The Mesoarchean (/ˌmiːzoʊ.ɑːrˈkiːən, ˌmɛzoʊ-/ MEE-zoh-ar-KEE-ən, MEZ-oh-, also spelled Mesoarchaean) is a geologic era in the Archean Eon, spanning 3,200 to 2,800 million years ago, which contains the first evidence of modern-style plate subduction and expansion of microbial life. The era is defined chronometrically and is not referenced to a specific level in a rock section on Earth.
| Mesoarchean | ||||||||||||||||
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 A reconstruction of the Earth's continents during the middle Mesoarchean, c. 3 Ga.[citation needed] | ||||||||||||||||
 Artist impression of the Archean eon | ||||||||||||||||
_2_(30749219994).jpg) Banded iron formation created during the Mesoarchean era | ||||||||||||||||
| Chronology | ||||||||||||||||
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| Proposed redefinition(s) | 3490–2780 Ma Gradstein et al., 2012 | |||||||||||||||
| Proposed subdivisions | Vaalbaran Period, 3490–3020 Ma Gradstein et al., 2012 | |||||||||||||||
| Etymology | ||||||||||||||||
| Name formality | Formal | |||||||||||||||
| Alternate spelling(s) | Mesoarchaean | |||||||||||||||
| Usage information | ||||||||||||||||
| Celestial body | Earth | |||||||||||||||
| Regional usage | Global (ICS) | |||||||||||||||
| Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | |||||||||||||||
| Definition | ||||||||||||||||
| Chronological unit | Era | |||||||||||||||
| Stratigraphic unit | Erathem | |||||||||||||||
| Time span formality | Formal | |||||||||||||||
| Lower boundary definition | Defined Chronometrically | |||||||||||||||
| Lower GSSA ratified | 1991[citation needed] | |||||||||||||||
| Upper boundary definition | Defined Chronometrically | |||||||||||||||
| Upper GSSA ratified | 1991[citation needed] | |||||||||||||||
Tectonics
edit_Vaalbara_ancient_continent.png)
The Mesoarchean era is thought to be the birthplace of modern-style plate subduction, based on geologic evidence from the Pilbara Craton in western Australia.[3][4] A convergent margin with a modern-style oceanic arc existed at the boundary between West and East Pilbara approximately 3.12 Ga. By 2.97 Ga, the West Pilbara Terrane converged with and accreted onto the East Pilbara Terrane.[4] A supercontinent, Vaalbara, may have existed in the Mesoarchean.[5]
Environmental conditions
editAnalysis of oxygen isotopes in Mesoarchean cherts has been helpful in reconstructing Mesoarchean surface temperatures.[6] These cherts led researchers to draw an estimate of an oceanic temperature around 55-85°C[7] (131-185 Fahrenheit), while other studies of weathering rates postulate average temperatures below 50°C (122 Fahrenheit).
The Mesoarchean atmosphere contained high levels of atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide, which could be an explanation for the high temperatures during this era.[6] Atmospheric dinitrogen content in the Mesoarchean is thought to have been similar to today, suggesting that nitrogen did not play an integral role in the thermal budget of ancient Earth.[8]
The Pongola glaciation occurred around 2.9 Ga, from which there is evidence of ice extending to a palaeolatitude (latitude based on the magnetic field recorded in the rock) of 48 degrees. This glaciation was likely not triggered by the evolution of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, which likely occurred in the interval between the Huronian glaciations and the Makganyene glaciation.[9]
Early microbial life
editMicrobial life with diverse metabolisms expanded during the Mesoarchean era and produced gases that influenced early Earth's atmospheric composition. Cyanobacteria produced oxygen gas, but oxygen did not begin to accumulate in the atmosphere until later in the Archean.[10] Small oases of relatively oxygenated water did exist in some nearshore shallow marine environments by this era, however.[11]
See also
edit- Geologic time scale – System that relates geologic strata to time
- Glacial period – Interval of time within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances
- Ice age – Period of long-term reduction in temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere
- Last glacial period – Period of major glaciations of the Northern Hemisphere (115,000–12,000 years ago)
References
edit- ^ Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World. National Academies Press. 2008. pp. 86–87. ISBN 9780309118545.
- ^ Zalasiewicz, Jan; Williams, Mark (2012). The Goldilocks Planet: The 4 billion year story of Earth's climate. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-19-959357-6.
- ^ Mints, M.V.; Belousova, E.A.; Konilov, A.N.; Natapov, L.M.; Shchipansky, A.A.; Griffin, W.L.; O'Reilly, S.Y.; Dokukina, K.A.; Kaulina, T.V. (2010). "Mesoarchean subduction processes: 2.87 Ga eclogites from the Kola Peninsula, Russia". Geology. 38 (8): 739–742. Bibcode:2010Geo....38..739M. doi:10.1130/G31219.1. ISSN 0091-7613.
- ^ a b Smithies, R. H.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.; Champion, D. C. (2007). "The Mesoarchean emergence of modern-style subduction". Gondwana Research. Island Arcs: Past and Present. 11 (1): 50–68. Bibcode:2007GondR..11...50S. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2006.02.001. ISSN 1342-937X.
- ^ de Kock, Michiel O.; Evans, David A. D.; Beukes, Nicolas J. (2009). "Validating the existence of Vaalbara in the Neoarchean". Precambrian Research. 174 (1): 145–154. Bibcode:2009PreR..174..145D. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2009.07.002. ISSN 0301-9268.
- ^ a b Sleep, Norman H.; Hessler, Angela M. (2006). "Weathering of quartz as an Archean climatic indicator". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 241 (3–4): 594–602. Bibcode:2006E&PSL.241..594S. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.11.020.
- ^ Knauth, L. Paul; Lowe, Donald R. (2003). "High Archean climatic temperature inferred from oxygen isotope geochemistry of cherts in the 3.5 Ga Swaziland Supergroup, South Africa". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 115: 566–580. Bibcode:2003GSAB..115..566K. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(2003)115<0566:HACTIF>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0016-7606.
- ^ Marty, Bernard; Zimmermann, Laurent; Pujol, Magali; Burgess, Ray; Philippot, Pascal (2013). "Nitrogen isotopic composition and density of the Archean atmosphere". Science. 342 (6154): 101–104. arXiv:1405.6337. Bibcode:2013Sci...342..101M. doi:10.1126/science.1240971. PMID 24051244. S2CID 206550098.
- ^ Kopp, Robert E.; Kirschvink, Joseph L.; Hilburn, Isaac A.; Nash, Cody Z. (2005). "The Paleoproterozoic snowball Earth: A climate disaster triggered by the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (32): 11131–6. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10211131K. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504878102. PMC 1183582. PMID 16061801.
- ^ Lepot, Kevin (2020). "Signatures of early microbial life from the Archean (4 to 2.5 Ga) eon". Earth-Science Reviews. 209: 103296. Bibcode:2020ESRv..20903296L. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103296. hdl:20.500.12210/62415. ISSN 0012-8252. S2CID 225413847.
- ^ Eickmann, Benjamin; Hofmann, Axel; Wille, Martin; Bui, Thi Hao; Wing, Boswell A.; Schoenberg, Ronny (15 January 2018). "Isotopic evidence for oxygenated Mesoarchaean shallow oceans". Nature Geoscience. 11 (2): 133–138. doi:10.1038/s41561-017-0036-x. S2CID 135023426. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
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