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Anomalous fractionation of mercury isotopes in the Late Archean atmosphere

Author

Listed:
  • Aubrey L. Zerkle

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Runsheng Yin

    (Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Chaoyue Chen

    (Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xiangdong Li

    (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

  • Gareth J. Izon

    (University of St Andrews
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Stephen E. Grasby

    (Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary Natural Resources Canada)

Abstract

Earth’s surface underwent a dramatic transition ~2.3 billion years ago when atmospheric oxygen first accumulated during the Great Oxidation Event, but the detailed composition of the reducing early atmosphere is not well known. Here we develop mercury (Hg) stable isotopes as a proxy for paleoatmospheric chemistry and use Hg isotope data from 2.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rocks to examine changes in the Late Archean atmosphere immediately prior to the Great Oxidation Event. These sediments preserve evidence of strong photochemical transformations of mercury in the absence of molecular oxygen. In addition, these geochemical records combined with previously published multi-proxy data support a vital role for methane in Earth’s early atmosphere.

Suggested Citation

  • Aubrey L. Zerkle & Runsheng Yin & Chaoyue Chen & Xiangdong Li & Gareth J. Izon & Stephen E. Grasby, 2020. "Anomalous fractionation of mercury isotopes in the Late Archean atmosphere," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-15495-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15495-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Jun Shen & Runsheng Yin & Thomas J. Algeo & Henrik H. Svensen & Shane D. Schoepfer, 2022. "Mercury evidence for combustion of organic-rich sediments during the end-Triassic crisis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.

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