Organic diagenesis in stromatolitic dolomite and chert from the late Palaeoproterozoic McLeary Formation

Gabriel, Nadine W.; Papineau, Dominic; She, Zhenbing; Leider, Arne; Fogel, Marilyn L.

doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2020.106052

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…Organic matter often occurs in diagenetic mineral relationships with ferric-ferrous oxide and anatase, both of which form fine-grained disseminations through the dolomite groundmass. The common presence of anatase and minor rutile in the Kasegalik Fm is comparable to observations in stratigraphically overlying stromatolites from the McLeary Fm (Gabriel et al, 2021). Biotic weathering of ilmenite ( FeTiO3) is known to result in the mineralisation of hematite and anatase (Schroeder et al, 2004;Bower et al, 2015), which might explain higher anatase concentration in the siltier, detrital-rich Pethei Gp carbonates.…”

Section: Diagenetic Organo-mineral Biosignaturessupporting

confidence: 69%

“…This suggestion is supported by clouds of acicular anatase in spatial association with OM (Fig. 10A), similar to TiO2 needles in McLeary stromatolites (Gabriel et al, 2021), as well as spherical micron-sized grains on anatase (Fig. 10B) which may relate to original cellular material.…”

Section: Diagenetic Organo-mineral Biosignaturesmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…2.06 Ga (Martin et al, 2013). Post-depositional diagenetic oxidation of OM has been proposed as an important process during this event and may have produced abiotic botryoidal or concretionary textures as seen in cherty stromatolites previously identified in the Belcher sequence (Gabriel et al, 2021), similarly to apatite rosettes in stromatolitic phosphorite (Papineau et al, 2016), and granules in chert (Papineau et al, 2017;Dodd et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

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Biosignatures Associated with Organic Matter in Late Paleoproterozoic Stromatolitic Dolomite and Implications for Martian Carbonates

GOODWIN

Papineau

2022

Astrobiology

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The documentation of biosignatures inPrecambrian rocks is an important requirement in the search for evidence of life on other ancient planetary surfaces. Three major kinds of biosignatures are crucially important: primary microbial sedimentary textures, diagenetic organo-mineral assemblages, and stable isotope compositions. This study presents new petrographic, mineralogical, and organic geochemical analyses of biosignatures in dolomitic stromatolites from the Pethei Group (N.W.T., Canada) and the Kasegalik Formation of the Belcher Group (Nunavut, Canada). Both are approximately contemporary late Paleoproterozoic stromatolite-bearing dolomitic units deposited after the Great Oxidation Event. Micro-Raman and optical microscopy are used to identify and characterise possible diagenetic biosignatures, which include close spatial association of diagenetic materials (such as ferrous-ferric oxide and anatase) with disseminated organic matter, dolomitic groundmass textures, and mineralised balls. Many of these petrographic relationships point to the oxidation of organic matter either biotically or abiotically in association with iron reduction and chemically oscillating reactions. Oxidation of organic matter in these stromatolites is consistent with the widespread oxidation of biomass during the late Paleoproterozoic Shunga-Francevillian Event. Biosignatures identified in this study are also compared to possible carbonate outcrops on Mars, and thereby contribute a basis for comparison with potential biosignatures in ancient Martian terrains. Similarities are drawn between the paleoenvironments of the studied units to the Isidis and Chryse planitia as locations for potential extraterrestrial dolomitic stromatolites.

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Section: Diagenetic Organo-mineral Biosignaturessupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Diagenetic Organo-mineral Biosignaturesmentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

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Biosignatures Associated with Organic Matter in Late Paleoproterozoic Stromatolitic Dolomite and Implications for Martian Carbonates

GOODWIN

Papineau

2022

Astrobiology

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“…COR and the BZ reaction have also been overlooked in models of mineralogy, sedimentary diagenesis, and palaeontology. For instance, there is great potential for COR to explain the patterns and substances of mineralised objects such as botryoids associated with stromatolites [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], concretions with fossils [ 1 , 35 ], granules with microfossils [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ], and rosettes with stromatolites and microfossils [ 1 , 35 , 40 ]. These spheroidal objects all have the same characteristics, and beyond their associations with fossils, they all have circularly concentric and radially aligned mineral patterns that are attributable to COR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Similar Patterns from Abiotic Decarboxylation Metabolism through Chemically Oscillating Reactions: A Prebiotic Model for the Origin of Life

Papineau

Devine

Nogueira

2023

Life

Self Cite

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The origin of life must have included an abiotic stage of carbon redox reactions that involved electron transport chains and the production of lifelike patterns. Chemically oscillating reactions (COR) are abiotic, spontaneous, out-of-equilibrium, and redox reactions that involve the decarboxylation of carboxylic acids with strong oxidants and strong acids to produce CO2 and characteristic self-similar patterns. Those patterns have circular concentricity, radial geometries, characteristic circular twins, colour gradients, cavity structures, and branching to parallel alignment. We propose that COR played a role during the prebiotic cycling of carboxylic acids, furthering the new model for geology where COR can also explain the patterns of diagenetic spheroids in sediments. The patterns of COR in Petri dishes are first considered and compared to those observed in some eukaryotic lifeforms. The molecular structures and functions of reactants in COR are then compared to key biological metabolic processes. We conclude that the newly recognised similarities in compositions and patterns warrant future research to better investigate the role of halogens in biochemistry; COR in life-forms, including in humans; and the COR-stage of prebiotic carbon cycling on other planets, such as Mars.

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“…The concept of self-similarity is used here in the same sense as when used to describe fractal patterns, which are patterns of the same kind that repeat over many dimension scales. Recently, it has been proposed that chemically oscillating reactions might be responsible for the formation of these features in 'diagenetic spheroids' that are commonly circularly concentric, which include botryoids, geodes, concretions, nodules, granules, and rosettes [4][5][6][7][8]. The new model thus proposes an authigenic, diagenetic origin from nanoscopic precipitates of quartz (or opal), apatite, or carbonate in which these reactions oxidise organic matter (not necessarily from biomass) into carbonate, with the presence of strong oxidants and acids.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemically Oscillating Reactions during the Diagenetic Formation of Ediacaran Siliceous and Carbonate Botryoids

et al. 2021

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Chemically oscillating reactions are abiotic reactions that produce characteristic, periodic patterns during the oxidation of carboxylic acids. They have been proposed to occur during the early diagenesis of sediments that contain organic matter and to partly explain the patterns of some enigmatic spheroids in malachite, phosphorite, jasper chert, and stromatolitic chert from the rock record. In this work, circularly concentric self-similar patterns are shown to form in new chemically oscillating reaction experiments with variable mixtures of carboxylic acids and colloidal silica. This is carried out to best simulate in vitro the diagenetic formation of botryoidal quartz and carbonate in two Ediacaran-age geological formations deposited after the Marinoan–Nantuo snowball Earth event in South China. Experiments performed with alkaline colloidal silica (pH of 12) show that this compound directly participates in pattern formation, whereas those with humic acid particles did not. These experiments are particularly noteworthy since they show that pattern formation is not inhibited by strong pH gradients, since the classical Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction occurs in solution with a pH around 2. Our documentation of hundreds of classical Belousov–Zhabotinsky experiments yields a number of self-similar patterns akin to those in concretionary structures after the Marinoan–Nantuo snowball Earth event. Morphological, compositional, and size dimensional comparisons are thus established between patterns from these experiments and in botryoidal quartz and carbonate from the Doushantuo and Denying formations. Selected specimens exhibit circularly concentric layers and disseminations of organic matter in quartz and carbonate, which also occurs in association with sub-micron-size pyrite and sub-millimetre iron oxides within these patterns. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) analyses of organic matter extracted from dolomite concretions in slightly younger, early Cambrian Niutitang Formation reveal the presence of carboxylic and N-bearing molecular functional groups. Such mineral assemblages, patterns, and compositions collectively suggest that diagenetic redox reactions take place during the abiotic decay of biomass, and that they involve Fe, sulphate, and organic matter, similarly to the pattern-forming experiments. It is concluded that chemically oscillating reactions are at least partly responsible for the formation of diagenetic siliceous spheroids and concretionary carbonate, which can relate to various other persistent problems in Earth and planetary sciences.

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Organic diagenesis in stromatolitic dolomite and chert from the late Palaeoproterozoic McLeary Formation

Cited by 9 publications

References 101 publications

Biosignatures Associated with Organic Matter in Late Paleoproterozoic Stromatolitic Dolomite and Implications for Martian Carbonates

Biosignatures Associated with Organic Matter in Late Paleoproterozoic Stromatolitic Dolomite and Implications for Martian Carbonates

Self-Similar Patterns from Abiotic Decarboxylation Metabolism through Chemically Oscillating Reactions: A Prebiotic Model for the Origin of Life

Chemically Oscillating Reactions during the Diagenetic Formation of Ediacaran Siliceous and Carbonate Botryoids

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