Metal-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane and the Sturtian deglaciation.

ABSTRACT: The Sturtian and Marinoan glaciations shaped Neoproterozoic palaeoenvironmental evolution. While methane emission likely intensified the Marinoan greenhouse effect, its role during the Sturtian glaciation-coinciding with widespread iron formations (IFs)-remains poorly understood. Here, we analysed bio-essential metals (Ni, Co, Zn), rare earth elements and yttrium (REY), Fe (δ⁵⁶Fe) and Ni (δ⁶⁰Ni) isotopes in hematite and magnetite, alongside bulk-rock and in-situ C isotopes of Mn-rich carbonates from five well-preserved Sturtian-aged IFs in South China. Our findings provide geochemical evidence for a methane-related biogeochemical pathway driving Fe-bearing mineral transformation via methanogenesis and metal-driven anaerobic methane oxidation (AOM), mediated by methano

SUBMITTER: Hu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12328600 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature