Warm Archaean oceans reconstructed from oxygen isotope composition of early-life remnants
Open accessAbstract
Deciphering the surface conditions on the Earth during Archean times (> 2.5 billion years ago -Ga) is crucial to constrain the conditions that promoted the development of life.The progressive shift through time of the oxygen isotopic compositions of Precambrian siliceous sediments -the so-called cherts -has been interpreted as indicating a secular decrease of seawater temperature by 50-80 °C from the early Archean to the present-day.However, this interpretation has been questioned, notably because it assumes that the seawater oxygen isotopic composition has remained globally constant since 3.5 Ga, though this has never been tested by direct isotopic measurements on Archean samples.Here we report measurements of the oxygen isotopic composition of carbonaceous matter indigenous to Precambrian cherts up to ca. 3.5 Ga.These new results demonstrate that the oxygen isotope composition of seawater during most of the Precambrian remained around 0 ± 5 ‰, which is consistent with the composition of present day seawater.Combined with the chert oxygen isotope composition record, this indicates that ca.3.5 Ga ago ocean bottom-water temperatures were ~50-60 °C higher than today.
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The Hadean climate was likely extremely unstable, oscillating between freezing and perhaps 100°C.
“Lacking much surficial erosion and weathering-the present Earth's thermostat-because of the lack of exposed landmass, and dependent on the atmospheric pressure of CO 2 , the climate was likely to have been extremely unstable, oscillating between freezing and perhaps 100 • C (Kasting and Ackerman 1986;Robert and Chaussidon 2006;Tartèse et al. 2017).”
From The Emergence of Life (2019) · cites this paper as Tartèse et al. 2017
The Implications for Surface Temperatures section (page not available in our copy) links Archean warmth to greenhouse gases and suggests that continental weathering helped control surface temperature. It does not address Hadean climate instability or oscillations between freezing and 100 °C; its reconstructed Archean temperatures are about 40–60 °C. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredO and Si isotope studies suggest Hadean ocean temperatures up to 80°C, confirmed by Tartèse et al., who conclude high temperatures result from significant hydrothermal input.
“while Robert and Chaussidon (2006) propose even higher temperatures up to 80 • C, confirmed by Tartèse et al. (2017), who conclude that the high temperatures are the result of significant hydrothermal input.”
From The Emergence of Life (2019) · cites this paper as Tartèse et al. 2017
In “Implications for Surface Temperatures on the Earth during the Precambrian” (page not supplied), Tartèse et al. support warm Archean waters, estimating 50–60 °C, but they do not confirm an 80 °C Hadean ocean. They say hot hydrothermal fluids may explain elevated temperatures in some chert formations; for elevated Archean surface temperatures, they instead discuss a greenhouse atmosphere. (LLM, conf=0.89)
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References 30 · Cited by 77
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Geochem. Persp. Let. (2017) 3, 55-65 | doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.1706 Geochem. Persp. Let. (2017) 3, 55-65 | doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.1706 63 · DOI
- knAuth, L.p., LoWe, d.r. (2003) High Archean climatic temperature inferred from oxygen isotope geochemistry of cherts in the 3.5 Ga Swaziland Supergroup, South Africa. Geological Society of America Bulletin 115, 566-580.
- Wedeking, k.W. (1983) The Biogeochemistry of Precambrian Kerogen. Ph.D. thesis, Indiana Univer- sity, 167 pp.
- Authors
- Tartèse, R., Chaussidon, M., Gurenko, A., Delarue, F., & Robert, F.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques (FR)
- Venue
- Geochemical Perspectives Letters
- Publisher
- European Association of Geochemistry
- Published
- 2016-10
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 55-65
- ISSN
- 2410-339X (ISSN-L)
- 2410-3403
- OpenAlex
- W2538133826
- Cited by
- 77
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 8.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- Geochemical Perspectives Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
- FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (290861)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
- Keywords
- Archean ocean, seawater temperature, oxygen isotopes, Precambrian cherts, carbon materials, early life, bottom water temperature
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