Papineau, Dominic; Buma-at, Princess; (2024) The Rise of Proterozoic Diagenetic Spheroids Formed by Chemically Oscillating Reactions and Stimulated by Environmental Redox Changes. Minerals , 14 (10) , Article 962. 10.3390/min14100962.

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Abstract

Diagenetic spheroids are rounded mineralised structures in sedimentary rocks that span several orders of size dimensions. These objects include rosettes spanning tens of micrometres; millimetre-sized granules; and centimetre- to metre-scale botryoids, nodules, and concretions. Connections between diagenetic spheroids and chemically oscillating reactions (COR) have been established based on chemical and pattern similarities. Nevertheless, it is unknown if there are variations in their occurrences throughout geological time, especially during periods of global environmental change. This is because COR are pattern-forming reactions where carboxylic acids are decarboxylated by strong oxidants like sulphuric acid, bromate, or iodate. The hypothesis is that there should be a greater number of diagenetic spheroids at periods of increased atmospheric and oceanic oxygenation levels. Hence, this work presents the first compilation of occurrences of diagenetic spheroids between 0.541 and 1.8 billion years ago (Ga). The compiled patterned objects are those with concentric laminations and radially aligned crystals, which are patterns akin to equidistant circularly concentric waves that radially diffuse in COR. Another characteristic of diagenetic spheroids, similar to that found in botryoidal minerals, is the destructive interference that forms circular twins; this is identical to the COR pattern formed when circular waves meet. The timeline of Proterozoic diagenetic spheroids produced in this work reveals a significant increase in occurrences across the Ediacaran, which is attributed to an increased environmental oxidation state. During this interval, seawater is known to have become richer in sulphate and iodate, which create ideal conditions for the abiotic and diagenetic oxidation of biomass. Therefore, increased occurrences of diagenetic spheroids in the Neoproterozoic possibly represent sedimentological evidence for abiotic decarboxylation reactions and widespread COR in productive environments. The distribution of diagenetic spheroids observed during the Proterozoic may also be more broadly applicable to other epochs of Earth’s history.

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