Climate control on banded iron formations linked to orbital eccentricity

Margriet L. Lantink; Joshua H.F.L. Davies; Paul R.D. Mason; Urs Schaltegger; Frederik J. Hilgen

doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0332-8

Climate control on banded iron formations linked to orbital eccentricity

Margriet L. Lantink^*
, Joshua H.F.L. Davies
, Paul R.D. Mason
, Urs Schaltegger
, Frederik J. Hilgen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Astronomical forcing associated with Earth’s orbital and inclination parameters (Milankovitch forcing) exerts a major control on climate as recorded in the sedimentary rock record, but its influence in deep time is largely unknown. Banded iron formations, iron-rich marine sediments older than 1.8 billion years, offer unique insight into the early Earth’s environment. Their origin and distinctive layering have been explained by various mechanisms, including hydrothermal plume activity, the redox evolution of the oceans, microbial and diagenetic processes, sea-level fluctuations, and seasonal or tidal forcing. However, their potential link to past climate oscillations remains unexplored. Here we use cyclostratigraphic analysis combined with high-precision uranium–lead dating to investigate the potential influence of Milankovitch forcing on their deposition. Field exposures of the 2.48-billion-year-old Kuruman Banded Iron Formation reveal a well-defined hierarchical cycle pattern in the weathering profile that is laterally continuous over at least 250 km. The isotopic ages constrain the sedimentation rate at 10 m Myr⁻¹ and link the observed cycles to known eccentricity oscillations with periods of 405 thousand and about 1.4 to 1.6 million years. We conclude that long-period, Milankovitch-forced climate cycles exerted a primary control on large-scale compositional variations in banded iron formations.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	369-374
Number of pages	6
Journal	Nature Geoscience
Volume	12
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0332-8
Publication status	Published - May 2019

Funding

We thank C. Albutt and Murphy for providing us with access to sections Woodstock and Daniëlskuil; S. Hilgen for help with the logging; H. Tsikos for arranging access to drill core Gasesa-1; N. Beukes for help with organizing the drilling and lutite sampling of drill core UUBH-1, which was drilled by OB Mining & Drilling Pty Ltd; and S. Meyers for advice on the spectral analysis. This study was supported by the Dutch National Science Foundation (grant NWO ALWOP.192), the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant 200021_169086) and the Dr. Schurmannfonds (grant 126-2017).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action
SDG 14 Life Below Water

Access to Document

10.1038/s41561-019-0332-8

Climate controlFinal published version, 3.07 MBLicence: Taverne

Cite this

@article{4403b04fed884dbb80cc8e398857c6d7,

title = "Climate control on banded iron formations linked to orbital eccentricity",

abstract = "Astronomical forcing associated with Earth{\textquoteright}s orbital and inclination parameters (Milankovitch forcing) exerts a major control on climate as recorded in the sedimentary rock record, but its influence in deep time is largely unknown. Banded iron formations, iron-rich marine sediments older than 1.8 billion years, offer unique insight into the early Earth{\textquoteright}s environment. Their origin and distinctive layering have been explained by various mechanisms, including hydrothermal plume activity, the redox evolution of the oceans, microbial and diagenetic processes, sea-level fluctuations, and seasonal or tidal forcing. However, their potential link to past climate oscillations remains unexplored. Here we use cyclostratigraphic analysis combined with high-precision uranium–lead dating to investigate the potential influence of Milankovitch forcing on their deposition. Field exposures of the 2.48-billion-year-old Kuruman Banded Iron Formation reveal a well-defined hierarchical cycle pattern in the weathering profile that is laterally continuous over at least 250 km. The isotopic ages constrain the sedimentation rate at 10 m Myr−1 and link the observed cycles to known eccentricity oscillations with periods of 405 thousand and about 1.4 to 1.6 million years. We conclude that long-period, Milankovitch-forced climate cycles exerted a primary control on large-scale compositional variations in banded iron formations.",

author = "Lantink, \{Margriet L.\} and Davies, \{Joshua H.F.L.\} and Mason, \{Paul R.D.\} and Urs Schaltegger and Hilgen, \{Frederik J.\}",

year = "2019",

month = may,

doi = "10.1038/s41561-019-0332-8",

language = "English",

volume = "12",

pages = "369--374",

journal = "Nature Geoscience",

issn = "1752-0894",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "5",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Climate control on banded iron formations linked to orbital eccentricity

AU - Lantink, Margriet L.

AU - Davies, Joshua H.F.L.

AU - Mason, Paul R.D.

AU - Schaltegger, Urs

AU - Hilgen, Frederik J.

PY - 2019/5

Y1 - 2019/5

N2 - Astronomical forcing associated with Earth’s orbital and inclination parameters (Milankovitch forcing) exerts a major control on climate as recorded in the sedimentary rock record, but its influence in deep time is largely unknown. Banded iron formations, iron-rich marine sediments older than 1.8 billion years, offer unique insight into the early Earth’s environment. Their origin and distinctive layering have been explained by various mechanisms, including hydrothermal plume activity, the redox evolution of the oceans, microbial and diagenetic processes, sea-level fluctuations, and seasonal or tidal forcing. However, their potential link to past climate oscillations remains unexplored. Here we use cyclostratigraphic analysis combined with high-precision uranium–lead dating to investigate the potential influence of Milankovitch forcing on their deposition. Field exposures of the 2.48-billion-year-old Kuruman Banded Iron Formation reveal a well-defined hierarchical cycle pattern in the weathering profile that is laterally continuous over at least 250 km. The isotopic ages constrain the sedimentation rate at 10 m Myr−1 and link the observed cycles to known eccentricity oscillations with periods of 405 thousand and about 1.4 to 1.6 million years. We conclude that long-period, Milankovitch-forced climate cycles exerted a primary control on large-scale compositional variations in banded iron formations.

AB - Astronomical forcing associated with Earth’s orbital and inclination parameters (Milankovitch forcing) exerts a major control on climate as recorded in the sedimentary rock record, but its influence in deep time is largely unknown. Banded iron formations, iron-rich marine sediments older than 1.8 billion years, offer unique insight into the early Earth’s environment. Their origin and distinctive layering have been explained by various mechanisms, including hydrothermal plume activity, the redox evolution of the oceans, microbial and diagenetic processes, sea-level fluctuations, and seasonal or tidal forcing. However, their potential link to past climate oscillations remains unexplored. Here we use cyclostratigraphic analysis combined with high-precision uranium–lead dating to investigate the potential influence of Milankovitch forcing on their deposition. Field exposures of the 2.48-billion-year-old Kuruman Banded Iron Formation reveal a well-defined hierarchical cycle pattern in the weathering profile that is laterally continuous over at least 250 km. The isotopic ages constrain the sedimentation rate at 10 m Myr−1 and link the observed cycles to known eccentricity oscillations with periods of 405 thousand and about 1.4 to 1.6 million years. We conclude that long-period, Milankovitch-forced climate cycles exerted a primary control on large-scale compositional variations in banded iron formations.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85064089453

U2 - 10.1038/s41561-019-0332-8

DO - 10.1038/s41561-019-0332-8

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85064089453

SN - 1752-0894

VL - 12

SP - 369

EP - 374

JO - Nature Geoscience

JF - Nature Geoscience

IS - 5

ER -

Climate control on banded iron formations linked to orbital eccentricity

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this