贺兰山地区中元古代微生物席成因构造

贺兰山中段中元古界黄旗口组石英砂岩中发现丰富的微生物席成因构造(MISS),包括由微生物席生长、破坏和腐烂过程形成的3种类型、9种不同形态的构造;与华北大红峪组发现的同类构造在成因类型与多样性方面具有很强的可对比性.砂岩中发育双向交错层理、冲洗层理、高角度单斜层理系和波痕,泥质粉砂岩夹层中发育波痕与泥裂,表明微生物席主要发育于潮间带上部至潮上带下部环境.MISS构造在华北地台长城系下部砂岩中的广泛存在表明在1.6 Ga前以蓝细菌为主的微生物群在环潮坪碎屑环境也很活跃.可能代表了微生物由海洋向陆地环境发展的过渡阶段.具光合作用功能的制氧蓝细菌的蓬勃发展可能是引发中元古代海洋化学条件发生转变、含氧量增高的重要原因,并为真核生物及宏观藻类的兴起创造了条件.研究表明,黄旗口组与华北大红峪组大致同时,反映了Columbia超大陆裂解期华北地台开始拉伸-张裂、缓慢沉降的构造古地理背景.     

豫西苗岭统馒头组二段皱饰构造与遗迹化石共生特征*

埃迪卡拉纪以来,微生物与后生动物之间呈此消彼长的关系,但在寒武纪苗岭世却出现了微生物成因沉积构造和后生动物扰动构造短暂共存的现象。笔者在豫西馒头组二段下部识别出包括皱饰构造与微生物席裂构造在内的2种微生物成因沉积构造,对皱饰构造与遗迹化石的共生关系进行了分类,建立了席上足辙迹(Monomorphichnus henanensis)与牧食迹(Jinningichnus badaowanensis)、席下水平漫游迹(Planolites montanus)、席下深层泥岩中生物扰动共3种微生物席与后生动物的共生模式和生态演化模型。上述研究表明,具有特殊环境耐受性的“机会主义”动物在食物来源较为宽松的潮坪环境中与微生物席共存,这种微生物席与后生动物短暂而“和谐”的共存关系不仅延续了埃迪卡拉纪双方的部分共生特征,且在以混合底为主导的显生宙生态环境中得到了进一步变化与发展。     

Microbial mat structures in profile: The Neoproterozoic Sonia Sandstone,Rajasthan, India

Ubiquitous microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria preferably grow on the sediment surface thereby producing microbial mats. In the absence of grazers and bioturbators, microbial mat is a unique feature of the Proterozoic. Most of the papers so far published described a wide variety of bed surface microbial mat structures with rare illustrations from sections perpendicular to bedding. Nonetheless, bed surface exposures are relatively rare in rock records. This limitation of bed surface exposures in rock records suggest that a study of microbial mats in bed-across sections is needed. The 60 m thick coastal marine interval of the Sonia Sandstone Formation is bounded between two terrestrial intervals, a transgressive lag at the base and an unconformity at the top, and has been chosen for exploration of microbial mat structures in bed-across sections. A wide variety of microbial mat-induced structures in bed-across sections are preserved within the coastal interval of the Sonia Sandstone. Though many of these structures are similar in some aspects with bed surface structures, some of those presented here are new. The palaeogeographic range of these microbial structures extends from supralittoral to neritic. Diagenetic alterations of microbial mats produce pyrite and those zones are suitable for the preservation of microbial remains. SEM and EDAX analyses show fossil preservation of filamentous microbial remains that confirm the presence of microbial mats within the coastal interval of the Sonia Sandstone. Effects of proliferation of microbial mats in the siliciclastic depositional setting are numerous. The mat-cover on sediment surfaces hinders reworking and/or erosion of the sediments thereby increases the net sedimentation rate. Successive deposition and preservation of thick microbial mat layer under reducing environments should have a great potential for hydrocarbon production and preservation and therefore these Proterozoic formations could be a target for exploration.     

古元古代末浅海赤铁矿化微生物席: 标识与意义*

微生物活动导致铁氧化被认为是前寒武纪铁建造和红层形成的重要机制之一,但是地质记录中却鲜有相关证据。针对这一问题,本研究选择华北古元古代末的大红峪组微生物席成因构造(MISS)为研究对象,通过沉积学和矿物学的综合研究,揭示微生物活动在前寒武纪铁循环中的关键作用。研究表明:华北井陉大红峪组发育大量以砂裂为代表的MISS,指示当时潮间带至潮上带广泛发育微生物席;非微生物席层发育大量原位和近距离搬运的海绿石,指示低氧富铁的浅海和孔隙水化学条件,而相邻微生物席层则发生了显著的赤铁矿化,指示相对更氧化的沉积环境。考虑到微生物席层与相邻(厘米级)非微生物席层间微生物活动与矿物组成的明显差异,笔者提出微生物活动可能是导致当时低氧铁化浅海环境局部铁氧化的重要机制。本研究提供了微生物参与Fe²⁺离子氧化的重要证据,对揭示前寒武纪红层和大规模铁建造形成机制具有启示意义。     

微生物席成因构造形态组合的古环境意义: 以华北南缘中-新元古代为例

微生物席成因构造(microbially induced sedimentary structures, MISS)是由微生物与沉积物相互作用形成的生物-沉积构造, 可作为早期微生物群活动的重要标识, 但对其指示古环境的研究尚显不足.华北地台南部中-新元古代汝阳群(Pt₂)和洛峪群(Pt₃)以近岸浅水陆源碎屑沉积为主, 其中发育大量MISS, 包括多向波痕、微生物席稳化波痕、微生物席碎片、微生物席平滑波痕、多种微生物席脱水形成的砂裂及不规则网状生长脊等.研究表明, 在潮坪环境中MISS最为发育.地势差异对水动力、基底暴露、水分补给和沉积条件等环境因素具有显著控制作用, 影响微生物席的发育与结构, 因此, MISS的形态组合特征能够反映沉积微相变化.研究发现, 在潮上带以微生物席脱水形成的砂裂构造为主, 潮间带上部以破坏-改造型构造为主, 潮间带下部-潮下带一般少见原位MISS, 但可见再沉积微生物席碎片.据潮间带下部至潮上带上部MISS产出类型及其形态组合分析, 识别了4个MISS形态组合带, MISS形态组合由潮间带下部至潮上带上部的变化反映了古地形由低到高的明显变化.      

Mercury in water and biomass of microbial communities in hot springs of Yellowstone National Park,USA

Ultra-clean sampling methods and approaches typically used in pristine environments were applied to quantify concentrations of Hg species in water and microbial biomass from hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, features that are geologically enriched with Hg. Microbial populations of chemically-diverse hot springs were also characterized using modern methods in molecular biology as the initial step toward ongoing work linking Hg speciation with microbial processes. Molecular methods (amplification of environmental DNA using 16S rDNA primers, cloning, denatured gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) screening of clone libraries, and sequencing of representative clones) were used to examine the dominant members of microbial communities in hot springs. Total Hg (THg), monomethylated Hg (MeHg), pH, temperature, and other parameters influential to Hg speciation and microbial ecology are reported for hot springs water and associated microbial mats.Several hot springs indicate the presence of MeHg in microbial mats with concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 ng g⁻¹ (dry weight). Concentrations of THg in mats ranged from 4.9 to 120,000 ng g⁻¹ (dry weight). Combined data from surveys of geothermal water, lakes, and streams show that aqueous THg concentrations range from l to 600 ng L⁻¹. Species and concentrations of THg in mats and water vary significantly between hot springs, as do the microorganisms found at each site.     

New geochemical and mineralogical constraints on the genesis of the Vani hydrothermal manganese deposit at NW Milos island,Greece: Comparison with the Aspro Gialoudi deposit and implications for the formation of the Milos manganese mineralization

The Mn-Ba-Pb deposit at Aspro Gialoudi in NW Milos is shown to be a fossil inhalative-exhalative hydrothermal deposit that represents the deepest part of the Vani succession at the western extremity of the main Vani manganese deposit. The geology of the Vani-Aspro Gialoudi area is characterized by Upper Pliocene-Lower Pleistocene dacitic and rhyodacitic lava domes, which are overlain by the Vani volcaniclastic unit considered to be part of the 2.66–1.44 Ma magmatic event at Milos Island. The presence of in-situ and intrusive hyaloclastite breccias surrounding the coherent lava domes at Aspro Gialoudi and Vani areas indicates submarine emplacement for the domes. The dacitic-rhyodacitic domes are variously altered (mainly propylitic and/or argillic alteration, silicified and in some cases locally exhibiting adularia alteration). Both Aspro Gialoudi and main Vani deposit are located proximal to fault systems: the main Vani manganese deposit is adjacent to the NW-trending Kondaros-Katsimouti-Vani Dome fault, whereas the Aspro Gialoudi deposit is adjacent to the relatively minor NE-trending fault on the west coast of Milos. At Aspro Gialoudi, mineralization took place in a subseafloor and/or seafloor environment and is characterized by a stratabound Mn-barite-rich deposit mainly within a package of propylitized intrusive hyaloclastites and within the overlying sandstones. Banded epithermal veins trending NE-SW and composed of chalcedonic silica/quartz + barite + Mn-oxide ± sulfides crosscut the dacitic lavas, the hyaloclastites and the overlying volcaniclastic sequence at Aspro Gialoudi and are considered to represent the feeder zones of the manganese-barite mineralization. Within the veins, early sulfide (galena-sphalerite) barite and quartz deposition is followed by manganese oxides and aragonite, thus resembling the epithermal-style Pb-Zn-Ag-Mn mineralization across the NW-trending Katsimoutis-Kondaros-Vani fault. Mineralization in Aspro Gialoudi and Vani deposits seems to be controlled by alternating cycles of deposition of sulfides and hydrothermal manganese oxides within the faults. Manganese deposition in both deposits formed in a similar manner, namely by transport of hydrothermal fluids through the adjacent fault systems into a reservoir of volcanoclastic sandstone and hyaloclastites to produce a deposit initially consisting of principally of pyrolusite and occasionally ramsdellite, which were subsequently replaced by cryptomelane, hollandite, coronadite and hydrohaeterolite. Precipitation of hydrothermal manganese oxides took place very quick and under microbial Mn(II) oxidation. Compositional data show that metallic elements most enriched in the Aspro Gialoudi and Vani manganese deposits relative to the average continental crust, lie in the sequences Pb > Cd > Mn > As > Sb > Zn > W > Tl > Ba > Cu > Mo > Co > Bi and As > Sb > Pb > Mn > Tl > Cd > Zn > W > Cu > Ba > Mo > Co, respectively. Mineralogical and geochemical (e.g. REE) data from both Aspro Gialoudi and main Vani deposit are taken to indicate mainly a seawater source for the hydrothermal fluids. These two deposits are genetically and spatially related to base- and precious metal intermediate-sulfidation epithermal mineralization. They formed successively by similar processes and are considered to be integral parts of the same hydrothermal system.     

辽宁兴城中元古界常州沟组砂岩中微生物成因沉积构造

辽宁兴城夹山中元古界常州沟组潮间带相砂岩层面产出裂隙状构造。这些构造由0.8~3 cm长的纺锤状短裂隙和超过7 cm的长延伸裂隙组成,孤立为主,部分相连。通过与类似的层面裂隙和现代微生物席干缩裂隙的比较分析,将其解释为微生物成因沉积构造分类体系中的收缩裂隙（Shrinkage crack）,并参考席裂多边形（Mat-crack polygon）的术语称其为席裂（Mat-crack）。微生物席在脱水不充分的情况下形成纺锤状席裂,脱水充分的情况下形成席裂多边形。这些构造在常州沟组的出现,表明微生物生态系统在华北克拉通中元古代海侵初期已经开始影响古海岸带的地质作用,这对于恢复燕山裂陷槽盆地的生物—沉积作用和环境演化具有重要意义。     

Late Holocene relative sea-level changes and the earthquake deformation cycle around upper Cook Inlet,Alaska

Multiple peat-silt couplets preserved in tidal marsh sediment sequences suggest that numerous great plate boundary earthquakes caused the coast around Cook Inlet, Alaska, to subside over the past 3500 years. Field and laboratory analyses of the two youngest couplets record the well-documented earthquake of AD 1964 and the penultimate one, approximately 850 cal yr BP. Diatom assemblages from a range of modern day estuarine environments from tidal flat through salt marsh to acidic bog produce quantitative diatom transfer function models for elevation reconstructions based on fossil samples. Only nine out of 124 fossil assemblages analysed, including previously published data for the AD 1964 earthquake, have a poor modern analogue. Calibration of fossil samples indicate co-seismic subsidence of 1.50±0.32 m for AD 1964, similar to measurements taken after the earthquake, and 1.45±0.34 m for the ∼850 cal yr BP earthquake. Elevation standard errors for individual fossil samples range from ∼0.08 m in peat layers to ∼0.35 m in silt units. Lack of a chronology within fossil silt units prevents identification of changes in the rate of recovery and land uplift between the post-seismic and inter-seismic periods. However, preservation of multiple peat-silt couplets indicates no net emergence over multiple earthquake cycles. Glacio-isostatic movements from Little Ice Age glacier advance and retreat explains a ∼0.15 m relative sea-level oscillation recorded within the peat layer subsequently submerged as a result of the AD 1964 earthquake. Before both this and the ∼850 cal yr BP earthquake, diatom assemblages suggest pre-seismic relative sea-level rise of ∼0.12±0.13 m, representing possible precursors to great earthquakes.     

The morphodynamics and internal structure of intertidal fine-gravel dunes: Hills Flats,Severn Estuary,UK

In the macrotidal Severn estuary, UK, the dynamics of intertidal fine-gravel dunes were investigated. These dunes are migrating across a bedrock platform. Systematic observations were made of hydraulic climate, geometry, migration rates and internal sedimentary structures of the dunes. During spring tides, the ebb flow is dominant, dunes grow in height and have ebb orientated geometry with bedrock floors in the troughs. During neap tides, a weak flood flow may dominate. Dunes then are flood orientated or symmetrical. Neap dune heights decrease and the eroded sediment is stored in the dune troughs where the bedrock becomes blanketed by muddy gravel. During spring tides, instantaneous bed shear stresses reach 8 N m^− 2, sufficient to disrupt a 9 mm-gravel armour layer. However, a sustained bed shear stress of 4 N m^− 2 is required to initiate dune migration at which time the critical depth-mean velocity is 1 m s^− 1. Ebb and flood inequalities in the bed shear stress explain the changes in dune asymmetry and internal structures. During flood tides, the crests of the dunes reverse such that very mobile sedimentary ‘caps’ overlie a more stable dune ‘core’. Because ebb tides dominate, internal structures of the caps often are characterised by ebb orientated steep open-work foresets developed by strong tidal currents and some lower angle crossbeds deposited as weaker currents degrade foresets. The foresets forming the caps may be grouped into cosets (tidal bundles) and are separated from mud-infused cores of crossbeds that lie below, by reactivation and erosion surfaces blanketed by discontinuous mud drapes. The cores often exhibit distinctive muddy toe sets that define the spacing of tidal cosets.     

Hummocky moraines in the Namaras and Susam Valleys,Central Taurids,SW Turkey

Late Quaternary glacial features have been found in the Central Taurid Mountains, in U-shaped valleys located at an altitude of more than 2000 m and surrounded by mountain ranges reaching 2850 m. No present day active glaciers exist in this area where the snowline elevation lies at about 3500 m. The Namaras Valley and its tributary Susam Valley are characterized by coarse loose material forming chaotic knob-and-kettle topography. Mounds, 1–10 m high and 10–30 m wide, are separated by 5–30 m wide, several meters deep, irregular depressions. The upper surfaces of the mounds are covered by angular to subangular limestone pebbles and blocks and internal sediments show a typical diamicton appearance with pebbles suspended in a muddy to sandy matrix. These chaotic structures are interpreted as hummocky disintegration moraines from former active glaciers. Successive cross-valley morainic ridges, up to 200 m high and several hundreds of meters long, limit the down-valley extension of these hummocks, and are interpreted as ice-marginal moraines. In the tributary Susam Valley, part of the coarse loose material forms a 200–250 m long and 90–120 m wide tongue-shaped structure with successive arcuate ridges and furrows at its down-valley reach. This structure, which is connected upward to a talus slope and perched cirque, ressembles the morphology of a periglacial rockglacier but is interpreted as the disintegration moraine controlled by small periodic retreat and readvance of the last active ice-front in this region.     

Microbially induced sedimentary structures in Archean sandstones: A new window into early life

Until now, the most valuable information on the early life on the Archean Earth derived from bacterial fossils and stromatolites preserved in precipitated lithologies such as chert or carbonates. Also, shales contain complex biomarker molecules, and specific isotopes constitute an important evidence for biogeneicity.In contrast, because of their low potential of fossil preservation, sandstones have been less investigated. But recent studies revealed a variety of ‘microbially induced sedimentary structures — MISS’ that differ greatly from any other fossils or sedimentary structures. ‘Wrinkle structures’, ‘multidirected ripple marks’, ‘biolaminites’, and other macrostructures indicate the former presence of photoautotrophic microbial mats in shallow-marine to tidal paleoenvironments. The MISS form by the mechanical interaction of microbial mats with physical sediment dynamics that is the erosion and deposition by water agitation. The structures occur not only in Archean tidal flats, but in equivalent settings throughout Earth history until today.MISS are not identified alone by their macroscopic morphologies. In thin-sections, the structures display the carpet-like fabrics of intertwined filaments of the ancient mat-constructing microorganisms. Geochemical analyses of the filaments proof their composition of iron minerals associated with organic carbon.In conclusion, microbial mats colonize sandy tidal settings at least for 3.2 Ga years. Therefore, Archean sandstones constitute an important archive for the exploration of early life.     

豫西鲁山汝阳群微生物成因构造宏观特征分析及其沉积环境演化

豫西鲁山地区汝阳群发育了形态特征多样的大量微生物成因构造,主要为多边形网格状脱水裂痕和纺锤形脱水裂痕。通过对微生物成因构造宏观特征的描述和统计分析,探讨了微生物成因构造与沉积环境之间的关系,认为微生物成因构造的总体特征演化规律与汝阳群趋于稳定的沉积环境演化一致,其形态特征与微生物席厚、暴露时间频繁有着密切的关系。     

Organic matter preservation in the carbonate matrix of a recent microbial mat – Is there a ‘mat seal effect’?

Phototrophic mats (microbial mats with a phototrophic top layer) are complex systems in terms of microbial diversity, biogeochemical cycles and organic matter (OM) turnover. It has been proposed that these mats were a predominant life form in Proterozoic shallow water settings, prior to the emergence of bioturbating organisms in the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. For most of the Precambrian, microbial mats were not only quantitative important carbon fixing systems, but also influenced the transfer and transformation of OM before it entered the geosphere. The profound alteration of compound inventories during transit through microbial mats, implying substantial consequences for OM preservation in the Proterozoic, was recently proposed as a “mat-seal effect” [Pawlowska et al. (2012) Geology 41, 103–106]. To obtain a better understanding of the early diagenetic fate of primary produced OM in microbial mats, we studied a recent calcifying mat from a hypersaline lake in Kiritimati, which showed in the deeper mat layers a maximum ¹⁴C_carbonate age of ∼1500 years. We particularly focused on OM entrapped in the carbonate matrix, because of the better potential of such biomineral-encapsulated OM to reach the geosphere before degradation (and remineralization). Our data indicate that selective preservation is important in phototrophic mats. While a diagenetic transformation of lipid fatty acids (FAs) was evident, their fatty acyl-derived hydrocarbon moieties were not introduced into protokerogen, which was instead mainly comprised of cyanobacterial and/or algal biomacromolecules. Our data support the proposed major impact of the “mat-seal effect” on OM turnover and preservation; i.e. the suppression of biosignatures derived from the upper mat layers, while signals of heterotrophic microbes thriving in deeper mat layers become preferentially preserved (e.g. high hopane/sterane ratios). This mechanism may have broad consequences for the interpretation of biomarkers from Proterozoic shelf environments, because biosignatures of phototrophic mat dwellers as well as planktonic signals may have become heavily biased by the production and turnover of OM in microbial mat systems.     

Radiocarbon analysis of halophilic microbial lipids from an Australian salt lake

Assigning accurate dates to hypersaline sediments opens important terrestrial records of local and regional paleoecologies and paleoclimatology. However, as of yet no conventional method of dating hypersaline systems has been widely adopted. Biomarker, mineralogical, and radiocarbon analyses of sediments and organic extracts from a shallow (13 cm) core from a hypersaline playa, Lake Tyrrell, southeastern Australia, produce a coherent age-depth curve beginning with modern microbial mats and extending to ~ 7500 cal yr BP. These analyses are furthermore used to identify and constrain the timing of the most recent change in hydrological regime at Lake Tyrrell, a shift from a clay deposit to the precipitation of evaporitic sands occurring at some time between ~ 4500 and 7000 yr. These analyses show the potential for widespread dating of hypersaline systems integrating the biomarker approach, reinforce the value of the radiocarbon content of biomarkers in understanding the flow of carbon in modern ecologies, and validate the temporal dimension of data provided by biomarkers when dating late Quaternary sediments.     

Uptake of dissolved lead by anhydrite surfaces

The fate of harmful metals in the Earth crust is importantly affected by sorption processes on mineral surfaces. Here, a study of the ability of anhydrite surfaces to uptake dissolved Pb is presented. Experiments were conducted at room temperature using initial Pb concentration ([Pb_aq]₀) ranging between 10 and 1000 mg/L and a batch type set-up. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry analyses showed that [Pb_aq] progressively decreased as the time of interaction increased, to reach a final steady state value of ∼3.0 mg/L, irrespectively of [Pb_aq]₀. However, the time elapsed before the steady state value was reached strongly depended on [Pb_aq]₀, with the drop to this final value occurring in less than 1 day interaction when [Pb_aq]₀ ⩾ 50 mg/L and after 20 days when [Pb_aq]₀ < 50 mg/L. Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed the epitactic growth of anglesite (PbSO₄) crystals on anhydrite surfaces when [Pb_aq]₀ ⩾ 50 mg/L. X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure spectroscopy points to a different sorption mechanisms when [Pb_aq]₀ < 50 mg/L. The results show that the epitactic growth of anglesite on anhydrite has no significant impact on the ability of anhydrite surfaces to remove Pb_aq, which show equal effectiveness as that of gypsum surfaces. The high reactivity of anhydrite surfaces renders this phase potentially important in the control of the fate of dissolved metals in nature.     

Initiation of the Mekong River delta at 8 ka: evidence from the sedimentary succession in the Cambodian lowland

Modern deltas are understood to have initiated around 7.5–9 ka in response to the deceleration of sea-level rise. This episode of delta initiation is closely related to the last deglacial meltwater events and eustatic sea-level rises. The initial stage of the Mekong River delta, one of the world's largest deltas, is well recorded in Cambodian lowland sediments. This paper integrates analyses of sedimentary facies, diatom assemblages, and radiocarbon dates for three drill cores from the lowland to demonstrate Holocene sedimentary evolution in relation to sea-level changes. The cores are characterized by a tripartite succession: (1) aggrading flood plain to natural levee and tidal–fluvial channel during the postglacial sea-level rise (10–8.4 ka); (2) aggrading to prograding tidal flats and mangrove forests around and after the maximum flooding of the sea (8.4–6.3 ka); and (3) a prograding fluvial system on the delta plain (6.3 ka to the present). The maximum flooding of the sea occurred at 8.0 ± 0.1 ka, 2000 years before the mid-Holocene sea-level highstand, and tidal flats penetrated up to 20–50 km southeast of Phnom Penh after a period of abrupt ～5 m sea-level rise at 8.5–8.4 ka. The delta progradation then initiated as a result of the sea-level stillstand at around 8–7.5 ka. Another rapid sea-level rise at 7.5–7 ka allowed thick mangrove peat to be widely deposited in the Cambodian lowland, and the peat accumulation endured until 6.3 ka. Since 6.3 ka, a fluvial system has characterized the delta plain, and the fluvial sediment discharge has contributed to rapid delta progradation. The uppermost part of the sedimentary succession, composed of flood plain to natural-levee sediments, reveals a sudden increase in sediment accumulation over the past 600–1000 years. This increase might reflect an increase in the sediment yield due to human activities in the upper to middle reaches of the Mekong, as with other Asian rivers.     

The criteria for the biogeneicity of microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) in Archean and younger, sandy deposits

The identification of fossils or biogenic sedimentary structures in rocks of Archean age is difficult, because similar lithological features could rise from purely physical or chemical processes alone. Therefore it is important to define criteria that serve the secure definition of a fossil or structure in question as of biological origin. Such criteria have been established for stromatolites and microfossils.This contribution discusses the 6 criteria of biogeneicity of ‘microbially induced sedimentary structures’ (MISS). Those structures are found in sandy deposits of early Archean age to the present, and rise from the interaction of benthic microbiota with physical sediment dynamics. The six criteria for their biogeneicity are: (i) MISS occur in rocks of not more than lower greenschist facies; (ii) in stratigraphic sections, MISS correlate with turning points of regression–trangressions; (iii), MISS correlate with a characteristic depositional facies that enhances the development and the preservation of microbial mats; (iv), the distribution of MISS correlates with the ancient average hydraulic pattern; (v), the geometries and dimensions of fossil MISS correspond to that of the modern ones; (vi), the MISS include at least one of 9 specific microtextures.     

Scytonemin-imine,a mahogany-colored UV/Vis sunscreen of cyanobacteria exposed to intense solar radiation

We report the structure of a novel sunscreen based on the scytoneman skeleton. This pigment, scytonemin-3a-imine, was isolated from cultures of the cyanobacterium, Scytonema hoffmani, only when grown under high to intense (300–1500+ μmol quanta m⁻² s⁻¹) light conditions, with or without added UVR (ultraviolet radiation). It was also isolated from samples of natural cyanobacterial mats growing in shallow/short hydroperiod fresh water (Florida Everglades), soils (Loxahatchee, Florida) and saline cyanobacterial mats (Eleuthera, The Bahamas). These natural samples were all growing under intense (e.g. > 1500 μmol quanta m⁻² s⁻¹) light conditions. Scytonemin-3a-imine may eventually become a biomarker for such biota.Characterization included UV/Vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS and MSⁿ), and both 1- and 2-D ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry. Derivatization (NaBH₄ reduction, acetylation, deuterium exchange) were utilized to confirm structural features. The UV/Vis spectrum had maxima at 237, 366, 437 and 564 nm. The absorption of UVR is in line with other scytoneman-based pigments. The strong visible absorption bands (437 and 564 nm) indicate an alternate or additional physiological role for the pigment. We propose that it may protect both the chlorophyll reaction centers and the cytochromes from excess radiation. We speculate that excitation of the cytochromes, potentially leading to excess electron transport, or photo-oxidative destruction of the cytochromes, may enhance reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation.     

Structural and metamorphic constraints on ca. 70 Ma deformation of the northern Valhalla complex,British Columbia: implications for the tectonic evolution of the southern Omineca belt

Penetrative deformation occurred ca. 70 Ma ago throughout the northern Valhalla complex in Valhalla and Passmore domes and in the Gwillim Creek shear zone, exposed at the deepest structural levels in both domes. Intense strain (S_T) in the Gwillim Creek shear zone (domain II) was synchronous with and outlasted deformation (D₂) throughout the northern complex (domain I). Upper-amphibolite facies peak mineral assemblages define the predominant foliation. Temperature and pressure results, determined from microdomains with established relationships to reaction textures and microstructures, provide constraints on conditions under which deformation occurred. Deformation was synchronous with and outlasted peak metamorphic conditions at all structural levels. Peak conditions of 825°C and 730 MPa and 850°C and 840 MPa were determined for domains I and II, respectively. This was followed by cooling and retrograde garnet breakdown at conditions of 715°C and 490 MPa and 765°C and 730 MPa in domains I and II, respectively. The faster cooling rate per kilometer of exhumation for domain II relative to domain I is consistent with a model of conductive cooling via thrusting of domain II on to a cold footwall. Metamorphism is interpreted to have resulted from crustal thickening and burial to depths of ca. 25 km based on an inferred clockwise P–T path and the paucity of Late Cretaceous intrusions. Lack of retrograde metamorphism throughout the complex and the high degree of annealing of microstructures indicates that the rocks remained above greenschist-facies conditions until they were exhumed in the Early Tertiary on the Valkyr–Slocan Lake extensional shear zone system.Previous workers have determined that the peak of metamorphism occurred at 72–67 Ma in a restricted locality in the core of Passmore dome, near Vallican. Our study links this dated metamorphism with the structural evolution and metamorphic history throughout the area, and shows that supracrustal rocks at all structural levels in Valhalla and Passmore domes underwent the same metamorphic and deformation event as those near Vallican. Therefore, we assign a ca. 70 Ma age to the penetrative, high-temperature deformation in northern Valhalla complex and the Gwillim Creek shear zone. This coincides with a major period of shortening in the Rocky Mountains of the Foreland belt. Strain in northern Valhalla complex may represent a local transient shear zone that accommodated crustal thickening in the hinterland during orogen-scale compression, or it may be an exhumed part of the basal detachment of the Rocky Mountains.