1
|
Reid RP, Suosaari EP, Oehlert AM, Pollier CGL, Dupraz C. Microbialite Accretion and Growth: Lessons from Shark Bay and the Bahamas. ANNUAL REVIEW OF MARINE SCIENCE 2024; 16:487-511. [PMID: 38231736 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-marine-021423-124637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Microbialites provide geological evidence of one of Earth's oldest ecosystems, potentially recording long-standing interactions between coevolving life and the environment. Here, we focus on microbialite accretion and growth and consider how environmental and microbial forces that characterize living ecosystems in Shark Bay and the Bahamas interact to form an initial microbialite architecture, which in turn establishes distinct evolutionary pathways. A conceptual three-dimensional model is developed for microbialite accretion that emphasizes the importance of a dynamic balance between extrinsic and intrinsic factors in determining the initial architecture. We then explore how early taphonomic and diagenetic processes modify the initial architecture, culminating in various styles of preservation in the rock record. The timing of lithification of microbial products is critical in determining growth patterns and preservation potential. Study results have shown that all microbialites are not created equal; the unique evolutionary history of an individual microbialite matters.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Pamela Reid
- Department of Marine Geosciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA; , ,
- Bahamas Marine EcoCentre, Miami, Florida, USA;
| | - Erica P Suosaari
- Bahamas Marine EcoCentre, Miami, Florida, USA;
- Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
- Bush Heritage Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Amanda M Oehlert
- Department of Marine Geosciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA; , ,
| | - Clément G L Pollier
- Department of Marine Geosciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA; , ,
| | - Christophe Dupraz
- Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden;
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Criado-Reyes J, Otálora F, Canals À, Verdugo-Escamilla C, García-Ruiz JM. Mechanisms shaping the gypsum stromatolite-like structures in the Salar de Llamara (Atacama Desert, Chile). Sci Rep 2023; 13:678. [PMID: 36635429 PMCID: PMC9837060 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-27666-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The explanation of the origin of microbialites and specifically stromatolitic structures is a problem of high relevance for decoding past sedimentary environments and deciphering the biogenicity of the oldest plausible remnants of life. We have investigated the morphogenesis of gypsum stromatolite-like structures currently growing in shallow ponds (puquíos) in the Salar de Llamara (Atacama Desert, Northern Chile). The crystal size, aspect ratio, and orientation distributions of gypsum crystals within the structures have been quantified and show indications for episodic nucleation and competitive growth of millimetric to centimetric selenite crystals into a radial, branched, and loosely cemented aggregate. The morphogenetical process is explained by the existence of a stable vertical salinity gradient in the ponds. Due to the non-linear dependency of gypsum solubility as a function of sodium chloride concentration, the salinity gradient produces undersaturated solutions, which dissolve gypsum crystals. This dissolution happens at a certain depth, narrowing the lower part of the structures, and producing their stromatolite-like morphology. We have tested this novel mechanism experimentally, simulating the effective dissolution of gypsum crystals in stratified ponds, thus providing a purely abiotic mechanism for these stromatolite-like structures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joaquín Criado-Reyes
- grid.466807.bLaboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, IACT, UGR-CSIC, Av. Palmeras 4, 18100 Armilla, Granada Spain
| | - Fermín Otálora
- grid.466807.bLaboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, IACT, UGR-CSIC, Av. Palmeras 4, 18100 Armilla, Granada Spain
| | - Àngels Canals
- grid.5841.80000 0004 1937 0247Departamento de Mineralogía, Petrología y Geología Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias de La Tierra, Universidad de Barcelona, C/Martí i Franques s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristóbal Verdugo-Escamilla
- grid.466807.bLaboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, IACT, UGR-CSIC, Av. Palmeras 4, 18100 Armilla, Granada Spain
| | - Juan-Manuel García-Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, IACT, UGR-CSIC, Av. Palmeras 4, 18100, Armilla, Granada, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|