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Research ArticleArticles

Constraints on surface temperature 3.4 billion years ago based on triple oxygen isotopes of cherts from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, and the problem of sample selection

Donald R. Lowe, Daniel E. Ibarra, Nadja Drabon and C. Page Chamberlain
American Journal of Science November 2020, 320 (9) 790-814; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2475/11.2020.02
Donald R. Lowe
*Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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  • For correspondence: drlowe@stanford.edu
Daniel E. Ibarra
*Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
**Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
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Nadja Drabon
*Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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C. Page Chamberlain
*Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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ABSTRACT

Studies of Earth's surface temperature before 3.0 Ga have focused heavily on the oxygen isotopic composition of silica-rich sedimentary rocks called cherts. Interpretation of the results have suggested early surface temperatures ranging from as high as 70 ± 15 °C down to those that differ little from modern values. A major controversy centers on whether differences in the oxygen isotopic compositions of cherts over time reflect changing surface temperatures, changing ocean isotopic composition, or post-depositional diagenetic and metamorphic effects. We here present results of triple oxygen measurements of 3.472 Ga to 3.239 Ga cherts from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. The best preserved samples based on geological evidence have Δ'17O and δ'18O values that plot generally on or near the equilibrium fractionation line for silica precipitated out of modern, ice-free sea water. Geologic considerations allow many potentially useful samples to be eliminated for paleotemperature analysis because of proximity to younger mafic intrusions or interactions with meteoric waters during deposition, both of which tend to lower preserved isotopic values. Our results of triple-O isotopic analyses of a suite of samples representing deposition under open marine, shallow shelf conditions suggest that Archean surface temperatures were well above those of the present day, perhaps as high as 66 to 76 °C. They demonstrate that geologic context, including depositional setting and post-depositional history, requires careful assessment before the significance of oxygen isotopic results can be evaluated.

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American Journal of Science: 320 (9)
American Journal of Science
Vol. 320, Issue 9
1 Nov 2020
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Constraints on surface temperature 3.4 billion years ago based on triple oxygen isotopes of cherts from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, and the problem of sample selection
Donald R. Lowe, Daniel E. Ibarra, Nadja Drabon, C. Page Chamberlain
American Journal of Science Nov 2020, 320 (9) 790-814; DOI: 10.2475/11.2020.02

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Constraints on surface temperature 3.4 billion years ago based on triple oxygen isotopes of cherts from the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, and the problem of sample selection
Donald R. Lowe, Daniel E. Ibarra, Nadja Drabon, C. Page Chamberlain
American Journal of Science Nov 2020, 320 (9) 790-814; DOI: 10.2475/11.2020.02
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  • Article
    • ABSTRACT
    • INTRODUCTION
    • GEOLOGIC SETTING OF SAMPLES
    • METHODOLOGY
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • SELECTING ARCHEAN CHERTS FOR PALEOTEMPERATURE ESTIMATES
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