Syndepositional hydrothermalism selectively preserves records of one of the earliest benthic ecosystems, Moodies Group (3.22 Ga), Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa

IF 1.2 4区 地球科学 Q2 GEOLOGY
S. Reimann, C. Heubeck, P. Fugmann, D. V. Rensburg, A. Zametzer, S. Serre, T. Thomsen
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引用次数: 7

Abstract

The ~3.22 Ga Moodies Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB), South Africa, provides a unique window into Archaean sedimentary, magmatic and ecological processes. In the central BGB, a regional mafic complex, consisting of a genetically related major mafic sill, a peperitic dyke stockwork, and extensive basaltic lava flows affected thick quartzose sandstones of the Moodies Group. We argue that epithermal hydrothermalism associated with this magmatic event occurred, at least in part, syndepositionally and in places destroyed, in other places preserved the abundant benthic microbial mats in terrestrial- and coastal-facies sandstone of this unit. We differentiate four principal types of hydrothermal alteration: (1) Sericitization resulted from ubiquitous feldspar breakdown; (2) iron-oxide alteration replaced the original matrix by fine-grained iron oxide; (3) silicification replaced matrix and most non-silica grains by microcrystalline silica and locally preserved kerogenous microbial mats; and (4) hydraulic fracturing at shallow depth brecciated consolidated Moodies Group sandstone and created closely spaced, randomly oriented fractures and quartz-filled veins. Because stockwork intrusion locally interacted with unconsolidated water-saturated sediment and because the dykes connect the sill with the mafic lava but also follow zones of structural weakness, we suggest that hydrothermalism associated with this magmatic event occurred syndepositionally but was also – within the resolution of radiometric age data – contemporaneous with tight regional folding. We conclude that microbial organisms in Paleoarchaean coastal (tidal, estuarine) environments may have been formerly widespread, possibly even abundant, but are nearly nowhere preserved because they were easily degradable. Preservation of Early Archaean microbial mats in a thermal aureole in the central BGB was controlled by the “just right” degree of heating and very early hydrothermal silicification.
同沉积热液作用选择性地保存了最早的底栖生态系统之一——南非巴伯顿绿岩带的穆迪斯群(3.22 Ga)的记录
南非Barberton Greenstone Belt(BGB)的~3.22 Ga Moodies群为了解太古宙沉积、岩浆和生态过程提供了一个独特的窗口。在BGB中部,一个区域性镁铁质杂岩,由一个成因相关的主要镁铁质岩床、一个泥质脉网和广泛的玄武岩熔岩流组成,影响了穆迪群的厚石英砂岩。我们认为,与这一岩浆事件相关的浅成热液热液作用至少部分发生在同沉积和被破坏的地方,在其他地方,该单元的陆地和海岸相砂岩中保留了丰富的海底微生物垫。我们区分了四种主要的热液蚀变类型:(1)绢云母化是由普遍存在的长石分解引起的;(2) 氧化铁蚀变用细粒氧化铁取代了原始基质;(3) 硅化作用用微晶二氧化硅和局部保存的干酪根微生物垫取代了基质和大多数非二氧化硅颗粒;和(4)浅层水力压裂使固结穆迪组砂岩角砾化,并形成紧密间隔、随机定向的裂缝和石英填充的矿脉。由于网状侵入体与松散的水饱和沉积物局部相互作用,并且堤坝将岩床与镁铁质熔岩连接起来,我们认为,与这一岩浆事件相关的热液作用是同沉积发生的,但在辐射年龄数据的分辨率范围内,也与紧密的区域褶皱同时发生。我们得出的结论是,古太古代沿海(潮汐、河口)环境中的微生物以前可能分布广泛,甚至可能数量丰富,但由于易于降解,几乎没有保存下来。BGB中部热晕中早期太古宙微生物垫的保存受到“恰到好处”的加热程度和非常早期的热液硅化作用的控制。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
3.60
自引率
5.60%
发文量
18
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: The South African Journal of Geology publishes scientific papers, notes, stratigraphic descriptions and discussions in the broadly defined fields of geoscience that are related directly or indirectly to the geology of Africa. Contributions relevant to former supercontinental entities such as Gondwana and Rodinia are also welcome as are topical studies on any geoscience-related discipline. Review papers are welcome as long as they represent original, new syntheses. Special issues are also encouraged but terms for these must be negotiated with the Editors.
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