Biogeosciences

Archives / 2020 / May

Dating mineral phases in geological remnants of early life

Alexandra Rodler May 21, 2020

Figure 1: Silicified stromatolitic carbonates of the 3.35 Ga old Strelley Pool Formation at the Trendall locality; view from above on stromatolite domes (photo courtesy of S. Viehmann).

This is a solicited blogpost written by Sebastian Viehmann. The Mesoarchean Strelley Pool Formation in the Pilbara Craton (Western Australia) hosts one of the oldest geological remnants of life on Earth. These silicified stromatolitic carbonates show diverse morphologies and formed on a shallow marine carbonate platform 3.35 billion years ago (Ga; Figures 1 and 2). After a long-standing debate abo ...[Read More]

Phosphorus-cycle perturbations and environmental disturbances 380–360 million years ago

Alexandra Rodler May 2, 2020

A 360 million-year-old organic-rich mudstone deposit that records the last of the Late Devonian environmental crises: the Devonian–Carboniferous mass extinction, with a student from the University of Silesia for scale. Photo courtesy of Dr. Leszek Marynowski (University of Silesia).

This is a solicited blogpost written by Lawrence Percival, who will also present his work on the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 as part of session SSP2.1 of the upcoming EGU GA. The increasing concern regarding 21st climate change and environmental disturbance has led to a renewed focus on similar episodes of global crisis through Earth’s history. During the Late Devonian Period, 380–360 million ye ...[Read More]