Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 57-61 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Geochemical Perspectives Letters |
| Volume | 34 |
| Publication status | Published - 6 May 2025 |
Abstract
but the impact of hydrothermal fluids on Earth’s ancient oceans and their habitats
remains ambiguous. Europium (Eu) enrichments trace high temperature hydrothermal
fluids in rock archives and may serve as proxy for hydrothermal input into ancient
oceans. Here, we provide Eu abundances from stromatolites and iron formations
between 3.8 and 0.542 billion years (Ga) ago and reconstruct the impact of hydrothermal
systems on shallow and deeper marine environments. Our results document
a continuous decrease in positive Eu anomalies until 2.5 Ga ago, followed by almost
complete disappearance, suggesting a decreasing impact of submarine hydrothermal
systems on ancient oceans. Exceptional positive Eu excursions between 2.8 and 2.6
Ga, and potentially also at 3.5 and 2.2 Ga, are only preserved in deep marine settings and reflect magmatic pulses triggered by elevated upper mantle temperatures. Our results demonstrate the significance of high temperature hydrothermal systems on Archean seawater chemistry with implications for the supply of bio-essential elements. However, life in shallow marine environments
was likely supported by fluxes from emerging continents, at the least from the Neoarchean onwards.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Geology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Geochemistry and Petrology
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 34, 06.05.2025, p. 57-61.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Europium traces the impact of high temperature hydrothermal systems on the early oceans
AU - Viehmann, Sebastian
AU - Stüeken, Eva E.
AU - Hohl, Simon V.
AU - Tepe, Nathalie
AU - Lin, Yibo
AU - Kraemer, Dennis
AU - Van Kranendonk, Martin
AU - Krayer, Johanna Katharina
AU - Ernst, David
AU - Weyer, Stefan
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors.
PY - 2025/5/6
Y1 - 2025/5/6
N2 - Hydrothermal systems have been invoked as a major driver for the evolution of life,but the impact of hydrothermal fluids on Earth’s ancient oceans and their habitatsremains ambiguous. Europium (Eu) enrichments trace high temperature hydrothermalfluids in rock archives and may serve as proxy for hydrothermal input into ancientoceans. Here, we provide Eu abundances from stromatolites and iron formationsbetween 3.8 and 0.542 billion years (Ga) ago and reconstruct the impact of hydrothermalsystems on shallow and deeper marine environments. Our results documenta continuous decrease in positive Eu anomalies until 2.5 Ga ago, followed by almostcomplete disappearance, suggesting a decreasing impact of submarine hydrothermalsystems on ancient oceans. Exceptional positive Eu excursions between 2.8 and 2.6Ga, and potentially also at 3.5 and 2.2 Ga, are only preserved in deep marine settings and reflect magmatic pulses triggered by elevated upper mantle temperatures. Our results demonstrate the significance of high temperature hydrothermal systems on Archean seawater chemistry with implications for the supply of bio-essential elements. However, life in shallow marine environmentswas likely supported by fluxes from emerging continents, at the least from the Neoarchean onwards.
AB - Hydrothermal systems have been invoked as a major driver for the evolution of life,but the impact of hydrothermal fluids on Earth’s ancient oceans and their habitatsremains ambiguous. Europium (Eu) enrichments trace high temperature hydrothermalfluids in rock archives and may serve as proxy for hydrothermal input into ancientoceans. Here, we provide Eu abundances from stromatolites and iron formationsbetween 3.8 and 0.542 billion years (Ga) ago and reconstruct the impact of hydrothermalsystems on shallow and deeper marine environments. Our results documenta continuous decrease in positive Eu anomalies until 2.5 Ga ago, followed by almostcomplete disappearance, suggesting a decreasing impact of submarine hydrothermalsystems on ancient oceans. Exceptional positive Eu excursions between 2.8 and 2.6Ga, and potentially also at 3.5 and 2.2 Ga, are only preserved in deep marine settings and reflect magmatic pulses triggered by elevated upper mantle temperatures. Our results demonstrate the significance of high temperature hydrothermal systems on Archean seawater chemistry with implications for the supply of bio-essential elements. However, life in shallow marine environmentswas likely supported by fluxes from emerging continents, at the least from the Neoarchean onwards.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105006686014&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7185/geochemlet.2514
DO - 10.7185/geochemlet.2514
M3 - Article
VL - 34
SP - 57
EP - 61
JO - Geochemical Perspectives Letters
JF - Geochemical Perspectives Letters
SN - 2410-339X
ER -