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]
Dating mineral phases in geological remnants of early life
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).