The Late Archaean bonanza: metallogenic and environmental consequences of the interaction between mantle plumes, lithospheric tectonics and global cyclicity

Barley, Mark; Krapež, Bryan; Groves, David; Kerrich, Robert

doi:10.1016/s0301-9268(98)00039-4

Cited by 124 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…It has similarly been suggested that the presence of Superiortype iron formations in the Archean and early Proterozoic may reflect special oceanic conditions, when large amounts of hydrothermal iron were introduced into the oceans. This suggestion links the deposition of large iron formations to mantle plume breakout events and formation of large volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, sea-level rise, and deposition of organic matter-rich sulfidic shales (e.g., Barley et al 1998;Condie et al 2001;Bekker et al 2010) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Geological Record Of Banded Iron Formationmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…6 Oxygenation likely continued during the Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion but we are concerned here about the first pervasive oxidation reflected by the transition from MIF to MDF of sulfur isotopes. 7 We add the cautionary note that the role of hydrothermal activity which has clearly affected other records (e.g., Isley 1995;Barley et al 1997Barley et al , 1998Isley and Abott 1999;Condie et al 2001) is unclear and should be carefully considered in directly tying this evidence to low level transient oxygenation and oxidative weathering of sulfide minerals. As discussed above, low-temperature hydrothermal Mo flux could have been quantitatively important under Archean anoxic conditions.…”

Section: Interpretation Of Minor Sulfur Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geological constraints on the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis

2010

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This article examines the geological evidence for the rise of atmospheric oxygen and the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. The evidence for the rise of atmospheric oxygen places a minimum time constraint before which oxygenic photosynthesis must have developed, and was subsequently established as the primary control on the atmospheric oxygen level. The geological evidence places the global rise of atmospheric oxygen, termed the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), between ~2.45 and ~2.32 Ga, and it is captured within the Duitschland Formation, which shows a transition from mass-independent to mass-dependent sulfur isotope fractionation. The rise of atmospheric oxygen during this interval is closely associated with a number of environmental changes, such as glaciations and intense continental weathering, and led to dramatic changes in the oxidation state of the ocean and the seawater inventory of transition elements. There are other features of the geologic record predating the GOE by as much as 200-300 million years, perhaps extending as far back as the Mesoarchean-Neoarchean boundary at 2.8 Ga, that suggest the presence of low level, transient or local, oxygenation. If verified, these features would not only imply an earlier origin for oxygenic photosynthesis, but also require a mechanism to decouple oxygen production from oxidation of Earth's surface environments. Most hypotheses for the GOE suggest that oxygen production by oxygenic photosynthesis is a precondition for the rise of oxygen, but that a synchronous change in atmospheric oxygen level is not required by the onset of this oxygen source. The potential lag-time in the response of Earth surface environments is related to the way that oxygen sinks, such as reduced Fe and sulfur compounds, respond to oxygen production. Changes in oxygen level imply an imbalance in the sources and sinks for oxygen. Changes in the cycling of oxygen have occurred at various times before and after the GOE, and do not appear to require corresponding changes in the intensity of oxygenic photosynthesis. The available geological constraints for these changes do not, however, disallow a direct role for this metabolism. The geological evidence for early oxygen and hypotheses for the controls on oxygen level are the basis for the interpretation of photosynthetic oxygen production as examined in this review.

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Section: Geological Record Of Banded Iron Formationmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Interpretation Of Minor Sulfur Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geological constraints on the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis

2010

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“…1j). It is tempting to link these records together in a model of enhanced mantle convection, perhaps due to a series of mantle plumes (Barley et al 1998), slab avalanches (Condie 1998), or both. Stabilization of cratonic lithosphere was widespread from 2.7 to 2.5 Ga (Bleeker 2003), and the consequent emergence of continents (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeoproterozoic supercontinents and global evolution: correlations from core to atmosphere

Reddy

Evans

2009

115

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The Palaeoproterozoic era was a time of profound change in Earth evolution and represented perhaps the first supercontinent cycle, from the amalgamation and dispersal of a possible Neoarchaean supercontinent to the formation of the 1.9-1.8 Ga supercontinent Nuna. This supercontinent cycle, although currently lacking in palaeogeographic detail, can in principle provide a contextual framework to investigate the relationships between deep-Earth and surface processes. In this article, we graphically summarize secular evolution from the Earth's core to its atmosphere, from the Neoarchaean to the Mesoproterozoic eras (specifically 3.0-1.2 Ga), to reveal intriguing temporal relationships across the various 'spheres' of the Earth system. At the broadest level our compilation confirms an important deep-Earth event at c. 2.7 Ga that is manifested in an abrupt increase in geodynamo palaeointensity, a peak in the global record of large igneous provinces, and a broad maximum in several mantle-depletion proxies. Temporal coincidence with juvenile continental crust production and orogenic gold, massive-sulphide and porphyry copper deposits, indicate enhanced mantle convection linked to a series of mantle plumes and/or slab avalanches. The subsequent stabilization of cratonic lithosphere, the possible development of Earth's first supercontinent and the emergence of the continents led to a changing surface environment in which voluminous banded iron-formations could accumulate on the continental margins and photosynthetic life could flourish. This in turn led to irreversible atmospheric oxidation at 2.4-2.3 Ga, extreme events in global carbon cycling, and the possible dissipation of a former methane greenhouse atmosphere that resulted in extensive Palaeoproterozoic ice ages. Following the great oxidation event, shallow marine sulphate levels rose, sediment-hosted and iron-oxide-rich metal deposits became abundant, and the transition to sulphide-stratified oceans provided the environment for early eukaryotic evolution. Recent advances in the geochronology of the global stratigraphic record have made these inferences possible. Frontiers for future research include more refined modelling of Earth's thermal and geodynamic evolution, palaeomagnetic studies of geodynamo intensity and continental motions, further geochronology and tectonic syntheses at regional levels, development of new isotopic systems to constrain geochemical cycles, and continued innovation in the search for records of early life in relation to changing palaeoenvironments.

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“…Huston and Logan (2004) pointed out that the largest peak in Algoma-type BIF deposition corresponds to a major plume event at 2.75 to 2.70 Ga, but that not all plume events correspond to Algoma-type BIF deposition. Barley et al (1998) related Archean BIF deposition to the interplay among tectonics, magmatism, and eustacy. Algoma-type BIFs were regarded to reflect intrabasinal pulses of magmatic and hydrothermal activity during the deposition of volcano-sedimentary greenstone successions, whereas Superior-type BIFs formed on continental shelves during periods of global high sea levels and pulses of enhanced magmatic and hydrothermal activity.…”

Section: Superior-and Algoma-type Iron Formations Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iron Formation: The Sedimentary Product of a Complex Interplay among Mantle, Tectonic, Oceanic, and Biospheric Processes

Bekker¹,

Krapež²,

Slack³

et al. 2010

Economic Geology

852

494

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Iron formations are economically important sedimentary rocks that are most common in Precambrian sedimentary successions. Although many aspects of their origin remain unresolved, it is widely accepted that secular changes in the style of their deposition are linked to environmental and geochemical evolution of Earth. Two types of Precambrian iron formations have been recognized with respect to their depositional setting. Algoma-type iron formations are interlayered with or stratigraphically linked to submarine-emplaced volcanic rocks in greenstone belts and, in some cases, with volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits. In contrast, larger Superior-type iron formations are developed in passive-margin sedimentary rock successions and generally lack direct relationships with volcanic rocks. The early distinction made between these two iron-formation types, although mimimized by later studies, remains a valid first approximation. Texturally, iron formations were also divided into two groups. Banded iron formation (BIF) is dominant in Archean to earliest Paleoproterozoic successions, whereas granular iron formation (GIF) is much more common in Paleoproterozoic successions. Secular changes in the style of iron-formation deposition, identified more than 20 years ago, have been linked to diverse environmental changes. Geochronologic studies emphasize the episodic nature of the deposition of giant iron formations, as they are coeval with, and genetically linked to, time periods when large igneous provinces (LIPs) were emplaced. Superior-type iron formation first appeared at ca. 2.6 Ga, when construction of large continents changed the heat flux at the core-mantle boundary. From ca. 2.6 to ca. 2.4 Ga, global mafic magmatism culminated in the deposition of giant Superior-type BIF in South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine. The younger BIFs in this age range were deposited during the early stage of a shift from reducing to oxidizing conditions in the ocean-atmosphere system. Counterintuitively, enhanced magmatism at 2.50 to 2.45 Ga may have triggered atmospheric oxidation. After the rise of atmospheric oxygen during the GOE at ca. 2.4 Ga, GIF became abundant in the rock record, compared to the predominance of BIF prior to the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). Iron formations generally disappeared at ca. 1.85 Ga, reappearing at the end of the Neoproterozoic, again tied to periods of intense magmatic activity and also, in this case, to global glaciations, the so-called Snowball Earth events. By the Phanerozoic, marine iron deposition was restricted to local areas of closed to semiclosed basins, where volcanic and hydrothermal activity was extensive (e.g., backarc basins), with ironstones additionally being linked to periods of intense magmatic activity and ocean anoxia.Late Paleoproterozoic iron formations and Paleozoic ironstones were deposited at the redoxcline where biological and nonbiological oxidation occurred. In contrast, older iron formations were deposited in anoxic oceans, where ferrous iron oxid...

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The Late Archaean bonanza: metallogenic and environmental consequences of the interaction between mantle plumes, lithospheric tectonics and global cyclicity

Cited by 124 publications

References 99 publications

Geological constraints on the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis

Geological constraints on the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis

Palaeoproterozoic supercontinents and global evolution: correlations from core to atmosphere

Iron Formation: The Sedimentary Product of a Complex Interplay among Mantle, Tectonic, Oceanic, and Biospheric Processes

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