The chemostratigraphy and environmental significance of the Marlstone and Junction Bed (Beacon Limestone, Toarcian, Lower Jurassic, Dorset, UK)

Two fallen blocks of the Marlstone and stratigraphically overlying Junction Bed sampled on the beach below Doghouse Cliff in Dorset, UK (Wessex Basin) have been examined for carbon and oxygen isotopes of bulk carbonate as well as for strontium, carbon and oxygen isotopes and Mg:Ca ratios in the contained belemnites. The sequence, which contains most of the Toarcian zones and subzones within a metre or less of grey to yellow to pink, red and brown fossil-rich nodular limestone, is extremely condensed and lithologically similar to pelagic red limestones of the Tethyan Jurassic that are locally mineralized with Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides (e.g., Rosso Ammonitico). Strontium-isotope ratios of the contained belemnites are compatible with existing reference curves and both blocks show a rise to more radiogenic values post-dating the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary. The high degree of correlation between the relatively negative carbon and oxygen isotopes of the bulk carbonate is compatible with significant diagenetic overprint, and contrasts with higher carbon-isotope values in coeval condensed coccolith-rich limestones elsewhere. Evidence for the characteristic signature of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, as represented by organic-rich sediment, is absent, possibly owing to a stratigraphic gap. Both blocks exhibit abrupt carbon-isotope shifts to lower values, one of which could represent the limbs of an incompletely recorded negative excursion associated with the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. That the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event was also a significant hyperthermal is illustrated in both blocks by a drop in oxygen-isotope values and rise in Mg:Ca ratios of belemnites close to the base of the Junction Bed in the lowest part of the serpentinum zone.

Insights into the Geomicrobiology of Biovermiculations from Rock Billet Incubation Experiments

Biovermiculations are uniquely patterned organic rich sediment formations found on the walls of caves and other subterranean environments. These distinctive worm-like features are the combined result of physical and biological processes. The diverse microbial communities that inhabit biovermiculations may corrode the host rock, form secondary minerals, and produce biofilms that stabilize the sediment matrix, thus altering cave surfaces and contributing to the formation of these wall deposits. In this study, we incubated basalt, limestone, and monzonite rock billets in biovermiculation mixed natural community enrichments for 468–604 days, and used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to assess surface textures and biofilms that developed over the course of the experiment. We observed alteration of rock billet surfaces associated with biofilms and microbial filaments, particularly etch pits and other corrosion features in olivine and other silicates, calcite dissolution textures, and the formation of secondary minerals including phosphates, clays, and iron oxides. We identified twelve distinct biofilm morphotypes that varied based on rock type and the drying method used in sample preparation. These corrosion features and microbial structures inform potential biological mechanisms for the alteration of cave walls, and provide insight into possible small-scale macroscopically visible biosignatures that could augment the utility of biovermiculations and similarly patterned deposits for astrobiology and life detection applications.

Age and origin of leaf wax <i>n</i>-alkanes in fluvial sediment-paleosol sequences, and implications for paleoenvironmental reconstructions

Leaf wax n-alkanes are increasingly used for quantitative reconstructions of past environmental changes. However, this is complicated in sediment archives with associated hydrological catchments since the stored n-alkanes can have different ages and origins. Direct 14C-dating of the n-alkanes has a great potential to derive independent age information for these proxies, allowing their correct paleoenvironmental interpretation. This holds also true for fluvial sediment-paleosols sequences (FSPS), where the n-alkane signal is divided into (i) a catchment signal that is deposited with fluvial sediments, and (ii) an in-situ signal from local biomass that increasingly dominates (paleo)soils with time. Therefore, age and origin of n-alkanes in FSPS are complex: In fluvial sediment layers they can be pre-aged and reworked when originating from eroded catchment soils, or originate from organic-rich sediment rocks in the catchment. In (paleo)soils, besides an inherited contribution from the catchment they were formed in-situ during pedogenesis and originate from local biomass. Depending on the different relative contributions from these sources, the n-alkane signal from an FSPS can show variable age offsets between its formation and final deposition. During this study, we applied compound-class 14C-dating to n-alkanes from a fluvial sediment-paleosol sequence (FSPS) along the upper Alazani River in eastern Georgia with Jurassic black clay shales in its upper catchment. Our results show that pre-heating the n-alkanes with 120 °C for 8 h before 14C-dating effectively removed the shorter chains (

THE EFFECT OF ORGANIC SEDIMENT CONTENT ON CORAL DIVERSITY IN KARIMUNJAWA ISLAND, INDONESIA

Coral reef now are under threats due to sedimentation. Fatal effect of organic rich sediment, leading corals mortality. Therefore, the study was conducted to investigate effect of organic sediment content to the coral diversity in Karimunjawa Island, Central Java, Indonesia. Field data was conducted at 6 locations. Three sediment traps were deployed at each sites to measure organic sediment content. Twenty replicated quadrant transects were used to estimate coral density and coral diversity. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the differences of organic sediment content in each station. The linear regression was used to assess the relationship between organic sediment content and coral diversity. Our field result demonstrated that sediment content significantly different between sites with value range from 0.42 mg/800 ml - 1.32 mg/800 ml. Based on the Simson’s Diversity Index, the highest coral diversity found at Alang-alang as site with low sedimentation while the lowest coral diversity was found at Legon Lele as site with high sedimentation. The study shown significant negative correlation between organic sediment content and coral diversity with the coefficient of regression 0.68. This study convinces that disturbance on coral reefs might affect coral diversity in Karimunjawa Island, in addition to other factors such as the influence of human activities, natural disruption and climate change. Keywords: sedimentation, organic, coral, diversity, Karimunjawa

Widespread Late Devonian marine anoxia in eastern North America: a case study of the Kettle Point Formation black shale, southwestern Ontario

The Kettle Point Formation of southwestern Ontario consists of intervals of organic-rich interlaminated black shale interbedded with organic-poor greyish green mudstones and rare red beds, separated by metre-scale sequences of non-interlaminated black shale. The formation shows a largely consistent background value for the black shales around −20‰ δ34S, punctuated by a substantial positive excursion of ∼32‰ (up to +12.87‰) that coincides with a significant interval of greyish green mudstone and red beds. Lithological and geochemical data indicate that the black shales were deposited during periods of anoxia, with thick intervals of non-interlaminated black shales recording the peak of anoxia, whereas the greyish green mudstones record deposition in more oxygenated environments. Relative water depth is interpreted as the key control on the vertical and lateral distribution of the Kettle Point lithofacies. Interbedded black shales and greyish green mudstones were deposited in relatively shallow waters, where minor, short-lived falls in relative sea level promoted dysoxic to oxic conditions and the deposition of organic-poor lithologies. Non-interlaminated black shales are indicative of substantial rises in relative sea level, resulting in widespread anoxia and the deposition of thicker and more laterally extensive packages of organic-rich sediment. The formation of black shales in relatively shallow waters in southwestern Ontario implies that the extensive deposition of organic-rich sediment across eastern North America during the Late Devonian was a product of widespread anoxia related to restricted circulation in intracratonic and foreland basin depositional centers.

Lack of ¹³C-label incorporation suggests low turnover rates of thaumarchaeal intact polar tetraether lipids in sediments from the Iceland shelf

Thaumarchaeota are amongst the most abundant microorganisms in aquatic environments, however, their metabolism in marine sediments is still debated. Labeling studies in marine sediments have previously been undertaken, but focused on complex organic carbon substrates which Thaumarchaeota have not yet been shown to take up. In this study, we investigated the activity of Thaumarchaeota in sediments by supplying different 13C-labeled substrates which have previously been shown to be incorporated into archaeal cells in water incubations and/or enrichment cultures. We determined the incorporation of 13C-label from bicarbonate, pyruvate, glucose and amino acids into thaumarchaeal intact polar lipid-glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (IPL-GDGTs) during 4–6 day incubations of marine sediment cores from three sites on the Iceland shelf. Thaumarchaeal intact polar lipids, in particular crenarchaeol, were detected at all stations and concentrations remained constant or decreased slightly upon incubation. No 13C incorporation in any IPL-GDGT was observed at stations 2 (clay-rich sediment) and 3 (organic-rich sediment). In bacterial/eukaryotic IPL-derived fatty acids at station 3, contrastingly, a large uptake of 13C label (up to + 80‰ ) was found. 13C was also respired during the experiment as shown by a substantial increase in the 13C content of the dissolved inorganic carbon. In IPL-GDGTs recovered from the sandy sediments at station 1, however, some enrichment in δ13C (1–4‰ ) was detected after incubation with bicarbonate and pyruvate. The low incorporation rates suggest a low activity of Thaumarchaeota in marine sediments and/or a low turnover rate of thaumarchaeal IPL-GDGTs due to their low degradation rates. Cell numbers and activity of sedimentary Thaumarchaeota based on IPL-GDGT measurements may thus have previously been overestimated.

Lack of ¹³C-label incorporation suggests low turnover rates of thaumarchaeal intact polar tetraether lipids in sediments from the Iceland Shelf

Thaumarchaeota are amongst the most abundant microorganisms in aquatic environments, however, their metabolism in marine sediments is still debated. Labeling studies in marine sediments have previously been undertaken, but focused on complex organic carbon substrates which Thaumarchaeota have not yet been shown to take up. In this study, we investigated the activity of Thaumarchaeota in sediments by supplying different 13C-labeled substrates which have previously been shown to be incorporated into archaeal cells in water incubations and/or enrichment cultures. We determined the incorporation of 13C-label from bicarbonate, pyruvate, glucose and amino acids into thaumarchaeal intact polar lipid-glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (IPL-GDGTs) during 4–6 day incubations of marine sediment cores from three different sites on the Iceland Shelf. Thaumarchaeal intact polar lipids were detected at all stations and concentrations remained constant or decreased slightly upon incubation. No 13C incorporation in any IPL-GDGT was observed at stations 2 (clay-rich sediment) and 3 (organic-rich sediment). In bacterial/eukaryotic IPL-derived fatty acids at station 3, contrastingly, a large uptake of 13C label (up to &amp;plus;80‰) was found. 13C was also respired during the experiment as shown by a substantial increase in the 13C content of the dissolved inorganic carbon. In IPL-GDGTs recovered from the sandy sediments at station 1, however, some enrichment in 13C (1–4‰) was detected after incubation with bicarbonate and pyruvate. The low incorporation rates suggest a low activity of Thaumarchaeota in marine sediments and/or a low turnover rate of thaumarchaeal IPL-GDGTs due to their low degradation rates. Cell numbers and activity of sedimentary Thaumarchaeota based on IPL-GDGT measurements may thus have previously been overestimated.