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The survival of benthic macroscopic phototrophs on a Neoproterozoic snowball Earth

2015; Geological Society of America; Volume: 43; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/g36640.1

1943-2682

Qin Ye, Jinnan Tong, Shuhai Xiao, Shixing Zhu, Zhihui An, Li Tian, Jun Hu,

Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

Research Article| June 01, 2015 The survival of benthic macroscopic phototrophs on a Neoproterozoic snowball Earth Qin Ye; Qin Ye 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jinnan Tong; Jinnan Tong * 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China *E-mails: jntong@cug.edu.cn; xiao@vt.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Shuhai Xiao; Shuhai Xiao * 2Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA *E-mails: jntong@cug.edu.cn; xiao@vt.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Shixing Zhu; Shixing Zhu 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China3Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Tianjin 300170, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhihui An; Zhihui An 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Li Tian; Li Tian 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jun Hu Jun Hu 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Qin Ye 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Jinnan Tong * 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Shuhai Xiao * 2Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA Shixing Zhu 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China3Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Tianjin 300170, China Zhihui An 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Li Tian 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Jun Hu 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China *E-mails: jntong@cug.edu.cn; xiao@vt.edu Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 22 Jan 2015 Revision Received: 19 Mar 2015 Accepted: 23 Mar 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2015 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (6): 507–510. https://doi.org/10.1130/G36640.1 Article history Received: 22 Jan 2015 Revision Received: 19 Mar 2015 Accepted: 23 Mar 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Qin Ye, Jinnan Tong, Shuhai Xiao, Shixing Zhu, Zhihui An, Li Tian, Jun Hu; The survival of benthic macroscopic phototrophs on a Neoproterozoic snowball Earth. Geology 2015;; 43 (6): 507–510. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G36640.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The greatest ice ages in Earth’s history occurred during the 654–635 Ma Marinoan glaciation, when glaciers reached tropical oceans and our planet approached a snowball Earth condition. Paleontological and genomic data suggest that several eukaryotic groups must have survived the Marinoan glaciation. But their fossil record is scarce and limited to microbes, whose ecological and physiological ranges are poorly constrained, thus hampering a full understanding of how and where eukaryotic life—particularly macroscopic phototrophs—survived this snowball Earth. Here we report carbonaceous compression fossils from the Marinoan-age Nantuo Formation in South China. These fossils are preserved in thin black shales sandwiched between glacial diamictites deposited in inner shelf environments of the mid-latitudinal Yangtze block. Some of these fossils are interpreted as benthic macroalgae. Thus, the Marinoan glaciation must have been punctuated by episodes of open waters where habitable benthic substrates were available in the photic zone and along the coast of mid-latitudinal continents. Such open waters may have been the refugia where macroscopic phototrophs survived the Marinoan glaciation and subsequently diversified in the early Ediacaran Period. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.