Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
    • Special Volumes and Special Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Subscribers
    • FAQ
    • Terms & Conditions for use of AJS Online
  • Instructions to Authors
    • Focus and paper options
    • Submit your manuscript
  • Site Features
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Usage Statistics
    • RSS
  • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • The Journal

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Journal of Science
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
American Journal of Science

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
    • Special Volumes and Special Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Subscribers
    • FAQ
    • Terms & Conditions for use of AJS Online
  • Instructions to Authors
    • Focus and paper options
    • Submit your manuscript
  • Site Features
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
    • Usage Statistics
    • RSS
  • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • The Journal
  • Follow ajs on Twitter
  • Visit ajs on Facebook
  • Follow ajs on Instagram
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
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • 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
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Nadja Drabon
*Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
C. Page Chamberlain
*Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

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.

View Full Text

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
Previous
Back to top

In this issue

American Journal of Science: 320 (9)
American Journal of Science
Vol. 320, Issue 9
1 Nov 2020
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Ed Board (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Journal of Science.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
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
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Journal of Science
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Journal of Science web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
7 + 2 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
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

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
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
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • ABSTRACT
    • INTRODUCTION
    • GEOLOGIC SETTING OF SAMPLES
    • METHODOLOGY
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • SELECTING ARCHEAN CHERTS FOR PALEOTEMPERATURE ESTIMATES
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • APPENDIX
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • A CO2 greenhouse efficiently warmed the early Earth and decreased seawater 18O/16O before the onset of plate tectonics
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Timing and Nd-Hf isotopic mapping of early Mesozoic granitoids in the Qinling Orogen, central China: Implication for architecture, nature and processes of the orogen
  • India in the Nuna to Gondwana supercontinent cycles: Clues from the north Indian and Marwar Blocks
  • Unravelling the P-T-t history of three high-grade metamorphic events in the Epupa Complex, NW Namibia: Implications for the Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic evolution of the Congo Craton
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Navigate

  • Current Issue
  • Archive

More Information

  • RSS

Other Services

  • About Us

© 2023 American Journal of Science

Powered by HighWire