Chemostratigraphy of the Paleoproterozoic Duitschland Formation, South Africa: implications for coupled climate change and carbon cycling

Clicks: 1
ID: 292834
2001
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal

Ranked #3,988 of 8,486 articles by views in american journal of science

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 8,486 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
The Paleoproterozoic Duitschland Formation lies stratigraphically beneath the Timeball Hill Formation, which contains the only unequivocal glacial unit of this era in the Transvaal Basin, South Africa. Lithologic evidence in Paleoproterozoic successions of North America, however, indicates the existence of three discrete and potentially global ice ages within this 300 my interval. Carbonates of the Duitschland Formation are significantly enriched in ^13^C up to +10.1 permil in the upper part of the succession above a notable sequence boundary. In contrast, the lower part of this unit contains carbonates with consistently negative δ^13^C values. Trace and major element compositions of these carbonates as well as carbon-isotopic compositions of coexisting organic matter support a primary origin for the markedly positive carbon isotope anomaly. The stratigraphic constraints indicate that ^13^C-enriched carbonates were deposited prior to Paleoproterozoic glaciation in southern Africa, similar to carbonates stratigraphically beneath Neoproterozoic glacial diamictites worldwide. Also mirroring the Neoproterozoic record are strongly negative δ^13^C values in cap carbonates atop glacial diamictites in Paleoproterozoic strata of Wyoming and Ontario. The litho- and chemostratigraphic constraints indicate that the interval of negative carbon isotope values in well-preserved carbonates of the lower Duitschland Formation may reflect a second Paleoproterozoic ice age in the Transvaal succession. This interpretation is further supported by recently discovered bullet-shaped clasts with striations in diamictite from the basal part of the succession. Thus, the emerging temporal pattern of carbon isotope variations and glaciation in the Paleoproterozoic has a close analogue to Neoproterozoic events, suggesting a coupling of climatic and biogeochemical changes at both ends of the eon.
Reference Key
openalex_W2018268886 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Andrey Bekker
Journal american journal of science
Year 2001
DOI
10.2475/ajs.301.3.261
URL
https://ajs.scholasticahq.com/article/61587.pdf
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.