The onset of widespread marine red beds and the evolution of ferruginous oceans

Haijun Song (), Ganqing Jiang, Simon W. Poulton, Paul B. Wignall, Jinnan Tong, Huyue Song, Zhihui An, Daoliang Chu, Li Tian, Zhenbing She and Chengshan Wang
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Haijun Song: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences
Ganqing Jiang: University of Nevada
Simon W. Poulton: School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Paul B. Wignall: School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Jinnan Tong: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences
Huyue Song: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences
Zhihui An: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences
Daoliang Chu: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences
Li Tian: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences
Zhenbing She: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences
Chengshan Wang: China University of Geosciences

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Banded iron formations were a prevalent feature of marine sedimentation ~3.8–1.8 billion years ago and they provide key evidence for ferruginous oceans. The disappearance of banded iron formations at ~1.8 billion years ago was traditionally taken as evidence for the demise of ferruginous oceans, but recent geochemical studies show that ferruginous conditions persisted throughout the later Precambrian, and were even a feature of Phanerozoic ocean anoxic events. Here, to reconcile these observations, we track the evolution of oceanic Fe-concentrations by considering the temporal record of banded iron formations and marine red beds. We find that marine red beds are a prominent feature of the sedimentary record since the middle Ediacaran (~580 million years ago). Geochemical analyses and thermodynamic modelling reveal that marine red beds formed when deep-ocean Fe-concentrations were > 4 nM. By contrast, banded iron formations formed when Fe-concentrations were much higher (> 50 μM). Thus, the first widespread development of marine red beds constrains the timing of deep-ocean oxygenation.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00502-x

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