Fossil black smoker yields oxygen isotopic composition of Neoproterozoic seawater.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of the seawater oxygen isotopic composition (?18O) through geological time remains controversial. Yet, the past ?18Oseawater is key to assess past seawater temperatures, providing insights into past climate change and life evolution. Here we provide a new and unprecedentedly precise ?18O value of -1.33?±?0.98‰ for the Neoproterozoic bottom seawater supporting a constant oxygen isotope composition through time. We demonstrate that the Aït Ahmane ultramafic unit of the ca. 760?Ma Bou Azzer ophiolite (Morocco) host a fossil black smoker-type hydrothermal system. In this system we analyzed an untapped archive for the ocean oxygen isotopic composition consisting in pure magnetite veins directly precipitated from a Neoproterozoic seawater-derived fluid. Our results suggest that, while ?18Oseawater and submarine hydrothermal processes were likely similar to present day, Neoproterozoic oceans were 15-30?°C warmer on the eve of the Sturtian glaciation and the major life diversification that followed.

SUBMITTER: Hodel F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5899122 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature