Mineral ecophysiological data provide growing evidence for microbial activity in banded-iron formations

Research Article| August 01, 2011 Mineral ecophysiological data provide growing evidence for microbial activity in banded-iron formations Yi-Liang Li; Yi-Liang Li 1Department of Earth Sciences and School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Kurt O. Konhauser; Kurt O. Konhauser 2Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David R. Cole; David R. Cole 3School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Tommy J. Phelps Tommy J. Phelps 4Bioscience Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008 MS6036, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Yi-Liang Li 1Department of Earth Sciences and School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Kurt O. Konhauser 2Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada David R. Cole 3School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA Tommy J. Phelps 4Bioscience Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008 MS6036, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 15 Dec 2010 Revision Received: 28 Feb 2011 Accepted: 07 Mar 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2011 Geological Society of America Geology (2011) 39 (8): 707–710. https://doi.org/10.1130/G32003.1 Article history Received: 15 Dec 2010 Revision Received: 28 Feb 2011 Accepted: 07 Mar 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Yi-Liang Li, Kurt O. Konhauser, David R. Cole, Tommy J. Phelps; Mineral ecophysiological data provide growing evidence for microbial activity in banded-iron formations. Geology 2011;; 39 (8): 707–710. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G32003.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The phosphorus composition of banded-iron formations (BIFs) has been used as a proxy for Precambrian seawater composition and the paleoeredox state of Earth's surface environment. However, it is unclear whether the phosphorus in BIFs originally entered the sediment as a sorbed component of the iron oxyhydroxide particles, or whether it was incorporated into the biomass of marine phytoplankton. We conducted high-resolution mineral analyses and report here the first detection of an Fe(III) acetate salt, as well as nanocrystals of apatite in association with magnetite, in the 2.48 Ga Dales Gorge Member of the Brockman Iron Formation (a BIF), Hamersley, Western Australia. The clusters of apatite are similar in size and morphology to biogenic apatite crystals resulting from biomass decay in Phanerozoic marine sediments, while the formation of an Fe(III) acetate salt and magnetite not only implies the original presence of biomass in the BIF sediments, but also that organic carbon likely served as an electron donor during bacterial Fe(III) reduction. This study is important because it suggests that phytoplankton may have played a key role in the transfer of phosphorus (and other trace elements) from the photic zone to the seafloor. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.