Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton Mountains

In the Barberton Scientific Drilling Program (BSDP) we successfully completed three drill holes in 2008 across strategically selected rock formations in the early Archean Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. This collaborative project’s goal is to advance understanding of geodynamic and biogeoch...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nicola McLoughlin, Maarten de Wit, Eugene G. Grosch, Harald Furnes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2009-09-01
Series:Scientific Drilling
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.iodp.org/images/stories/downloads/sd8_09.pdf#page=24
_version_ 1828476350161223680
author Nicola McLoughlin
Maarten de Wit
Eugene G. Grosch
Harald Furnes
author_facet Nicola McLoughlin
Maarten de Wit
Eugene G. Grosch
Harald Furnes
author_sort Nicola McLoughlin
collection DOAJ
description In the Barberton Scientific Drilling Program (BSDP) we successfully completed three drill holes in 2008 across strategically selected rock formations in the early Archean Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. This collaborative project’s goal is to advance understanding of geodynamic and biogeochemical processes of the young Earth. The program aims to better define and characterize Earth’s earliest preserved ocean crust shear zones and microbial borings in Archean basaltic glass, and to identify biogeochemical fingerprints of ancient ecological niches recorded in rocks. The state-of-the-art analytical and imaging work will address the question of earliest plate tectonics in the Archean, the δ18O composition, the redox state and temperature of Archean seawater, and the origin of life question.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T06:27:33Z
format Article
id doaj.art-265b1578ac2b45b5922ef1bf69c3e9a4
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1816-8957
1816-3459
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-11T06:27:33Z
publishDate 2009-09-01
publisher Copernicus Publications
record_format Article
series Scientific Drilling
spelling doaj.art-265b1578ac2b45b5922ef1bf69c3e9a42022-12-22T01:17:37ZengCopernicus PublicationsScientific Drilling1816-89571816-34592009-09-018242810.2204/iodp.sd.8.03.2009Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton MountainsNicola McLoughlinMaarten de WitEugene G. GroschHarald FurnesIn the Barberton Scientific Drilling Program (BSDP) we successfully completed three drill holes in 2008 across strategically selected rock formations in the early Archean Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. This collaborative project’s goal is to advance understanding of geodynamic and biogeochemical processes of the young Earth. The program aims to better define and characterize Earth’s earliest preserved ocean crust shear zones and microbial borings in Archean basaltic glass, and to identify biogeochemical fingerprints of ancient ecological niches recorded in rocks. The state-of-the-art analytical and imaging work will address the question of earliest plate tectonics in the Archean, the δ18O composition, the redox state and temperature of Archean seawater, and the origin of life question.http://www.iodp.org/images/stories/downloads/sd8_09.pdf#page=24Barberton Mountains
spellingShingle Nicola McLoughlin
Maarten de Wit
Eugene G. Grosch
Harald Furnes
Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton Mountains
Scientific Drilling
Barberton Mountains
title Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton Mountains
title_full Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton Mountains
title_fullStr Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton Mountains
title_full_unstemmed Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton Mountains
title_short Drilling for the Archean Roots of Life and Tectonic Earth in the Barberton Mountains
title_sort drilling for the archean roots of life and tectonic earth in the barberton mountains
topic Barberton Mountains
url http://www.iodp.org/images/stories/downloads/sd8_09.pdf#page=24
work_keys_str_mv AT nicolamcloughlin drillingforthearcheanrootsoflifeandtectonicearthinthebarbertonmountains
AT maartendewit drillingforthearcheanrootsoflifeandtectonicearthinthebarbertonmountains
AT eugeneggrosch drillingforthearcheanrootsoflifeandtectonicearthinthebarbertonmountains
AT haraldfurnes drillingforthearcheanrootsoflifeandtectonicearthinthebarbertonmountains