Preview

Regional Geology and Metallogeny

Advanced search

Sulphur in the Early Precambrian: the origin of inorganic lifeforms and the influence on the nature of the oldest sulphide mineralization

https://doi.org/10.52349/0869-7892_2022_89_87-92

Abstract

Patterns of sulphur behavior in the Early Precambrian atmosphere, characterized by high conductivity of ultraviolet irradiation and, accordingly, a reducing character as compared to the presentday atmospheric level, are discussed. Such conditions are characterized by the emergence of primary inorganic bioforms during the formation of thiosulphate chemical compounds with organometallic forms and the production of reducing forms of sulphur. These inorganic bioforms could give rise to early lifeforms on the planet and contribute to the formation of authigenic and non-authigenic sulphide mineralization in the oldest Paleoarchean (3,8–3,4 Ga) sedimentary-volcanogenic rock complexes.

About the Author

S. I. Turchenko
Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology Russian Academy of Sciences (IPGG RAS)
Russian Federation

Turchenko Stanislav Ivanovich – Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Chief Researcher

2 Naberezhnaya Makarova, St. Petersburg, 199034



References

1. Anbar A. D., Knoll A. H. Proterozoic ocean chemistry and evolution: A bioinorganic bridge? // Science. – 2002. – Vol. 297. – Pp. 1137–1142.

2. Canfield D. E. The evolution of the Earth surface: sulfur reservoir // American Journal of Science. – 2004. – Vol. 304. – Pp. 839–861.

3. Canfield D. E., Raiswell R. The evolution of the sulfur cycle // American Journal of Science. – 1999. – Vol. 299. – Pp. 697–723.

4. Cody G. D. Primordial carbonylated iron-sulfur compounds and the synthesis of pyruvate / G. D. Cody, N. Z. Boctor, T. R. Filley, R. M. Hazen, J. H. Scott, A. Sharma, H. S. Yoder // Science. – 2000. – Vol. 289. – Pp. 1337–1340.

5. Farquhar J. Observation of wavelength sensitive massindependent sulfur isotope effects during SO2 photolysis: Implications for the early atmosphere / J. Farquhar, J. Savarino, S. Aireau, M. H. Thiemens // Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. – 2001. – Vol. 106 (E12). – Pp. 32829–32839.

6. Fraústo da Silva J. J. R., Williams R. J. P. The Biological chemistry of the Elements. Second ed. – New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. – 575 p.

7. Hofmann A. W. Chemical differentiation of the Earth: The relationship between mantle, continental crust and oceanic crust // Earth and Planetary Science Letters. – 1988. – Vol. 90. – Pp. 297–314.

8. Holland H. D. Early Proterozoic atmosphere change / ed. by S. Bengston // Early Life on Earth: Nobel Symposium. – New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. – Vol. 84. – Pp. 237–244.

9. Huston D. L., Logan G. A. Barite, BIFs and bugs: evidence for the evolution of the Earth’s early hydrosphere // Earth and Planetary Science Letters. – 2004. – Vol. 220. – Pp. 41–55.

10. Huston D. L., Morant P., Pirajno F. et al. Paleoarchean mineral deposits of the Pilbara Craton: genesis, tectonic environment and comparisons with younger deposits // Earth’s oldest rocks / Ed by M. J. Van Kranendonk, R. H. Smithies and V. Bennet. – Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2007. – Chpt. 4. – Pp. 411–450.

11. Mojzsis S. J. Mass-independent isotope effects in Archean (2.5 to 3.8 Ga) sedimentary sulphides determined by ion microprobe analysis / S. J. Mojzsis, C. D. Coath, J. P. Greenwood, K. D. McKeegan, T. M. Harrison // Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. – 2003. – Vol. 67. – Pp. 1635–1658.

12. Newsom H. E. Siderophile and chalcophile element abundances in oceanic basalts, Pb isotope evolution and growth of the Earth’s core / H. E. Newsom, W. M. White, K. P. Jochum, A. W. Hofmann // Earth and Planetary Science Letters. – 1986. – Vol. 80. – Pp. 299–313.

13. Nisbet E. G., Sleep N. The habitat and nature of early life // Nature. – 2001. – Vol. 409. – Pp. 1083–1091.

14. Orgel L. The origin of life – a review of facts and speculations // Trends in Biochemical Sciences. – 1998. – Vol. 23. – Pp. 491–495.

15. Pace N. R. The universal nature of biochemistry // Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. – 2001. – Vol. 98. – Pp. 805–808.

16. Papineau D., Mojzsis S. J., Schmitt A. K. Multiple sulfur isotopes from Paleoproterozoic Huronian interglacial sediments and the rise of atmospheric oxygen // Earth and Planetary Science Letters. – 2007. – Vol. 255. – Pp. 188–212.

17. Pavlov A. A., Kasting J. F. Mass-independent fractionation of sulfur isotopes in Archean sediments: Strong evidence for an anoxic Archean atmosphere // Astrobiology. – 2002. – Vol. 2. – Pp. 27–41.

18. Rasmussen B., Buick R., Holland H. D. Redox state of the Archean atmosphere: Evidence from detrital heavy minerals in ca. 3250–2750 Ma sandstones from the Pilbara Craton, Australia: Reply // Geology. – 1999. – Vol. 27. – Pp. 1152–1152.

19. Russell M. J., Arndt N. T. Geodynamic and metabolic cycles in the Hadean // Biogeosciences. – 2005. – Vol. 2. – Pp. 97–111.

20. Russell M. J., Martin W. The rocky roots of the acetylCoA pathway // Trends in Biochemical Sciences. – 2004. – Vol. 29. – Pp. 358–363.

21. Rye R., Holland H. D. Paleo soils and the evolution of atmospheric oxygen: A critical review // American Journal of Science. – 1998. – Vol. 298. – Pp. 621–672.

22. Schidlowski M., Hayes J. M., Kaplan I. R. Isotopic inference of ancient biochemistries: Carbon, sulfur, hydrogen and nitrogen / J. W. Schopf (ed.) // Earth’s Earliest Biosphere. It’s Origin and Evolution. – Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983. – Pp. 149–186.

23. Shen Y., Buick R., Canfield D. E. Isotopic evidence for microbial sulphate reduction in the early Archaean era // Nature. – 2001. – Vol. 410. – Pp. 77–81.

24. Strauss H. Sulphur isotopes and the early Archaean sulphur cycle // Precambrian Research. – 2003. – Vol. 126. – Pp. 349–361.

25. Van Kranendonk M. J. Volcanic degassing, hydrothermal circulation and the flourishing of early life on Earth: new evidence from the Warrawoona Group, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia // Earth Science Reviews. – 2006. – Vol. 74. – Pp. 197–240.

26. Wächtershäuser G. Life as we don’t know it // Science. – 2000. – Vol. 289. – Pp. 1307–1308.

27. Watanabe Y. Carbon, nitrogen and sulfur geochemistry of the Archean and Proterozoic shales of the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa / Y. Watanabe, H. Naraoka, D. J. Wronkiewicz, K. C. Condie, H. Ohmoto // Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. – 1997. – Vol. 61. – Pp. 3441–3459.

28. Woese C. R. Interpreting the universal phylogenetic tree // Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. – 2000. – Vol. 97. – Pp. 8392–8396.


Review

For citations:


Turchenko S.I. Sulphur in the Early Precambrian: the origin of inorganic lifeforms and the influence on the nature of the oldest sulphide mineralization. Regional Geology and Metallogeny. 2022;1(89):87-92. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.52349/0869-7892_2022_89_87-92

Views: 11


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 0869-7892 (Print)