In this petrographic and geochemical study, we differentiated diverse quartz botryoids, including circular-concentric, twinned, columnar, wavy, and stromatolite-like structures versus synchronous biotic patterns of similar geometry and size dimensions (filamentous traits and stromatolites) in Precambrian cherts of Barberton, South Africa, and Gunflint, Canada. The botryoidal habits explored retained self-similar patterns of radially aligned acicular quartz with concentric laminae, which are not documented in biologically built stromatolites. These ancient fractals and their composition imitate those in chemically oscillating reactions, implying that the precipitation of botryoids was fueled by abiotic diagenetic degradation of organic matter and subsequently metamorphosed into chert.
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Research Article|
May 19, 2023
Silica botryoids from chemically oscillating reactions and as Precambrian environmental proxies
Shahab Varkouhi;
Shahab Varkouhi
1
Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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Dominic Papineau
Dominic Papineau
1
Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK2
London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK
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Shahab Varkouhi
1
Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Dominic Papineau
1
Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK2
London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Received:
21 Nov 2022
Revision Received:
19 Mar 2023
Accepted:
10 Apr 2023
First Online:
19 May 2023
Online ISSN: 1943-2682
Print ISSN: 0091-7613
© 2023 Geological Society of America
Geology (2023)
Article history
Received:
21 Nov 2022
Revision Received:
19 Mar 2023
Accepted:
10 Apr 2023
First Online:
19 May 2023
Citation
Shahab Varkouhi, Dominic Papineau; Silica botryoids from chemically oscillating reactions and as Precambrian environmental proxies. Geology 2023; doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G50948.1
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