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Biologically Mediated Isotope Fractionations: Biochemistry, Geochemical Significance and Preservation in the Earth’s Oldest Sediments

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Book cover Cosmochemistry and the Origin of Life

Part of the book series: NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series ((ASIC,volume 101))

Abstract

Preferential metabolization of isotopically light carbon and sulfur has resulted in a fractionation of the stable isotopes of these elements on a global scale, with the light species (12C, 32S) markedly concentrated in biogenic materials. Since the biological effects are basically retained when carbon and sulfur are incorporated in sediments, the respective fractionations are propagated into the rock section of the geochemical cycle, this having consequently caused a characteristic bipartition of both elements between “light” and “heavy” crustal reservoirs. Preservation of the biological isotope effects in sedimentary rocks permits us to trace the underlying biochemical processes back over most of the geological record. According to the available evidence, biological (autotrophic) carbon fixation arose prior to 3.5 (if not 3.8) billion years ago, while the emergence of dissimilatory sulfate reduction antedates the appearance of the oldest presumably bacteriogenic sulfur isotope patterns in rocks between 2.7 and 2.8 billion years old. Hence, biological control of the terrestrial carbon and sulfur cycles has been established very early in the Earth’s history.

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  1. Max-Planck-Institut f. Chemie, Saarstr. 23, D-6500, Mainz, W. Germany

    Manfred Schidlowski

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

    Cyril Ponnamperuma

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Schidlowski, M. (1983). Biologically Mediated Isotope Fractionations: Biochemistry, Geochemical Significance and Preservation in the Earth’s Oldest Sediments. In: Ponnamperuma, C. (eds) Cosmochemistry and the Origin of Life. NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series, vol 101. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7072-4_9

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