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Revisiting stepwise ocean oxygenation with authigenic barium enrichments in marine mudrocks

Wei, GY; Ling, HF; Shields, GA; Hohl, SV; Yang, T; Lin, YB; Zhang, F; (2021) Revisiting stepwise ocean oxygenation with authigenic barium enrichments in marine mudrocks. Geology , 49 (9) pp. 1059-1063. 10.1130/G48825.1. Green open access

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Abstract

There are current debates around the extent of global ocean oxygenation, particularly from the late Neoproterozoic to the early Paleozoic, based on analyses of various geochemical indices. We present a temporal trend in excess barium (Ba_{excess}) contents in marine organic-rich mudrocks (ORMs) to provide an independent constraint on global ocean redox evolution. The absence of remarkable Ba_{excess} enrichments in Precambrian (>ca. 541 Ma) ORMs suggests limited authigenic Ba formation in oxygen- and sulfate-deficient oceans. By contrast, in the Paleozoic, particularly the early Cambrian, ORMs are marked by significant Ba_{excess} enrichments, corresponding to substantial increases in the marine sulfate reservoir and oxygenation level. Analogous to modern sediments, the Mesozoic and Cenozoic ORMs exhibit no prominent Ba_{excess} enrichments. We suggest that variations in Ba_{excess} concentrations of ORMs through time are linked to secular changes in the marine dissolved Ba reservoir associated with elevated marine sulfate levels and global ocean oxygenation. Further, unlike Mo, U, and Re abundances, significant Ba_{excess} enrichments in ORMs indicate that the overall ocean oxygenation level in the early Paleozoic was substantially lower than at present.

Type: Article
Title: Revisiting stepwise ocean oxygenation with authigenic barium enrichments in marine mudrocks
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1130/G48825.1
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1130/G48825.1
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
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/10134942
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