Affiliation:
1. State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling School of Earth Sciences and Engineering Nanjing University Nanjing China
2. School of Resources and Safety Engineering Chongqing University Chongqing China
3. College of Resources and Environmental Engineering Guizhou University Guiyang China
4. Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
Abstract
AbstractSeveral negative C isotope excursions (CIEs) occurred at the end of the Neoproterozoic era which have been generally attributed to the oxidation of organic carbon using sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor and the subsequent release of 13C‐depleted dissolved inorganic C (DIC). Based on new analyses from the Doushantuo Formation in South China, we observe a negative C isotope excursion right after the well‐known Shuram excursion. This excursion is equivalent to the ∼550 Ma negative CIE which is globally expressed within several continental margins. However, the origins of this CIE in the termination of Ediacaran remain unresolved. Here, we hypothesize that this post‐Shuram negative CIE was caused by a localized manganese cycling that began with the oxidation of hydrothermal Mn(II) in a water column to insoluble Mn(IV)‐oxide, followed by accumulation of Mn(IV)‐oxide to the seafloor and its subsequent dissolution via Mn(IV) reduction leading to the release of dissolved Mn(II) and 13C‐depleted DIC into ambient seawaters. This ultimately led to the precipitation of particulate Mn(II)‐carbonate characterized by low δ13Ccarb values ranging from −11.1‰ to −2.8‰. The presence of microbial fabrics in association with the Mn(II)‐carbonate further suggests that Mn(II)‐carbonate precipitation took place at the seafloor in shallow sun‐lit waters rather than in the deeper sediment pile, which archived ambient seawater C isotopic signal. Although most Ediacaran negative CIEs were generally attributed to sulfate reduction, our findings suggest that at a local level, Mn cycling can also lead to negative CIE in the Neoproterozoic, and potentially at other times in Earth's history.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
China Scholarship Council
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Cited by
1 articles.
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