ALBERT

Description: Glacial environments may provide an important but poorly constrained source of potentially bioavailable iron and manganese phases to the coastal ocean in high-latitude regions. Little is known about the fate and biogeochemical cycling of glacially derived iron and manganese in the coastal marine realm. Sediment and porewater samples were collected along transects from the fjord mouths to the tidewater glaciers at the fjord heads in Smeerenburgfjorden, Kongsfjorden, and Van Keulenfjorden along Western Svalbard. Solid-phase iron and manganese speciation, determined by sequential chemical extraction, could be linked to the compositions of the local bedrock and hydrological/weathering conditions below the local glaciers. The concentration and sulfur isotope composition of chromium reducible sulfur (CRS) in Kongs- and Van Keulenfjorden sediments largely reflect the delivery rate and isotope composition of detrital pyrite originating from adjacent glaciers. The varying input of reducible iron and manganese oxide phases and the input of organic matter of varying reactivity control the pathways of organic carbon mineralization in the sediments of the three fjords. High reducible iron and manganese oxide concentrations and elevated metal accumulation rates coupled to low input of “fresh” organic matter lead to a strong expression of dissimilatory metal oxide reduction evidenced in very high porewater iron (up to 800 lM) and manganese (up to 210 lM) concentrations in Kongsfjorden and Van Keulenfjorden. Sediment reworking by the benthic macrofauna and physical sediment resuspension via iceberg calving may be additional factors that promote extensive benthic iron and manganese cycling in these fjords. On-going benthic recycling of glacially derived dissolved iron into overlying seawater, where partial reoxidation and deposition occurs, facilitates the transport of iron across the fjords and potentially into adjacent continental shelf waters. Such iron-dominated fjord sediments are likely to provide significant fluxes of potentially bioavailable iron to coastal waters and beyond. By contrast, low delivery of reducible iron (oxyhydr)oxide phases and elevated organic carbon mineralization rates driven by elevated input of “fresh” marine organic matter allow organoclastic sulfate reduction to dominate carbon remineralization at the outer Smeerenburgfjorden sites, which may limit iron fluxes to the water column.

Description: Mount Cleveland volcano (1730 m) is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc, Alaska, but heightened activity is rarely accompanied by geophysical signals, which makes interpretation of the activity difficult. In this study, we combine volcanic gas emissions measured for the first time in August 2015 with longer-term measurements of thermal output and lava extrusion rates between 2011 and 2015 calculated from MODIS satellite data with the aim to develop a better understanding of the nature of volcanic activity at Mount Cleveland. Degassing measurements were made in the month following two explosive events (21 July and 7 August 2015) and during a period of new dome growth in the summit crater. SO2 emission rates ranged from 400 to 860 t d− 1 and CO2/SO2 ratios were 〈 3, consistent with the presence of shallow magma in the conduit and the observed growth of a new lava dome. Thermal anomalies derived from MODIS data from 2011 to 2015 had an average repose time of only 4 days, pointing to the continuous nature of volcanic activity at this volcano. Rapid increases in the cumulative thermal output were often coincident with visual confirmation of dome growth or accumulations of tephra in the crater. The average rate of lava extrusion calculated for 9 periods of rapid increase in thermal output was 0.28 m3 s− 1, and the total volume extruded from 2011 to 2015 was 1.9–5.8 Mm3. The thermal output from the lava extrusion events only accounts for roughly half of the thermal budget, suggesting a continued presence of shallow magma in the upper conduit, likely driven by convection. Axisymmetric dome morphology and occasional drain back of lava into the conduit suggests low-viscosity magmas drive volcanism at Mount Cleveland. It follows also that only small overpressures can be maintained given the small domes and fluid magmas, which is consistent with the low explosivity of most of Mount Cleveland's eruptions. Changes between phases of dome growth and explosive activity are somewhat unpredictable and likely result from plugs that are related to the dome obtaining a critical dimension, or from small variations in the magma ascent rate that lead to crystallization-induced blockages in the upper conduit, thereby reducing the ability of magma to degas. We suggest the small magma volumes, slow ascent rates, and low magma viscosity lead to the overall lack of anomalous geophysical signals prior to eruptions, and that more continuous volcanic degassing measurements might lead to more successful eruption forecasting at this continuously-active open-vent volcano.

Description: Over the last two decades, popular opinion about prevailing conditions in the mid-Proterozoic deep ocean has evolved from fully oxygenated to globally euxinic (sulfidic) to a more heterogeneous, stratified water column with localized pockets of euxinia existing in predominantly iron-rich (ferruginous) deep waters. The Animikie Basin in theL ake Superior region has been essential in shaping our view of marine redox evolution over this time period. In this study, we present a multi-proxy paleoredox investigation of previously unanalyzed strata of the late Paleoproterozoic AnimikieB asin using drill cores through the -1.85 Ga Stambaugh Formation (PaintR iver Group) in the Iron River-Crystal Falls district of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. Based on previous tectonic reconstructions and analysis of sedimentary regimes, theI ronR iver-Crystal Falls section captures strata from among the deepest-water facies of the AnimikieB asin.I n contrast to previous work on sedimentary rocks in this basin, we find evidence from iron speciation, trace metal, and Mo isotope data for episodes of at least local deep-water oxygenation within a basin otherwise dominated by ferruginous and euxinic conditions. While tracemetal enrichments and iron speciation data suggest predominantly anoxic conditions, the occurrence of Mn-rich intervals (up to 12.3 wt% MnO) containing abundant Mn-Fe carbonate, and a wide range of Mo isotope data with extremely negative values (8 98195 Mo = -1.0 to + 1.1 %0), record the shuttling of Mn-oxides from surface waters through oxic or suboxic waters to the sediment-water interface. We propose that such conditions are analogous to those of locally restricted modern and Holocene basins in the Baltic Sea, which receive episodic inflow of oxygenated water, producing similar geochemical signatures to those observed for the AnimikieB asin. We argue that the mid-Proterozoic was characterized by a lack of a strong redox buffer (low sulfide, ferrous iron, and oxygen contents), and thus was vulnerable to dramatic, and at least local, redox shifts-including briefly oxygenated bottom waters. A refined view of the mid-Proterozoic ocean is emerging: one that was still predominantly anoxic, but marked by regional heterogeneities and short-term redox variability that may, in part, reflect a transitional state between prevailingly anoxic Archean and predominantly oxic Phanerozoic oceans.

Description: The Cretaceous experienced numerous global and local climatic perturbations to the ocean–atmosphere system, especially during periods of known widespread organic-carbon burial termed oceanic anoxic events (OAEs). The Cenomanian–Turonian boundary event (∼93.9 Ma), or OAE-2, is the best documented and widespread organic carbon (OC) burial event in Earth history—with more than 170 sections published. Despite the substantial number of locations, the majority is found within the proto-Atlantic Ocean, Tethys Ocean and epicontinental seaways. It has been hypothesized that the pervasive burial of OC during OAE-2 caused the observed positive carbon isotope excursion (2 to 7‰, average ∼3‰). The isotope excursion can help constrain the global burial of OC, even for unstudied portions of the global ocean. This approach can solve for ‘missing’ OC sinks by comparing model estimates with the known distribution of OAE-2 sediments and their OC contents. Specifically, mapping the known spatial extent of OC burial in terms of mass accumulation rates (MARs), and comparing those results with the prediction using a forward box model to derive the amount of OC burial to reproduce the globally observed positive carbon isotope excursion. The available OC data from outcrop and drill core, with reasonable extrapolation to analogous settings without data, quantifies ∼13% of the total seafloor, mostly from marginal marine and epicontinental/epeiric settings. However, this extrapolation for OC burial, plus using most appropriate MARs to unknown portions of the seafloor, fail to account for the amount of OC burial predicted for a 3‰ positive carbon isotope excursion. This discrepancy remains even when considering additional sinks of organic carbon burial such as coal, lacustrine environments, authigenic carbonate, and the loss of OC associated with hydrocarbon reservoirs. This outcome points to a large reservoir of OC that is not currently constrained, such as highly productive margins and/or equatorial regions, or a small but significant increase deep ocean OC burial. Another possibility is that the carbon fluxes are less than those used in the model which would require less OC burial to explain a ∼3‰ carbon isotope excursion.

Description: Iron formations (IF) represent an iron-rich rock type that typifies many Archaean and Proterozoic supracrustal successions and are chemical archives of Precambrian seawater chemistry and post-depositional iron cycling. Given that IF accumulated on the seafloor for over two billion years of Earth's early history, changes in their chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic compositions offer a unique glimpse into environmental changes that took place on the evolving Earth. Perhaps one of the most significant events was the transition from an anoxic planet to one where oxygen was persistently present within the marine water column and atmosphere. Linked to this progressive global oxygenation was the evolution of aerobic microbial metabolisms that fundamentally influenced continental weathering processes, the supply of nutrients to the oceans, and, ultimately, diversification of the biosphere and complex life forms. Many of the key recent innovations in understanding IF genesis are linked to geobiology, since biologically assisted Fe(II) oxidation, either directly through photoferrotrophy, or indirectly through oxygenic photosynthesis, provides a process for IF deposition from mineral precursors. The abundance and isotope composition of Fe(II)-bearing minerals in IF additionally suggests microbial Fe(III) reduction, a metabolism that is deeply rooted in the Archaea and Bacteria. Linkages among geobiology, hydrothermal systems, and deposition of IF have been traditionally overlooked, but now form a coherent model for this unique rock type. This paper reviews the defining features of IF and their distribution through the Neoarchaean and Palaeoproterozoic. This paper is an update of previous reviews by Bekker et al. (2010, 2014) that will improve the quantitative framework we use to interpret IF deposition. In this work, we also discuss how recent discoveries have provided new insights into the processes underpinning the global rise in atmospheric oxygen and the geochemical evolution of the oceans.

Description: Inferring redox conditions for ancient marine environments is critical to our understanding of biogeochemical cycles over Earth history. Because of the redox sensitivity of cerium (Ce) relative to other rare earth elements (REEs) and its uptake in marine carbonates, the Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce*) is widely applied to ancient carbonates as a proxy for local redox conditions in the water column. However, carbonate sediments and rocks are particularly vulnerable to multiple stages and styles of post-depositional diagenetic alteration where the diagenetic redox conditions and fluid compositions can vary widely from overlying seawater. Evaluations of the effects of this post-depositional alteration for the Ce anomaly have mostly been limited to ancient carbonate rocks rather than recent, well-characterized analog facies. Here, we report on analyses of REE plus yttrium concentrations (REY) and Ce anomalies in bulk carbonate samples from drill cores collected in the Bahamas (Clino and Unda) that allow us to track loss or retention of primary signals of initial oxic deposition through a range of subsequent alteration scenarios mostly under anoxic conditions. Specifically, these materials have experienced well-constrained overprints linked to meteoric processes and marine burial diagenesis, including dolomitization. Our results show that, regardless of mineralogy, diagenetic fluid composition, and redox state, the REY patterns in these carbonates, including the Ce anomaly, are similar to those of modern oxic seawater, indicating that they likely record the seawater signatures of primary deposition. As such, the Ce anomaly in shallow marine carbonates has the potential to preserve records of primary deposition even when subject to multiple stages and styles of diagenetic alteration, confirming its utility in studies of ancient marine redox.