Remarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic models

It is beyond doubt that the appearance of infaunal bioturbation and metazoan biomineralization across the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition irreversibly affected the nature of marine sediment architecture and biogeochemistry. Here we review those changes in relation to their likely effect upon the proce...

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Main Authors: Callow, R, Brasier, M
Formato: Journal article
Idioma:English
Publicado: 2009
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author Callow, R
Brasier, M
author_facet Callow, R
Brasier, M
author_sort Callow, R
collection OXFORD
description It is beyond doubt that the appearance of infaunal bioturbation and metazoan biomineralization across the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition irreversibly affected the nature of marine sediment architecture and biogeochemistry. Here we review those changes in relation to their likely effect upon the processes of fossil preservation, especially within siliciclastic sediments. Processes of soft-tissue preservation in siliciclastic settings from the Ediacaran Period, including microbes and microbial mats as well as Ediacaran macrofossils, are here reviewed within this context. Highlighted examples include the exceptional preservation of microbes found in association with wrinkle structures and Ediacaran macrofossils in England and Newfoundland (replicated by silicate minerals) and in the White Sea region of Russia (replicated by iron sulphide). These occurrences show that soft-tissue preservation in siliciclastic settings went well beyond that typical for Ediacaran macrofossils alone and also extended to similar modes of preservation in associated microbes. Using these new observations it can be argued that several existing explanations for Ediacaran fossil preservation can be united within a biogeochemical model that involves evolution of the sediment mixed layer across this transition. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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spelling oxford-uuid:11e02a8f-ce04-4be4-97ed-1341de74c3b32022-03-26T10:04:36ZRemarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic modelsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:11e02a8f-ce04-4be4-97ed-1341de74c3b3EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009Callow, RBrasier, MIt is beyond doubt that the appearance of infaunal bioturbation and metazoan biomineralization across the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition irreversibly affected the nature of marine sediment architecture and biogeochemistry. Here we review those changes in relation to their likely effect upon the processes of fossil preservation, especially within siliciclastic sediments. Processes of soft-tissue preservation in siliciclastic settings from the Ediacaran Period, including microbes and microbial mats as well as Ediacaran macrofossils, are here reviewed within this context. Highlighted examples include the exceptional preservation of microbes found in association with wrinkle structures and Ediacaran macrofossils in England and Newfoundland (replicated by silicate minerals) and in the White Sea region of Russia (replicated by iron sulphide). These occurrences show that soft-tissue preservation in siliciclastic settings went well beyond that typical for Ediacaran macrofossils alone and also extended to similar modes of preservation in associated microbes. Using these new observations it can be argued that several existing explanations for Ediacaran fossil preservation can be united within a biogeochemical model that involves evolution of the sediment mixed layer across this transition. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
spellingShingle Callow, R
Brasier, M
Remarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic models
title Remarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic models
title_full Remarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic models
title_fullStr Remarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic models
title_full_unstemmed Remarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic models
title_short Remarkable preservation of microbial mats in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings: Implications for Ediacaran taphonomic models
title_sort remarkable preservation of microbial mats in neoproterozoic siliciclastic settings implications for ediacaran taphonomic models
work_keys_str_mv AT callowr remarkablepreservationofmicrobialmatsinneoproterozoicsiliciclasticsettingsimplicationsforediacarantaphonomicmodels
AT brasierm remarkablepreservationofmicrobialmatsinneoproterozoicsiliciclasticsettingsimplicationsforediacarantaphonomicmodels