions of the evolution of life over the course of the last four billion years therefore demand a better understanding of nitrogen bioavailability and speciation through time. The biogeochemical nitrogen cycle has evidently been closely tied to the redox state of the ocean and atmosphere. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the Earth"s surface has passed in a non-linear fashion from an anoxic state in the Hadean to an oxic state in the later Phanerozoic. It is therefore likely that the nitrogen cycle has changed markedly over time, with potentially severe implications for the productivity and evolution of the biosphere. Here we compile nitrogen isotope data from the literature and review our current understanding of the evolution of the nitrogen cycle, with particular emphasis on the Precambrian. Combined with recent work on redox conditions, trace metal availability, sulfur and iron cycling on the early Earth, we then use the nitrogen isotope record as a platform to test existing and new hypotheses about biogeochemical pathways that may have controlled nitrogen availability through time. Among other things, we conclude that (a) abiotic nitrogen sources were likely insufficient to sustain a large biosphere, thus favoring an early origin of biological N 2 fixation, (b) evidence of nitrate in the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic confirm current views of increasing surface oxygen levels at those times, (c) abundant ferrous iron and sulfide in the midPrecambrian ocean may have affected the speciation and size of the fixed nitrogen reservoir, and (d) nitrate availability alone was not a major driver of eukaryotic evolution.

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Section: Hadean and Paleoarchean (~46 -35 Gyr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Stüeken

Kipp

Koehler

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

329

287

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“…7c, d) may be explained by (i) a conversion of pyridone to pyrrole (Brent et al, 1970;Schmiers et al, 1999), and (ii) by the difficulty of expanding pyrrole-type rings to pyridine-type rings as suitable building blocks for accreting graphitic structures. Few nitrogen concentration data have been published for natural graphite (van Zuilen et al, 2005). Ader et al (2006) assessed the loss of nitrogen from around thousand ppm in semi-graphites to few ppm in disordered-graphites.…”

Section: Increase Of N-c 3 Substituting For Carbon In Condensed Partmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1) produce an insoluble macromolecular carbonaceous matrix. This study investigates changes in N org in anthracite and semi-graphite to constrain the behavior of nitrogen through geological cycles, and to strengthen N org 's utility as a tracer during metamorphism (e.g., Pinti et al, 2001;van Zuilen et al, 2005;Pitcairn et al, 2005;Ader et al, 2006;Jia, 2006). Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…N org concentrations and the isotopic range of observed  15 N org data refer to coal samples utilized in the cited studies and are not globally representative. N concentrations in graphite are from Ader et al (2006) and van Zuilen et al (2005). Correlations between temperature and individual parameters are approximate and may vary depending on local temperature and pressure conditions (Gretener and Curtis, 1982;Nickelsen, 1983;Paxton, 1983;Frey, 1986;Juster et al, 1987;Daniels, 1992;Barker et al, 1998;Frey and Robinson, 1999;Mullis et al, 2003;Hower and Gayer, 2002;Petersen, 2006;Kwiecińska and Petersen, 2004;Schimmelmann et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organic nitrogen chemistry during low-grade metamorphism

Boudou

Schimmelmann

Ader

et al. 2008

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

136

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-Most of the organic nitrogen (N org ) on Earth is disseminated in crustal sediments and rocks in the form of fossil nitrogen-containing organic matter. The chemical speciation of fossil N org within the overall molecular structure of organic matter changes with time and heating during burial. Progressive thermal evolution of organic matter involves phases of enhanced elimination of N org and ultimately produces graphite containing only traces of nitrogen. Long-term chemical and thermal instability makes the chemical speciation of N org a valuable tracer to constrain the history of sub-surface metamorphism and to shed light on the subsurface biogeochemical nitrogen cycle and its participating organic and inorganic nitrogen pools. This study documents the evolutionary path of N org speciation, transformation and elimination before and during metamorphism and advocates the use of XRay Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to monitor changes in N org speciation as a diagnostic tool for organic metamorphism. Our multidisciplinary evidence from XPS, stable isotopes, traditional quantitative coal analyses, and other analytical approaches shows that at the metamorphic onset N org is dominantly present as pyrrolic and pyridinic nitrogen. The relative abundance of nitrogen substituting for carbon in condensed, partially aromatic systems (where N is covalently bonded to three C atoms) increases exponentially with increasing metamorphic grade, at the expense of pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen. At the same time, much N org is eliminated without significant nitrogen isotope fractionation. The apparent absence of Rayleigh-type nitrogen isotopic fractionation suggests that direct thermal loss of nitrogen from an organic matrix does not serve as a major pathway for N org elimination. Instead, we propose that hot H, O-containing fluids or some of their components gradually penetrate into the carbonaceous matrix and eliminate N org along a progressing reaction front, without causing nitrogen isotope fractionation in the residual N org in the unreacted core of the carbonaceous matrix. Before the reaction front can reach the core, an increasing part of core N org chemically stabilizes in the form of nitrogen atoms substituting for carbon in condensed, partially aromatic systems forming graphite-like structural domains with delocalized π-electron systems (nitrogen atoms substituting for "graphitic" carbon in natural metamorphic organic matter). Thus, this nitrogen species with a conservative isotopic composition is the dominant form of residual nitrogen at higher metamorphic grade.

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“…Furthermore, in chert A458 the C is intrinsically linked to N (Figure 4b). An abiotic production of N as ammonia through the [Hayes et al, 1983;Beaumont and Robert, 1999;Ueno et al, 2004;Jia and Kerrich, 2004;van Zuilen et al, 2005;Kerrich et al, 2006]; Neoarchean BIFs [Beaumont and Robert, 1999;; in metacarbonates of Isua, West Greenland [van Zuilen et al, 2005] which could represent abiotic N; and modern marine organic matter [Shen et al, 2006] Haber-Bosch process is a very slow reaction and requires high temperatures (400-500°C) and pressures (from 200 bar to several MPa) [Asperger, 2003]. There is no indication for such conditions being applicable to the studied samples.…”

Section: And N Origin In Iron Layersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogenic nitrogen and carbon in Fe‐Mn‐oxyhydroxides from an Archean chert, Marble Bar, Western Australia

Pinti

Hashizume

Orberger

et al. 2007

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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[1] To quantify and localize nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) in Archean rocks from the Marble Bar formation, Western Australia, and to gain insights on their origin and potential biogenicity, we conducted nuclear reaction analyses (NRA) and carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio measurements on various samples from the 3460-Myr-old Fe-rich Marble Bar chert. The Marble Bar chert formed during the alteration of basaltic volcanoclastic rocks with Fe-and Si-rich hydrothermal fluids, and the subsequent precipitation of magnetite, carbonates, massive silica, and, locally, sulfides. At a later stage, the magnetite, sulfides, and carbonates were replaced by Fe-Mn-oxyhydroxides. Nuclear reaction analyses indicate that most of the N and C resides within these Fe-Mn-oxyhydroxides, but a minor fraction is found in K-feldspars and Ba-mica dispersed in the silica matrix. The N and C isotopic composition of Fe-oxides suggests the presence of a unique biogenic source with d 15 N AIR values from +6.0 ± 0.5% to 7.3 ± 1.1% and a d 13 C PDB value of À19.9 ± 0.1%. The C and N isotope ratios are similar to those observed in Proterozoic and Phanerozoic organic matter. Diffusion-controlled fractionation of N and C released during high combustion temperatures indicates that these two elements are firmly embedded within the iron oxides, with activation energies of 18.7 ± 3.7 kJ/mol for N and 13.0 ± 3.8 kJ/mol for C. We propose that N and C were chemisorbed on iron and were subsequently embedded in the crystals during iron oxidation and crystal growth. The Fe-isotopic composition of the Marble Bar chert (d 56 Fe = À0.38 ± 0.02%) is similar to that measured in iron oxides formed by direct precipitation of iron from hydrothermal plumes in contact G 3

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Nitrogen and argon isotopic signatures in graphite from the 3.8-Ga-old Isua Supracrustal Belt, Southern West Greenland

Cited by 54 publications

References 50 publications

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Organic nitrogen chemistry during low-grade metamorphism

Biogenic nitrogen and carbon in Fe‐Mn‐oxyhydroxides from an Archean chert, Marble Bar, Western Australia

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