A palaeotemperature curve for the Precambrian oceans based on silicon isotopes in cherts

François Robert () and Marc Chaussidon
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François Robert: CNRS LEME NanoAnalyses, UMS 2679
Marc Chaussidon: Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques, CRPG-CNRS BP20

Nature, 2006, vol. 443, issue 7114, 969-972

Abstract: Sands of time Cherts, dense silicaceous rocks containing microcrystalline quartz, are among the best preserved ocean sediments on Earth and their formation dates cover a period from the early Archaean, 3.5 billion years ago, to the present. New data show that the silicon isotopic composition of cherts varies systematically with geological age and is correlated with the oxygen isotope composition. This means that the isotopic composition of cherts is likely to record their formation temperature. Using numerical models of the silicon cycle, the isotopic curve derived from this data provides a unique record of Precambrian seawater temperature variations, with changes from about 70 to 20 °C between 3.5 and 0.8 billion years ago.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05239

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