Globally asynchronous sulphur isotope signals require re-definition of the Great Oxidation Event
File version
Version of Record (VoR)
Author(s)
Avila, Janaina N
Killingsworth, Bryan A
Tessalina, Svetlana
Baton, Franck
Caquineau, Tom
Muller, Elodie
Pecoits, Ernesto
Cartigny, Pierre
Lalonde, Stefan V
Ireland, Trevor R
Thomazo, Christophe
van Kranendonk, Martin J
Busigny, Vincent
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract
The Great Oxidation Event (GOE) has been defined as the time interval when sufficient atmospheric oxygen accumulated to prevent the generation and preservation of mass-independent fractionation of sulphur isotopes (MIF-S) in sedimentary rocks. Existing correlations suggest that the GOE was rapid and globally synchronous. Here we apply sulphur isotope analysis of diagenetic sulphides combined with U-Pb and Re-Os geochronology to document the sulphur cycle evolution in Western Australia spanning the GOE. Our data indicate that, from ~2.45 Gyr to beyond 2.31 Gyr, MIF-S was preserved in sulphides punctuated by several episodes of MIF-S disappearance. These results establish the MIF-S record as asynchronous between South Africa, North America and Australia, argue for regional-scale modulation of MIF-S memory effects due to oxidative weathering after the onset of the GOE, and suggest that the current paradigm of placing the GOE at 2.33-2.32 Ga based on the last occurrence of MIF-S in South Africa should be re-evaluated.
Journal Title
Nature Communications
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
9
Issue
1
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
© The Author(s) 2018. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Geology
Atmospheric sciences
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Turee Creek Group
Hamersley Basin
Persistent link to this record
Citation
Philippot, P; Avila, JN; Killingsworth, BA; Tessalina, S; Baton, F; Caquineau, T; Muller, E; Pecoits, E; Cartigny, P; Lalonde, SV; Ireland, TR; Thomazo, C; van Kranendonk, MJ; Busigny, V, Globally asynchronous sulphur isotope signals require re-definition of the Great Oxidation Event, Nature Communications, 2018, 9