The rise and fall of stromatolites in shallow marine environments

Research Article| June 01, 2017 The rise and fall of stromatolites in shallow marine environments Shanan E. Peters; Shanan E. Peters 1Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jon M. Husson; Jon M. Husson 1Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Julia Wilcots Julia Wilcots 1Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2017) 45 (6): 487–490. https://doi.org/10.1130/G38931.1 Article history received: 07 Nov 2016 rev-recd: 20 Jan 2017 accepted: 25 Jan 2017 first online: 28 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Shanan E. Peters, Jon M. Husson, Julia Wilcots; The rise and fall of stromatolites in shallow marine environments. Geology 2017;; 45 (6): 487–490. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G38931.1 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 Stromatolites are abundant in shallow marine sediments deposited before the evolution of animals, but in the modern ocean they are restricted to locations where the activity of animals is limited. Overall decline in the abundance of stromatolites has, therefore, been attributed to the evolution of substrate-modifying metazoans, with Phanerozoic stromatolite resurgences attributed to the aftermaths of mass extinctions. Here we use a comprehensive stratigraphic database, the published literature, and a machine reading system to show that the rock record–normalized occurrence of stromatolites in marine environments in North America exhibits three phases: an initial Paleoproterozoic (ca. 2500 Ma) increase, a sustained interval of dominance during the Proterozoic (2500–800 Ma), and a late Neoproterozoic (700–541 Ma) decline to lower mean prevalence during the Phanerozoic (541–0 Ma). Stromatolites continued to exhibit large changes in prevalence after the evolution of metazoans, and they transiently achieved Proterozoic-like prevalence during the Paleozoic. The aftermaths of major mass extinctions are not well correlated with stromatolite resurgence. Instead, stromatolite occurrence is well predicted by the prevalence of dolomite, a shift in carbonate mineralogy that is sensitive to changes in water-column and pore-water chemistry occurring during continent-scale marine transgressive-regressive cycles. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.