期刊
ASTROBIOLOGY
卷 13, 期 12, 页码 1103-1124出版社
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2013.1030
关键词
Archean; Biofilms; Microbial mats; Early Earth; Evolution
资金
- National Science Foundation NSF Paleobiology and Sedimentary Geology Program, NASA's Exobiology Program
- NASA Astrobiology Institute
- Bergen Research Foundation
- University of Bergen
- Australian Research Council Centre for Core to Crust Fluid Systems
- Deep Carbon Observatory
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
Microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) result from the response of microbial mats to physical sediment dynamics. MISS are cosmopolitan and found in many modern environments, including shelves, tidal flats, lagoons, riverine shores, lakes, interdune areas, and sabkhas. The structures record highly diverse communities of microbial mats and have been reported from numerous intervals in the geological record up to 3.2 billion years (Ga) old. This contribution describes a suite of MISS from some of the oldest well-preserved sedimentary rocks in the geological record, the early Archean (ca. 3.48 Ga) Dresser Formation, Western Australia. Outcrop mapping at the meter to millimeter scale defined five sub-environments characteristic of an ancient coastal sabkha. These sub-environments contain associations of distinct macroscopic and microscopic MISS. Macroscopic MISS include polygonal oscillation cracks and gas domes, erosional remnants and pockets, and mat chips. Microscopic MISS comprise tufts, sinoidal structures, and laminae fabrics; the microscopic laminae are composed of primary carbonaceous matter, pyrite, and hematite, plus trapped and bound grains. Identical suites of MISS occur in equivalent environmental settings through the entire subsequent history of Earth including the present time. This work extends the geological record of MISS by almost 300 million years. Complex mat-forming microbial communities likely existed almost 3.5 billion years ago.
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