Journal article

Oolitic ironstones, continental iron flux and reverse weathering in the Proterozoic Eon: Insights from the Tonian Katherine Group, Yukon

M Lechte, G Halverson, M Wallace, T Gibson, AVS Hood, C Wang, TH Bui, K Maloney, A Millikin

Earth Science Reviews | ELSEVIER | Published : 2024

Abstract

Oolitic ironstones are iron-rich and chert-poor sedimentary rocks containing concentrically coated grains composed of iron (oxyhydr)oxides and iron phyllosilicates that offer a unique window into iron cycling in ancient coastal environments. These enigmatic deposits are common in the Phanerozoic stratigraphic record yet lack clear modern analogues, and curiously are thought to be absent from Precambrian strata, suggesting a secular control on their deposition. Here we describe a previously unreported ironstone from the middle Tonian (ca. 850 Ma) Katherine Group in the Wernecke Inlier (Yukon, Canada), and show that similar deposits can be found—albeit rarely—throughout the Proterozoic. We inv..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Youth Innovation Promotion Association


Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec - Nature et Technologies (FRQNT) to M.A.L., and from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Natural Resources Canada (Polar Continental Shelf Program) , and the Agouron Institute to G.P.H. A.H. acknowledges funding from an ARC DECRA DE190100988; and M.W., G.H. and A.H. were also funded by ARC DP210103715. C.L.W. acknowledges funding from the Strategy Priority Research Program (Category B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XBD0710000) , the Key Research Program of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant IGGCAS-201905 and IGGCAS-202204) , and Youth Innovation Promotion Association, Chinese Academy of Sciences.