Skip navigation
Skip navigation

Zn isotope evidence for immediate resumption of primary productivity after snowball Earth

Kunzmann, Marcus; Halverson, Galen P; Sossi, Paolo; Raub, Timothy D; Payne, Justin L; Kirby, Jason

Description

The Ediacaran period began with the deglaciation of the ca. 635 Ma Marinoan snowball Earth and the deposition of cap dolostones on continental shelves worldwide during postglacial sea-level rise. These carbonates sharply overlie glacial sediments deposited at low paleolatitudes and preserve negative carbon isotope excursions. The snowball Earth hypothesis invokes an almost complete cessation of primary productivity in the surface ocean. Because assimilatory uptake of Zn appears to fractionate...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorKunzmann, Marcus
dc.contributor.authorHalverson, Galen P
dc.contributor.authorSossi, Paolo
dc.contributor.authorRaub, Timothy D
dc.contributor.authorPayne, Justin L
dc.contributor.authorKirby, Jason
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-13T22:28:29Z
dc.identifier.issn0091-7613
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/74228
dc.description.abstractThe Ediacaran period began with the deglaciation of the ca. 635 Ma Marinoan snowball Earth and the deposition of cap dolostones on continental shelves worldwide during postglacial sea-level rise. These carbonates sharply overlie glacial sediments deposited at low paleolatitudes and preserve negative carbon isotope excursions. The snowball Earth hypothesis invokes an almost complete cessation of primary productivity in the surface ocean. Because assimilatory uptake of Zn appears to fractionate its isotopes, Zn isotope ratios measured in carbonate precipitated in the surface ocean should track fl uctuations in primary productivity. Here we report the fi rst Zn isotopic data, together with carbon and oxygen isotopic profi les from a Neoproterozoic cap dolostone, the Nuccaleena Formation in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. We interpret the Zn isotopic data in terms of a two-stage evolution of the deglacial ocean. Slightly 66Zn-enriched values at the base of the cap dolostone indicate immediate resumption of the biological pump upon melting of the surface ocean, but this signal was diluted by intense surface runoff that drove δ66Zn (66Zn/64Zn, versus the JMC Lyon reference) values down to the composition of continentally derived Zn. A subsequent rise in δ66Zn records a vigorous increase in primary production and export from a nutrient-laden surface ocean.
dc.publisherGeological Society of America Inc
dc.sourceGeology
dc.subjectKeywords: Biological pumps; Cap dolostone; Cap dolostones; Continental shelves; Deglacial; Deglaciations; Ediacaran; Glacial sediments; Isotope ratio; Isotopic data; Negative carbon isotope excursions; Neoproterozoic; Nuccaleena formations; Oxygen isotopic; Primary
dc.titleZn isotope evidence for immediate resumption of primary productivity after snowball Earth
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume41
dc.date.issued2013
local.identifier.absfor049999 - Earth Sciences not elsewhere classified
local.identifier.ariespublicationf5625xPUB4021
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationKunzmann, Marcus, University of Adelaide
local.contributor.affiliationHalverson, Galen P, McGill University
local.contributor.affiliationSossi, Paolo, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationRaub, Timothy D, California Institute of Technology
local.contributor.affiliationPayne, Justin L., University of Adelaide
local.contributor.affiliationKirby, Jason, CSIRO Land and Water
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.bibliographicCitation.issue1
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage27
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage30
local.identifier.doi10.1130/G33422.1
dc.date.updated2016-02-24T09:20:04Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-84872128210
local.identifier.thomsonID000313026200007
CollectionsANU Research Publications

Download

File Description SizeFormat Image
01_Kunzmann_Zn_isotope_evidence_for_2013.pdf289.82 kBAdobe PDF    Request a copy


Items in Open Research are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Updated:  17 November 2022/ Responsible Officer:  University Librarian/ Page Contact:  Library Systems & Web Coordinator