Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Unprecedented 34S-enrichment of pyrite formed following microbial sulfate reduction in fractured crystalline rocks
Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Geology. (Nordsim)ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2227-577X
Show others and affiliations
2018 (English)In: Geobiology, Vol. 16, no 5, p. 556-574Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In the deep biosphere, microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) is exploited for energy. Here, we show that, in fractured continental crystalline bedrock in three areas in Sweden, this process produced sulfide that reacted with iron to form pyrite extremely enriched in 34S relative to 32S. As documented by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) microanalyses, the δ34Spyrite values are up to +132‰V-CDT and with a total range of 186‰. The lightest δ34Spyrite values (−54‰) suggest very large fractionation during MSR from an initial sulfate with δ34S values (δ34Ssulfate,0) of +14 to +28‰. Fractionation of this magnitude requires a slow MSR rate, a feature we attribute to nutrient and electron donor shortage as well as initial sulfate abundance. The superheavy δ34Spyrite values were produced by Rayleigh fractionation effects in a diminishing sulfate pool. Large volumes of pyrite with superheavy values (+120 ± 15‰) within single fracture intercepts in the boreholes, associated heavy average values up to +75‰ and heavy minimum δ34Spyrite values, suggest isolation of significant amounts of isotopically light sulfide in other parts of the fracture system. Large fracturespecific δ34Spyrite variability and overall average δ34Spyrite values (+11 to +16‰) lower than the anticipated δ34Ssulfate,0 support this hypothesis. The superheavy pyrite found locally in the borehole intercepts thus represents a late stage in a much larger fracture system undergoing Rayleigh fractionation. Microscale Rb–Sr dating and U/Th– He dating of cogenetic minerals reveal that most pyrite formed in the early Paleozoic era, but crystal overgrowths may be significantly younger. The δ13C values in cogenetic calcite suggest that the superheavy δ34Spyrite values are related to organotrophic MSR, in contrast to findings from marine sediments where superheavy pyrite has been proposed to be linked to anaerobic oxidation of methane. The findings provide new insights into MSR-related S-isotope systematics, particularly regarding formation of large fractions of 34S-rich pyrite.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2018. Vol. 16, no 5, p. 556-574
Keywords [en]
continental crust, deep biosphere, microbial sulfate reduction, pyrite, sulfur isotopes
National Category
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Research subject
The changing Earth
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-3185DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12297OAI: oai:DiVA.org:nrm-3185DiVA, id: diva2:1273376
Available from: 2018-12-20 Created: 2018-12-20 Last updated: 2019-01-14Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

fulltext(2997 kB)178 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT01.pdfFile size 2997 kBChecksum SHA-512
71c3bf87f44ad153e3f97b8e05a8b93e7d618f6949d78f9493b27373fd4e86bb66fb09fe436723f15c1fa9a012318b970fb3a275a82086dde8ff124a173aafff
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

Other links

Publisher's full texthttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gbi.12297

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Whitehouse, Martin J.
By organisation
Department of Geology
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
Total: 178 downloads
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 136 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf