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A transient peak in marine sulfate after the 635-Ma snowball Earth.

ABSTRACT: SignificanceEarth system's response to major perturbations is of paramount interest. On the basis of multiple isotope compositions for pyrite, carbonate-associated sulfate, carbonates, and organics within, we inferred that the much-debated, enigmatic, extremely ¹³C-depleted calcite cements in the ∼635-Ma cap carbonates in South China preserve geochemical evidence for marine microbial sulfate reduction coupled to anaerobic oxidation of methane. This interpretation implies the existence of a brief interval of modern-level marine sulfate. We determined that this interval coincides with the earliest Ediacaran ¹⁷O-depletion episode, and both likely occurred within ∼50 ky since the onset of the 635-Ma meltdown, revealing an astonishing pace of transformation of the Earth system in the aftermath of Earth's latest snowball glaciation.

SUBMITTER: Peng Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9171640 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A transient peak in marine sulfate after the 635-Ma snowball Earth.

Peng Yongbo Y Bao Huiming H Jiang Ganqing G Crockford Peter P Feng Dong D Xiao Shuhai S Kaufman Alan Jay AJ Wang Jiasheng J

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20220502 19

SignificanceEarth system's response to major perturbations is of paramount interest. On the basis of multiple isotope compositions for pyrite, carbonate-associated sulfate, carbonates, and organics within, we inferred that the much-debated, enigmatic, extremely <sup>13</sup>C-depleted calcite cements in the ∼635-Ma cap carbonates in South China preserve geochemical evidence for marine microbial sulfate reduction coupled to anaerobic oxidation of methane. This interpretation implies the existence ...[more]

PMID: 35500113

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