Cited by 132Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsGeochemistry and Elemental AnalysisGeological and Geochemical Analysis

Molybdenum evidence for expansive sulfidic water masses in ~750Ma oceans

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Dahl, Tais W., Canfield, Donald E., Rosing, Minik T., Frei, Robert E., Gordon, Gwyneth W., Knoll, Andrew H., Anbar, Ariel D.·2011·Earth and Planetary Science Letters

Abstract

The Ediacaran appearance of large animals, including motile bilaterians, is commonly hypothesized to reflect a physiologically enabling increase in atmospheric and oceanic oxygen abundances (pO 2 ). To date, direct evidence for low oxygen in pre-Ediacaran oceans has focused on chemical signatures in the rock record that reflect conditions in local basins, but this approach is both biased to constrain only shallower basins and statistically limited when we seek to follow the evolution of mean ocean chemical state through time. Because the abundance and isotopic composition of molybdenum (Mo) in organic-rich euxinic sediments can vary in response to changes in global redox conditions, Mo geochemistry provides independent constraints on the global evolution of well-oxygenated environments. Here, we establish a theoretical framework to access global marine Mo cycle in the past from the abundance and isotope composition of ancient seawater. Further, we investigate the ~ 750 Ma Walcott Member of the Chuar Group, Grand Canyon, which accumulated in a rift basin with open connection to the ocean. Iron speciation data from upper Walcott shales indicate that local bottom waters were anoxic and sulfidic, consistent with their high organic content (up to 20 wt.%). Similar facies in Phanerozoic successions contain high concentrations of redox-sensitive metals, but in the Walcott Member, abundances of Mo and U, as well as Mo/TOC (~ 0.5 ppm/wt.%) are low. δ 98 Mo values also fall well below…

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.09.016

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  • Similar Mo isotope signatures for expanded ocean euxinia have been documented from Neoproterozoic black shales, including the Walcott Member and the Black River Dolomite.

    “Similar Mo isotope signatures for expanded ocean euxinia have also been documented from Neoproterozoic black shales, including the ~750 Ma Walcott Member of the Chuar Group, Grand Canyon (Dahl et al., 2011) and the ca.640 Ma Black River Dolomite (Kendall et al., 2015a).”

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Authors
Dahl, T. W., Canfield, D. E., Rosing, M. T., Frei, R. E., Gordon, G. W., Knoll, A. H., & Anbar, A. D.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern Denmark (DK)
  • University of Copenhagen (DK)
  • Arizona State University (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Dahl, Tais W.
Venue
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-11
Volume
311
Issue
3-4
Pages
264-274
ISSN
0012-821X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2166679308
Cited by
132
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 9
FWCI
6.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Earth and Planetary Science Letters (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (0420592)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • National Research Foundation
  • Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
Keywords
euxinia, Neoproterozoic ocean, atmospheric oxygen, molybdenum isotopes, Chuar Group, iron speciation, anoxic bottom water, redox-sensitive metals, Ediacaran biota, paleo-oxygenation

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