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Termination of Cryogenian ironstone deposition by deep ocean euxinia

Wu, C; Yang, T; Shields, GA; Bian, X; Gao, B; Ye, H; Li, W; (2020) Termination of Cryogenian ironstone deposition by deep ocean euxinia. Geochemical Perspectives Letters , 15 pp. 1-5. 10.7185/geochemlet.2025. Green open access

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Abstract

Widespread deposition of iron-rich sedimentary rocks (ironstones) occurred during the Sturtian ice age, the earlier of two Cryogenian ‘Snowball Earth’ glaciations. However, the reasons for the termination of Cryogenian Iron Formation (CIF) deposition remain poorly understood. Here we report a multi-isotope (Fe-C-S) study of the Xinyu CIF in South China that can directly address this question. The isotopic compositions of these multivalent elements exhibit remarkable covariance at the top of the Xinyu CIF that reflects progressive redox stratification during iron oxide deposition. Iron oxide deposition ended abruptly due to the titration of ferrous iron as pyrite following a large influx of riverine sulfate. Although termination of CIF deposition is commonly attributed to oxygenation, our data show that at least in some Cryogenian ocean basins, CIF deposition ended with the spread of euxinic rather than oxygenated waters.

Type: Article
Title: Termination of Cryogenian ironstone deposition by deep ocean euxinia
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.7185/geochemlet.2025
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.7185/geochemlet.2025
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Authors. Published by the European Association of Geochemistry under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: Cryogenian iron formation, Xinyu, BIF, Fe isotope, S isotope, C isotope, euxinia, termination
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10107018
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