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Donald R Lowe - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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sedimentology of the 3 3 ga upper mendon formation barberton greenstone belt south africa
Precambrian Research, 2016Co-Authors: Elizabeth J Trower, Donald R LoweAbstract:The Mendon Formation is the uppermost unit of the 3.5-3.26 Ga Onverwacht Group in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. It consists of a cyclic stack of komatiitic volcanic units separated by thin Cherty sedimentary layers. In most areas, the uppermost Mendon Formation is a sedimentary interval characterized by black Chert, banded black-and-white Chert, and banded ferruginous Chert, although the detailed patterns of lithofacies in different sections are more complex. Previously reported zircon U/Pb ages suggest that Mendon deposition could represent more than 70 Myr of time between ∼3,334 Ma and ∼3,260 Ma. This study presents sedimentological and petrographic observations of the upper Mendon Formation from across the central part of the Barberton Greenstone Belt in order to investigate sediment sources, depositional processes, and environments of sedimentation. The dominant mode of sedimentation was quiet settling of carbonaceous grains and, in the deepest sections below storm wave base, fine ferruginous material, resulting in finely laminated black and grey Chert. In situ carbonaceous laminations are rare, suggesting that benthic microbial mat growth had little direct influence on deposition. The hemipelagic background deposition was punctuated by occasional inputs of fine pyroclastic debris, formation and deposition of silica granules, and reworking by infrequent storm events. Storm deposits are represented by coarse-grained, poorly-sorted intraclast breccias, some of which include distinctive intraclasts sampling lithofacies that are not observed in situ. Despite considerable lateral variability, correlative temporal trends are resolvable in many Mendon sections: there is an upward-deepening of the overall depositional setting recorded in the oldest upper Mendon sections, consistent with the previous interpretation that Mendon time was characterized by rifting ( Lowe, 1994a; Lowe, 1999a). Younger Mendon cycles include thick, relatively ferruginous basal sections, interpreted to reflect the deepest water deposition. These sections are capped by black Chert and silicified ashes with more evidence of disturbance and reworking by storms, reflecting gradual shoaling. This sedimentological analysis is broadly consistent with previous geochemical and tectonic analyses and provides a better picture of depositional patterns during uppermost Onverwacht time, before the distinct change in tectonic regime marked by impact spherule layer S2 and the onset of Fig Tree Group orogenesis and related siliciclastic deposition.
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texture specific si isotope variations in barberton greenstone belt Cherts record low temperature fractionations in early archean seawater
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2015Co-Authors: Elizabeth J T Stefurak, Woodward W Fischer, Donald R LoweAbstract:Sedimentary Cherts are unusually abundant in early Archean (pre-3.0 Ga) sequences, suggesting a silica cycle that was profoundly different than the modern system. Previously applied for the purpose of paleothermometry, Si isotopes in ancient Cherts can offer broader insight into mass fluxes and mechanisms associated with silica concentration, precipitation, diagenesis, and metamorphism. Early Archean Cherts contain a rich suite of sedimentological and petrographic textures that document a history of silica deposition, cementation, silicification, and recrystallization. To add a new layer of insight into the chemistry of early Cherts, we have used wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy and then secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to produce elemental and Si and O isotope ratio data from banded black-and-white Cherts from the Onverwacht Group of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. This geochemical data is then interpreted in the framework of depositional and diagenetic timing of silica precipitation provided by geological observations. SIMS allows the comparison of Si and O isotope ratios of distinct silica phases, including black carbonaceous Chert beds and bands (many including well-defined sedimentary grains), white relatively pure Chert bands including primary silica granules, early cavity-filling cements, and later quartz-filled veins. Including all Chert types and textures analyzed, the δ^(30)Si dataset spans a range from −4.78‰ to +3.74‰, with overall mean 0.20‰, median 0.51‰, and standard deviation 1.30‰ (n = 1087). Most samples have broadly similar δ^(30)Si distributions, but systematic texture-specific δ^(30)Si differences are observed between white Chert bands (mean +0.60‰, n = 750), which contain textures that represent primary and earliest diagenetic silica phases, and later cavity-filling cements (mean −1.41‰, n = 198). We observed variations at a ∼100 μm scale indicating a lack of Si isotope homogenization at this scale during diagenesis and metamorphism, although fractionations during diagenetic phase transformations may have affected certain textures. We interpret these systematic variations to reflect fractionation during silica precipitation as well as isotopically distinct fluids from which later phases originated. SIMS δ^(18)O values fall in a range from 16.39‰ to 23.39‰ (n = 381), similar to previously published data from bulk gas source mass spectrometry of Onverwacht Cherts. We observed only limited examples of texture-related variation in δ^(18)O and did not observe correlation of δ^(18)O with δ^(30)Si trends. This is consistent with hypotheses that Si isotope ratios are more resistant to alteration under conditions of rock-buffered diagenesis (Marin-Carbonne et al., 2011). Our results indicate that low temperature processes fractionated silicon isotopes in early Archean marine basins, a behavior that probably precludes the application of Chert δ^(30)Si as a robust paleothermometer. The values we observe for facies that sedimentological and petrographic observations indicate formed as primary and earliest diagenetic silica precipitates from seawater are more ^(30)Si-rich than that expected for bulk silicate Earth. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the silicon isotope budget is balanced by the coeval deposition of ^(30)Si-enriched Cherts and ^(30)Si-depleted iron formation lithologies. Precipitation of authigenic clay minerals in both terrestrial and marine settings may have also comprised a large ^(30)Si-depleted sink, with the corollary of an important non-carbonate alkalinity sink consuming cations released by silicate weathering.
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high archean climatic temperature inferred from oxygen isotope geochemistry of Cherts in the 3 5 ga swaziland supergroup south africa
Geological Society of America Bulletin, 2003Co-Authors: Paul L Knauth, Donald R LoweAbstract:New and compiled oxygen isotope data combined with the results of geological and sedimentological studies demonstrate that enclaves of synsedimentary to very early diagenetic Cherts are widely preserved in the 3.5-3.2 Ga Swaziland Supergroup, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa. The low δ 1 8 O values of these Cherts indicate extremely high ocean temperatures of 55-85 °C. Previously, the large depletion in 1 8 O shown by all Barberton Cherts relative to their Phanerozoic counterparts has been attributed to low 1 8 O in Archean oceans, Chert formation during late diagenesis, wholesale loss of 1 8 O during alteration, and/ or regional silicification of sediments around hot springs. These alternative explanations are not compatible with the new results. Cherts in the Onverwacht Group display an isotopic stratigraphy that is inversely repeated in conglomerates in the overlying Fig Tree and Moodies Groups, demonstrating that the Chert δ 8 0 O values were fixed prior to Archean uplift and erosion, which started at 3.26 Ga. The maximum δ 1 8 O value in Barberton Cherts (+22‰) is lower than the minimum values (+23‰) in Phanerozoic bedded Cherts, precluding late diagenesis as the explanation of the overall low δ 1 8 O values. Regional metamorphic, hydrothermal, or long-term resetting of original δ 1 8 O values is also precluded by preservation of δ 1 8 O values across different metamorphic grades and by systematic δ 1 8 O differences among interbedded Chert types, stratigraphic units, and conglomerate clasts. The 7‰ δ 1 8 O variation of these Archean Cherts is similar to that of Phanerozoic deep-sea Cherts-formed when opal converted to microquartz during burial-but the actual Archean values are ∼10‰ lower. Marine opal was apparently converted to microquartz during burial to depths of <1 km. Cherts with δ 1 8 O < 15‰ reflect conversion during deepest burial or in local areas of enhanced geothermal gradient and/ or hydrothermal activity. Cherts with higher δ 1 8 O values formed during early diagenesis and indicate an extremely hot Archean ocean and surface environment.
Charles H. Wellman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Filamentous green algae from the Early Devonian Rhynie Chert
PalZ, 2019Co-Authors: Charles H. Wellman, Linda E. Graham, Louise A. LewisAbstract:A relatively neglected element of the biota of the Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert Lagerstätte are filamentous green algae exceptionally preserved by silicification. Palynological processing of sediments associated with the Cherts has yielded palynomorphs that we also interpret as the remains of filamentous green algae and one such taxon is described herein. Cells occur individually, in masses or joined end-to-end as an unbranched filament. The cells are characterised by end walls that form a ‘collar’ structure and inner bodies interpreted as reproductive structures. Because of a lack of preserved characters taxonomic precision is limited, although we suggest the fossils are most likely either zygnematalean or oedogonialean algae that inhabited ponds or lakes and were either attached to substrates and/or free-floating.
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A high-precision U–Pb age constraint on the Rhynie Chert Konservat-Lagerstätte: time scale and other implications
2016Co-Authors: S F Parry, S R Noble, Quentin G Crowley, Charles H. WellmanAbstract:An isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon age of 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma obtained from an andesitic lava occurring within the Lower Devonian Rhynie Outlier (Aberdeenshire, NE Scotland) effectively dates the Rhynie Chert Konservat-Lagerstätte. Biostratigraphical constraints on the Rhynie Chert-bearing succession indicate that this age lies within the interval early (but not earliest) Pragian–(?)earliest Emsian. Accordingly, the Pragian–Emsian boundary must post-date or closely approximate to 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma, while the Lochkovian–Pragian boundary must predate 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma. Integration of this new high-precision age with an improved temporal framework for late Caledonian intrusive activity in NE Scotland suggests that the Rhynie hot-spring system (the ‘parental' hydrothermal system to the Rhynie Cherts) was unrelated to any ‘Newer Granite' intrusion. Rhynie was instead powered by a basaltic andesite magma whose generation and ascent were directly linked to the transcurrent fault movements responsible for the formation of the Rhynie basin.
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a high precision u pb age constraint on the rhynie Chert konservat lagerstatte time scale and other implications
Journal of the Geological Society, 2011Co-Authors: S F Parry, S R Noble, Quentin G Crowley, Charles H. WellmanAbstract:Abstract: An isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon age of 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma obtained from an andesitic lava occurring within the Lower Devonian Rhynie Outlier (Aberdeenshire, NE Scotland) effectively dates the Rhynie Chert Konservat-Lagerstatte. Biostratigraphical constraints on the Rhynie Chert-bearing succession indicate that this age lies within the interval early (but not earliest) Pragian–(?)earliest Emsian. Accordingly, the Pragian–Emsian boundary must post-date or closely approximate to 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma, while the Lochkovian–Pragian boundary must predate 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma. Integration of this new high-precision age with an improved temporal framework for late Caledonian intrusive activity in NE Scotland suggests that the Rhynie hot-spring system (the ‘parental9 hydrothermal system to the Rhynie Cherts) was unrelated to any ‘Newer Granite9 intrusion. Rhynie was instead powered by a basaltic andesite magma whose generation and ascent were directly linked to the transcurrent fault movements responsible for the formation of the Rhynie basin. Supplementary material: Details of analytical techniques (ID-TIMS U–Pb geochronology) and photomicrographs of zircon and titanite grains recovered from the Milton of Noth Andesite are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18463.
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a high precision u pb age constraint on the rhynie Chert konservat lagerstatte time scale and other implications
Journal of the Geological Society, 2011Co-Authors: S F Parry, S R Noble, Quentin G Crowley, Charles H. WellmanAbstract:Abstract: An isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon age of 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma obtained from an andesitic lava occurring within the Lower Devonian Rhynie Outlier (Aberdeenshire, NE Scotland) effectively dates the Rhynie Chert Konservat-Lagerstatte. Biostratigraphical constraints on the Rhynie Chert-bearing succession indicate that this age lies within the interval early (but not earliest) Pragian–(?)earliest Emsian. Accordingly, the Pragian–Emsian boundary must post-date or closely approximate to 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma, while the Lochkovian–Pragian boundary must predate 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma. Integration of this new high-precision age with an improved temporal framework for late Caledonian intrusive activity in NE Scotland suggests that the Rhynie hot-spring system (the ‘parental9 hydrothermal system to the Rhynie Cherts) was unrelated to any ‘Newer Granite9 intrusion. Rhynie was instead powered by a basaltic andesite magma whose generation and ascent were directly linked to the transcurrent fault movements responsible for the formation of the Rhynie basin. Supplementary material: Details of analytical techniques (ID-TIMS U–Pb geochronology) and photomicrographs of zircon and titanite grains recovered from the Milton of Noth Andesite are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18463.
Balz S. Kamber - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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archean Cherts in banded iron formation insight into neoarchean ocean chemistry and depositional processes
Precambrian Research, 2012Co-Authors: P C Thurston, Balz S. Kamber, Martin J. WhitehouseAbstract:This study reports new REE+Y and 3-isotope sulfur data for Archean banded iron formation and volcaniclastic rocks with Cherty bed tops in the Neoarchean Abitibi greenstone belt of Canada. The data were analyzed with a view to better constrain Neoarchean ocean chemistry, atmospheric conditions prevalent during weathering and transport, the development of Algoma-type banded iron formation and the overall process of stratigraphic development of greenstone belts. The Abitibi greenstone belt consists of 7 mafic to felsic volcanic cycles, each capped by a sedimentary interface zone consisting of chemical and minor clastic metasediments. We concentrated sampling on the iron formation capping the ca. 2730 Ma Deloro assemblage as it occurs over a wide area (300 km x 600 km) and because there is a substantial depositional gap prior to deposition of the overlying volcanic rocks. Volcaniclastic rocks within the ca. 2710 Ma Tisdale assemblage were also sampled. Chemical analyses focussed on the SiO2-rich portion of the samples and were conducted by laser ablation ICP-MS. In situ analysis of S isotopes was obtained for pyrite by ion probe. REE data display four types of patterns: (1) hydrothermally influenced marine hydrogenous sediment, (2) contaminated, hydrothermally influenced marine hydrogenous sediment, (3) hydrothermally dominated patterns, and (4) replacement patterns indicating silicification of precursor volcanic units. Contamination and/or the presence of non-Chert components were documented with Th. U and Zr content. Non-Chert components were defined as: (1) phosphates that led to elevated Th/U, (2) clastic detritus leading to flat shale normalized REE patterns, and (3) volcanic detritus leading to elevated values for Zr. No meaningful difference in REE+Y geochemistry as a function of elevated Th/U was found implying that phosphates have the same REE patterns as the host Chert. The Cherts within banded iron formation exhibited stratigraphic variation in several localities, progressing from replacement chemistry (flat REE profile) at the base, hydrogenous sediment geochemistry (positive La, Gd, Y/Ho anomalies) in the middle part and hydrothermal patterns (depleted LREE, elevated positive Eu anomalies) in the upper part. The upper parts of some units also display +Ce anomalies possibly reflective of more oxygenated water also supported by S isotope data. A consistent increase in Pr/Vb in the upper parts of units is postulated to reflect shallowing upward of depositional depth to an unknown extent but not above storm wave base. A number of samples with flat REE patterns lacking La and Gd anomalies represent hydrothermal deposition with the largest Eu/Eu* values recorded for Archean iron formation. The main contribution of the Abitibi banded iron formations is that they provide a deeper water perspective on Archean ocean chemistry. The resulting picture is that of slow BIF accumulation, a generally strong hydrothermal input of REE and complex oceanic cycling, possibly involving a chemocline above the sampled water depth. The new sulfur isotope data show a greater extent of mass independent fractionation than previously recorded for the Neoarchean, with 6,Delta S-33 ranging from -1.4 to +4.2 parts per thousand.. The strongly MIF positive source (Delta S-33=+4 parts per thousand) was apparently similar to Paleoarchean values. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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high precision rare earth element nickel and chromium chemistry of Chert microbands pre screened with in situ analysis
Chemical Geology, 2011Co-Authors: Geoffrey J Baldwin, P C Thurston, Balz S. KamberAbstract:The interbedded Chert and iron minerals of banded iron formation (BIF) provide an important window into the chemistry of the Precambrian ocean. Chert microbands have better preservation potential than the iron-rich bands but pose analytical challenges. The generally much lower concentration of trace elements in Chert require better detection limits and make Chert more susceptible to the influence of foreign materials such as ash or detritus. Without screening for chemical complexity, bulk chemical analyses may have limited significance. Here we report a new analytical protocol consisting of two steps. First it uses exploratory laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in situ analysis for identifying suitable Chert areas to be sub-sampled for solution ICP-MS analysis. Second, the subsampled Chert is digested and dried down, volatilizing the bulk of the matrix as SiF4. The solution can then be admitted to the ICP-MS at much lower dilution factors than common rock samples, resulting in detection limits for many of the rare earth elements at double or single digit ppt levels. This approach produces high quality trace element data even for Cherts with exceedingly low trace element contents. Significantly, such data approach primary chemical composition of the BIF better than conventional bulk analysis. It is also demonstrated, through selective digestions, that the most common types of mineralogical heterogeneity in Cherts - carbonate and iron-oxide minerals - have minimal effect on the REE + Y composition, at least in studied Cherts from the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The proposed combination of techniques will allow future studies of more refined trace element Chert geochemistry, providing a better understanding of Precambrian oceans and BIF deposition. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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trace elements record depositional history of an early archean stromatolitic carbonate platform
Chemical Geology, 2010Co-Authors: Balz S. Kamber, Abigail C Allwood, Malcolm R Walter, Ian W Burch, I KanikAbstract:Abstract Rare earth elements and selected trace elements were measured in 48 samples of carbonate and Chert from stromatolites and associated facies in the 3.45 billion year old Strelley Pool Formation, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. The samples show coherent REE+Y patterns that vary systematically with sedimentary facies. Chert samples from bedded Cherts beneath the Strelley Pool Formation and from the upper bedded Chert members in the formation show REE+Y patterns consistent with originating by precipitation from hydrothermal and mixed marine-hydrothermal fluids. In contrast, carbonates and Cherts from the stromatolitic reef member share the essential shale-normalized characteristics of other Archean marine precipitates (LREE depletion, positive La and Gd anomalies, absence of a negative Ce anomaly and a strongly superchondritic Y/Ho ratio). The close correspondence between REE+Y signatures and independent sedimentary facies interpretations is viewed as strong evidence for the primary nature of REE+Y patterns. They can thus be used as a proxy for the fluids from which sediments precipitated. Mixing hyperbolae can be constructed that reproduce the chemistry of Cherts and carbonates by mixing of hydrothermal and marine fluid endmembers throughout the entire vertical succession from beneath the Strelley Pool Formation to the uppermost Cherts. The mixing hyperbolae provide semi-quantitative confirmation that the trace element compositions across the suite of Cherts represent different mixtures of ambient seawater and hydrothermal fluids. Our results indicate that the Earth's oldest supracrustal carbonates and associated Cherts record important aspects of the REE geochemistry of the waters in which they precipitated, and provide valuable information on possible habitats of some of Earth's earliest biota.
Michael C Pope - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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high resolution sequence stratigraphy of the upper ordovician montoya group southern new mexico and western texas outcrop analog of an unconventional Chert and carbonate reservoir
AAPG Bulletin, 2014Co-Authors: Michael C PopeAbstract:The Upper Ordovician Montoya Group crops out in southern New Mexico and westernmost Texas and records predominantly subtidal deposition on a gently dipping carbonate ramp that was subsequently almost entirely dolomitized. The Montoya Group is a third-order composite sequence composed of six regionally correlative, shallowing-upward, third-order depositional sequences (M0–M5). Sequence M0 has sandstone at its base that is overlain by skeletal packstone-grainstone. Sequence M0 occurs only locally and was likely deposited in a topographic low formed during regional development of the unconformity following El Paso Group deposition. Sequence M1, marking the initial widespread transgression over the Ellenburger unconformity, consists of sandstone updip that passes downramp into skeletal packstone. The highstand systems tract (HST) of M1 consists of a prograding skeletal grainstone that was subaerially exposed upramp. Sequence M2, which contains the second-order maximum flooding surface, has abundant subtidal Cherty carbonate at its base, which shallows upward into a widespread, prograding coral packstone-grainstone in the HST. Sequence M3 also contains abundant downramp Chert that passes upramp into an aggrading crinoidal shoal and farther upramp into peritidal mudstone. Sequence M4 records an extensive basinward shift in facies as peritidal burrowed and cryptalgalaminated mudstone prograded over subtidal carbonate. Sequence M5 is only locally developed downramp and consists of crinoidal grainstone with abundant evidence of subaerial exposure. A regional unconformity separates the Montoya Group from the Silurian Fusselman Dolostone or younger units. Parasequences (meter-scale cycles) recording low- to moderate-amplitude relative sea level fluctuations are ubiquituous features at individual outcrops but are difficult to correlate regionally. The abundance of syn- or early depositional Chert in the subtidal facies indicates that the Montoya Group was deposited within a region of strong regional upwelling along southern Laurentia. This early formed Chert was the reservoir facies in a successful Upper Ordovician gas play in Ward and Reeves Counties, Texas.
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Cherty carbonate facies of the montoya group southern new mexico and western texas and its regional correlatives a record of late ordovician paleoceanography on southern laurentia
Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 2004Co-Authors: Michael C PopeAbstract:Abstract The Upper Ordovician Montoya Group in southern New Mexico and westernmost Texas records predominantly subtidal deposition on a gently dipping carbonate ramp that was subsequently nearly entirely dolomitized. The medial unit of the Montoya Group, the Aleman Formation is unique because it contains abundant Chert (10–70% by volume). The Chert occurs as: (1) thin continuous beds of sponge spicules within mudstone or calcisiltite; (2) discontinuous, lenses or nodules within skeletal wackestones and packstones; or (3) as a replacement of skeletal grains and burrows. Coeval skeletal grainstones and muddy peritidal facies contain little Chert. Phosphate (up to 5 wt.%) occurs within the underlying Upham Formation and the Aleman Formation as replacement of fossils and peloids. The abundance of Chert and phosphate in these subtidal facies indicates they formed within a region of strong upwelling. Regional correlation with Upper Ordovician Cherty units along the periphery of southern Laurentia and other low latitude continents suggests that upwelling was widespread and long-lived during the Late Ordovician. The upwelling is interpreted to record vigorous oceanic circulation produced by the onset of glaciation on Gondwana during this period. Late Ordovician relative sea-level curves around the periphery of Laurentia indicate correlative third-order (1–3 my duration) fluctuations that may provide a means for high-resolution global correlations. However, the mechanism(s) that produced these long-term fluctuations are unclear.
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widespread prolonged late middle to late ordovician upwelling in north america a proxy record of glaciation
Geology, 2003Co-Authors: Michael C Pope, Jessica B SteffenAbstract:Late Middle to Late Ordovician subtidal ramp carbonates of New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma contain abundant spiculitic Chert (to 70% Chert by volume) and phosphate (1–5 wt%), indicating that these rocks formed in an extensive upwelling zone. Upwelling began in the late Middle Ordovician (ca. 454 Ma) and persisted until the end of the Ordovician. Late Ordovician Cherty carbonates also occur along the U.S. Cordilleran margin, in board of organic-rich graptolitic shale and Chert. The widespread occurrence of Late Ordovician Cherty and phosphatic carbonates on southern and western Laurentia, in addition to phosphate-rich, cool-water carbonates over much of the North American Midcontinent, suggests vigorous thermohaline circulation related to prolonged (10–14 Ma) Gondwana glaciation.
Alan R T Spencer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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an introduction to the rhynie Chert
Geological Magazine, 2020Co-Authors: Russell J Garwood, Heather Oliver, Alan R T SpencerAbstract:The terrestrialization of life has profoundly affected the biosphere, geosphere and atmosphere, and the Geological Magazine has published key works charting the development of our understanding of this process. Integral to this understanding – and featuring in one of the Geological Magazine publications – is the Devonian Rhynie Chert Konservat-Lagerstatte located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Here we provide a review of the work on this important early terrestrial deposit to date. We begin by highlighting contributions of note in the Geological Magazine improving understanding of terrestrialization and Palaeozoic terrestrial ecosystems. We then introduce the Rhynie Chert. The review highlights its geological setting: the Caledonian context of the Rhynie Basin and its nature at the time of deposition of the Cherts which host its famous fossils. There follows an introduction to the development of the half-graben in which the Cherts and host sediments were deposited, the palaeoenvironment this represented and the taphonomy of the fossils themselves. We subsequently provide an overview of the mineralization and geochemistry of the deposit, and then the fossils found within the Rhynie Chert. These include: six plant genera, which continue to provide significant insights into the evolution of life on land; a range of different fungi, with recent work starting to probe plant–fungus interactions; lichens, amoebae and a range of unicellular eukaryotes and prokaryotes (algae and cyanobacteria); and finally a range of both aquatic and terrestrial arthropods. Through continued study coupled with methodological advances, Rhynie fossils will continue to provide unique insights into early life on land.