Letter abstract
Nature Geoscience 1, 118 - 121 (2008)
Published online: 27 January 2008 | doi:10.1038/ngeo107
Subject Categories: Biogeochemistry | Palaeontology
Microbially influenced formation of 2,724-million-year-old stromatolites
Kevin Lepot1, Karim Benzerara1,2, Gordon E. Brown, Jr3,4 & Pascal Philippot1
Laminated accretionary carbonate structures known as stromatolites are a prominent feature of the sedimentary record over the past 3,500 Myr (ref. 1). The macroscopic similarity to modern microbial structures has led to the inference that these structures represent evidence of ancient life1, 2. However, as Archaean stromatolites only rarely contain microfossils, the possibility of abiogenic origins has been raised2. Here, we present the results of nanoscale studies of the 2,724-Myr-old stromatolites from the Tumbiana Formation (Fortescue Group, Australia) showing organic globule clusters within the thin layers of the stromatolites. Aragonite nanocrystals are also closely associated with the organic globules, a combination that is remarkably similar to the organo-mineral building blocks of modern stromatolites3, 4, 5. Our results support microbial mediation for the formation of the Tumbiana stromatolites, and extend the geologic record of primary aragonite by more than 2,300 Myr (ref. 6).
- Equipe Géobiosphère Actuelle et Primitive, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS & Université Denis Diderot, case 89, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
- Institut de Minéralogie et de Physique des Milieux Condensés, 75015 Paris, France
- Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-2115, USA
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, SLAC, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
Correspondence to: Kevin Lepot1 e-mail: lepot@ipgp.jussieu.fr
Correspondence to: Pascal Philippot1 e-mail: philippot@ipgp.jussieu.fr
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Microbially influenced formation of 2,724-million-year-old stromatolitesNature Geoscience Letter
