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Potential influence of sulphur bacteria on Palaeoproterozoic phosphogenesis

Nature Geoscience volume 7, pages 20–24 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

All known forms of life require phosphorus, and biological processes strongly influence the global phosphorus cycle1. Although the record of life on Earth extends back to 3.8 billion years ago2 and the advent of biological phosphate processing can be tracked to at least 3.5 billion years ago3, the earliest known P-rich deposits appeared only 2 billion years ago4,5. The onset of P deposition has been attributed to the rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.4–2.3 billion years ago and the related profound biogeochemical shifts6,7,8,9, which increased the riverine input of phosphate to the ocean and boosted biological productivity and phosphogenesis5,10. However, the P-rich deposits post-date the rise of oxygen by about 300 million years. Here we use microfabric, trace element and carbon isotope analyses to assess the environmental setting and redox conditions of the 2-billion-year-old P-rich deposits of the vent- or seep-influenced Zaonega Formation, northwest Russia. We identify phosphatized microorganism fossils that resemble modern methanotrophic archaea and sulphur-oxidizing bacteria, analogous to organisms found in modern seep settings and upwelling zones with a sharp redoxcline11,12. We therefore propose that the P-rich deposits in the Zaonega Formation were formed by phosphogenesis mediated by sulphur bacteria, similar to modern sites13, and by the precipitation of calcium phosphate minerals on microbial templates during early diagenesis.

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Figure 1: Geochemical profiles through the phosphate-rich interval of the Zaonega Formation exposed in a ∼ 10-m-thick outcrop at Shunga village.
Figure 2: SEM images and element maps of phosphate nodules, layers and lenses.
Figure 3: SEM–BSE images of phosphate nodules and layers from polished rock slabs.
Figure 4: SEM–BSE images of cracked rock surfaces illustrating apatite particles (BSE light) and the massive carbonaceous matrix (BSE dark) in phosphate nodules and layers.
Figure 5: TEM images of a 100-nm-thick foil generated by focused ion beam milling.

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Acknowledgements

This study was undertaken in the frame of the FAR-DEEP and was supported by the International Continental Drilling Program, Geological Survey of Norway, Centre for Geobiology of Bergen University, Norwegian Research Council grant 191530/V30, Estonian Science Foundation grants ESF8774 and SF0180069S08 and Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/G00398X/1. We thank V. A. Melezhik for coordinating the FAR-DEEP, M. Mesli for managing the FAR-DEEP sample archive and L. Kump for providing unpublished carbon isotope data on FAR-DEEP core 13A.

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  1. Adam P. Martin

    Present address: Present address: GNS Science, Private Bag 1930, 9054 Dunedin, New Zealand,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Survey of Norway, 7491 Trondheim, Norway

    Aivo Lepland & Alenka E. Črne

  2. Tallinn University of Technology, Institute of Geology, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia

    Aivo Lepland

  3. Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway

    Aivo Lepland

  4. Department of Geology, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia

    Lauri Joosu, Kalle Kirsimäe, Peeter Somelar, Kärt Üpraus & Kaarel Mänd

  5. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9AL Scotland, UK

    Anthony R. Prave

  6. Institute of Geology, Karelian Science Centre, Pushkinskaya 11, 185610 Petrozavodsk, Russia

    Alexander E. Romashkin

  7. Ivan Rakovec Institute of Paleontology, ZRC SAZU, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Alenka E. Črne

  8. NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK

    Adam P. Martin & Nick M. W. Roberts

  9. Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Rankine Avenue, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride, G75 0QF Scotland, UK

    Anthony E. Fallick

  10. Géobiosphère Actuelle et Primitive, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris– Sorbonne-Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot, UMR 7154, CNRS, 1 rue Jussieu, 75238 Paris cedex 5, France

    Mark A. van Zuilen

  11. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, Chemistry and Physics of Earth Materials, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany

    Richard Wirth & Anja Schreiber

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  1. Aivo Lepland
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Contributions

A.L. and K.K. conceived the study; A.E.R., A.L., L.J., A.R.P., A.E.Č. and A.P.M. carried out field work and sample collection; L.J., K.K., P.S., K.Ü., K.M., N.M.W.R., A.P.M. and A.L. carried out mineralogic, petrographic geochemical analyses; A.E.F. and L.J. carried out carbon isotope analyses, R.W., M.A.v.Z., A.S., L.J., K.M. and A.L. carried out TEM analyses. All authors contributed to the interpretation of results and the writing and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Aivo Lepland.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Lepland, A., Joosu, L., Kirsimäe, K. et al. Potential influence of sulphur bacteria on Palaeoproterozoic phosphogenesis. Nature Geosci 7, 20–24 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2005

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