Mid-latitudinal habitable environment for marine eukaryotes during the waning stage of the Marinoan snowball glaciation

Huyue Song; Zhihui An; Qin Ye; Eva E. Stüeken; Jing Li; Jun Hu; Thomas J. Algeo; Li Tian; Daoliang Chu; Haijun Song; Shuhai Xiao; Jinnan Tong

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37172-x

Mid-latitudinal habitable environment for marine eukaryotes during the waning stage of the Marinoan snowball glaciation

Huyue Song^*, Zhihui An, Qin Ye, Eva E. Stüeken, Jing Li, Jun Hu, Thomas J. Algeo, Li Tian, Daoliang Chu, Haijun Song, Shuhai Xiao, Jinnan Tong

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

During the Marinoan Ice Age (ca. 654–635 Ma), one of the ‘Snowball Earth’ events in the Cryogenian Period, continental icesheets reached the tropical oceans. Oceanic refugia must have existed for aerobic marine eukaryotes to survive this event, as evidenced by benthic phototrophic macroalgae of the Songluo Biota preserved in black shales interbedded with glacial diamictites of the late Cryogenian Nantuo Formation in South China. However, the environmental conditions that allowed these organisms to thrive are poorly known. Here, we report carbon-nitrogen-iron geochemical data from the fossiliferous black shales and adjacent diamictites of the Nantuo Formation. Iron-speciation data document dysoxic-anoxic conditions in bottom waters, whereas nitrogen isotopes record aerobic nitrogen cycling perhaps in surface waters. These findings indicate that habitable open-ocean conditions were more extensive than previously thought, extending into mid-latitude coastal oceans and providing refugia for eukaryotic organisms during the waning stage of the Marinoan Ice Age.

Original language	English
Article number	1564
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37172-x
Publication status	Published - 4 Apr 2023

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title = "Mid-latitudinal habitable environment for marine eukaryotes during the waning stage of the Marinoan snowball glaciation",

abstract = "During the Marinoan Ice Age (ca. 654–635 Ma), one of the {\textquoteleft}Snowball Earth{\textquoteright} events in the Cryogenian Period, continental icesheets reached the tropical oceans. Oceanic refugia must have existed for aerobic marine eukaryotes to survive this event, as evidenced by benthic phototrophic macroalgae of the Songluo Biota preserved in black shales interbedded with glacial diamictites of the late Cryogenian Nantuo Formation in South China. However, the environmental conditions that allowed these organisms to thrive are poorly known. Here, we report carbon-nitrogen-iron geochemical data from the fossiliferous black shales and adjacent diamictites of the Nantuo Formation. Iron-speciation data document dysoxic-anoxic conditions in bottom waters, whereas nitrogen isotopes record aerobic nitrogen cycling perhaps in surface waters. These findings indicate that habitable open-ocean conditions were more extensive than previously thought, extending into mid-latitude coastal oceans and providing refugia for eukaryotic organisms during the waning stage of the Marinoan Ice Age.",

author = "Huyue Song and Zhihui An and Qin Ye and St{\"u}eken, {Eva E.} and Jing Li and Jun Hu and Algeo, {Thomas J.} and Li Tian and Daoliang Chu and Haijun Song and Shuhai Xiao and Jinnan Tong",

note = "Funding: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42172032; 41872033) to H-Y.S., and the China Geological Survey (1212011120787, 12120114066301) to J.T.",

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doi = "10.1038/s41467-023-37172-x",

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T1 - Mid-latitudinal habitable environment for marine eukaryotes during the waning stage of the Marinoan snowball glaciation

AU - Song, Huyue

AU - An, Zhihui

AU - Ye, Qin

AU - Stüeken, Eva E.

AU - Li, Jing

AU - Hu, Jun

AU - Algeo, Thomas J.

AU - Tian, Li

AU - Chu, Daoliang

AU - Song, Haijun

AU - Xiao, Shuhai

AU - Tong, Jinnan

N1 - Funding: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42172032; 41872033) to H-Y.S., and the China Geological Survey (1212011120787, 12120114066301) to J.T.

PY - 2023/4/4

Y1 - 2023/4/4

N2 - During the Marinoan Ice Age (ca. 654–635 Ma), one of the ‘Snowball Earth’ events in the Cryogenian Period, continental icesheets reached the tropical oceans. Oceanic refugia must have existed for aerobic marine eukaryotes to survive this event, as evidenced by benthic phototrophic macroalgae of the Songluo Biota preserved in black shales interbedded with glacial diamictites of the late Cryogenian Nantuo Formation in South China. However, the environmental conditions that allowed these organisms to thrive are poorly known. Here, we report carbon-nitrogen-iron geochemical data from the fossiliferous black shales and adjacent diamictites of the Nantuo Formation. Iron-speciation data document dysoxic-anoxic conditions in bottom waters, whereas nitrogen isotopes record aerobic nitrogen cycling perhaps in surface waters. These findings indicate that habitable open-ocean conditions were more extensive than previously thought, extending into mid-latitude coastal oceans and providing refugia for eukaryotic organisms during the waning stage of the Marinoan Ice Age.

AB - During the Marinoan Ice Age (ca. 654–635 Ma), one of the ‘Snowball Earth’ events in the Cryogenian Period, continental icesheets reached the tropical oceans. Oceanic refugia must have existed for aerobic marine eukaryotes to survive this event, as evidenced by benthic phototrophic macroalgae of the Songluo Biota preserved in black shales interbedded with glacial diamictites of the late Cryogenian Nantuo Formation in South China. However, the environmental conditions that allowed these organisms to thrive are poorly known. Here, we report carbon-nitrogen-iron geochemical data from the fossiliferous black shales and adjacent diamictites of the Nantuo Formation. Iron-speciation data document dysoxic-anoxic conditions in bottom waters, whereas nitrogen isotopes record aerobic nitrogen cycling perhaps in surface waters. These findings indicate that habitable open-ocean conditions were more extensive than previously thought, extending into mid-latitude coastal oceans and providing refugia for eukaryotic organisms during the waning stage of the Marinoan Ice Age.

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-023-37172-x

DO - 10.1038/s41467-023-37172-x

M3 - Article

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 14

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 1564

ER -

Mid-latitudinal habitable environment for marine eukaryotes during the waning stage of the Marinoan snowball glaciation

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