Bulk and grain-scale minor sulfur isotope data reveal complexities in the dynamics of Earth's oxygenation.

ABSTRACT: SignificanceThe permanent disappearance of mass-independent sulfur isotope fractionation (S-MIF) from the sedimentary record has become a widely accepted proxy for atmospheric oxygenation. This framework, however, neglects inheritance from oxidative weathering of pre-existing S-MIF-bearing sedimentary sulfide minerals (i.e., crustal memory), which has recently been invoked to explain apparent discrepancies within the sulfur isotope record. Herein, we demonstrate that such a crustal memory effect does not confound the Carletonville S-isotope record; rather, the pronounced Δ³³S values identified within the Rooihoogte Formation represent the youngest known unequivocal oxygen-free photochemical products. Previously observed ³³S-enrichments within the succeeding Timeball H

SUBMITTER: Izon G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9060445 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature