Early organic evolution implications for mineral and energy resources ; with 50 tables [proceedings of the 9th Alfred Wegener Conference being the final meeting of IGCP project 157 (early organic evolution and mineral & energy resources), Maria Laach, FRG

This volume is the final outcome of a conference designed to wrap up IOCP Project 157 (" Early Organic Evolution and Mineral and Energy Resources ") after a decade of prolific activity. The picturesque solitude of Maria Laach Abbey in the Eifel Mountains (FRO) provided the appropriate setting for a conclave of some 80 specialists from the various walks of the field who, during the week of Sept. 19 - 23, 1988, strived hard to define the state of the art in the principal segments of this Earth Science frontier. The following pages contain the essence of the conference transactions, giv­ ing a vivid cross-section of the activities pursued by IOCP Project 157 during its final years. The coverage of topics is not necessarily complete, but rather eclec­ tic in part. With regard to single papers dealing with modern analogues of ancient processes, the book title might even be considered a grave misnomer. Neverthe­ less, all contributions relate to the subject in the widest sense, and the reader should be reminded that much of the heterogeneity reflected by the volume de­ rives from the fact that it is primarily a research report from a highly inter­ disciplinary field rather than a textbook. Front Matter....Pages I-XVIII Early Organic Evolution and Mineral and Energy Resources: A Farewell Address to IGCP Project 157....Pages 1-6 Front Matter....Pages 7-7 Introduction to Precambrian Weathering and Paleosols....Pages 9-15 How to Find a Precambrian Paleosol....Pages 16-30 Experimental Procedures to Simulate Weathering Under Atmospheres Which May Have Characterized the Early Archean....Pages 31-40 The Lower Proterozoic Hokkalampi Paleosol in North Karelia, Eastern Finland....Pages 41-66 Paleosol and Ore-Forming Processes in the Elliot Lake District of Canada....Pages 67-75 Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Pre-1.65 Ga paleosol under Kombolgie Formation sandstone of the Pine Creek Geosyncline, Northern Territory, Australia....Pages 76-105 Carbonaceous High-Alumina Shale in the Transvaal Supergroup: Evidence of Early Proterozoic Karstic Wheathering in a Marine Environment....Pages 106-114 Significance of Precambrian Paleosols....Pages 115-129 Front Matter....Pages 131-131 Mantle Carbon: Concentration, Mode of Occurrence, and Isotopic Composition....Pages 133-146 Carbon Cycle and Carbon Isotope Record: Geochemical Impact of Life over 3.8 Ga of Earth History....Pages 147-175 Precambrian Petroleum: A Decade of Changing Perceptions....Pages 176-192 Paleontology and Biogeochemical Research: A Powerful Synergy....Pages 193-202 Proterozoic Organic Carbon — Its Preservation and Isotopic Record....Pages 203-211 An Assessment of the Precambrian/Cambrian Transition Events on the Basis of Carbon Isotope Records....Pages 212-223 Stratiform and Globular Organic Matter in the Lower Proterozoic Metasediments at Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada....Pages 224-231 Organic Carbon Isotopic Composition of Proterozoic Sedimentary Rocks from India: Preliminary Results....Pages 232-240 Organic Free Radicals in Precambrian and Paleozoic Rocks: Origin and Significance....Pages 241-256 On the Atypical Petroleum-Generating Characteristics of Alginite in the Cambrian Alum Shale....Pages 257-266 Distribution and Structure of Hydrocarbons and Heterocyclic Sulfur Compounds Released from Four Kerogens of Ordovician Age by Means of Flash Pyrolysis....Pages 267-278 Front Matter....Pages 131-131 Thermal Maturity of Early Paleozoic Sediments as Determined By the Optical Properties of Marine-Derived Organic Matter — A Review....Pages 279-295 Hydrocarbon Composition of the Late Proterozoic Oils of the Siberian Platform: Implications for the Depositional Environment of Source Rocks....Pages 296-307 Biomarkers and Other Hydrocarbons in Upper Sinian Stromatolitic Dolostones from Southwest China....Pages 308-316 Natural Gas in Sinian Reservoirs of the Weiyuan Area, Sichuan Province: The Oldest Gas Field in China....Pages 317-323 Biological Markers in Paleozoic Sedimentary Rocks and Crude Oils from the Michigan Basin: Reassessment of Sources and Thermal History of Organic Matter....Pages 324-335 The Influence of Gloeocapsomorpha prisca on the Organic Geochemistry of Oils and Organic-Rich Rocks of Late Ordovician Age from Canada....Pages 336-356 Front Matter....Pages 357-357 Sulfur in the Earth’s Mantle — A Review....Pages 359-366 Bacterial Sulfate Reduction: Current Status and Possible Origin....Pages 367-377 Biogeochemistry of Sulfur and the Mechanisms of Sulfide-Sulfate Mineralization in Archean Oceans....Pages 378-397 Biological and Abiological Sulfate Reduction in Two Northern Australian Proterozoic Basins....Pages 398-407 Global Oxidation and a Supercontinent in the Proterozoic: Evidence from Stable Isotopic Trends....Pages 408-414 Depositional and Diagenetic C-S-Fe Signatures and the Potential of Shales to Generate Metal-Rich Fluids....Pages 415-425 Genetic Relationship Between Elementary, Organic, and Pyritic Sulfur in Sediments....Pages 426-432 Front Matter....Pages 433-433 The History and Significance of Stromatolites....Pages 435-449 Proterozoic and Living Cyanobacteria....Pages 450-462 Lower Precambrian Stromatolite Associations of Karelia....Pages 463-467 Tussocky Microstructure, a Biological Event in Upper Proterozoic Stromatolites; Comparisons with Modern Freshwater Stromatolite Builders....Pages 468-477 On the Association of Ore Deposits with Stromatolites....Pages 478-482 Experimental Hypersaline Ponds as Model Environments for Stromatolite Formation 1. Microbenthos Composition and Biomass Accumulation....Pages 483-493 Experimental Hypersaline Ponds as Model Environments for Stromatolite Formation 2. Isotopic Biogeochemistry....Pages 494-508 Front Matter....Pages 433-433 Palynostratigraphy in Phanerozoic and Precambrian Metamorphic Rocks....Pages 509-518 Front Matter....Pages 519-519 Mineral Deposits and Metallogeny: Indicators of Earth’s Evolution....Pages 521-545 Chemical Evolution of Sedimentary and Magmatic Rocks in the Earth’s Crust....Pages 546-549 Back Matter....Pages 551-555 This volume presents both an overview and final synopsis of the work performed between 1978 - 1989 by an international task force of geologists, geochemists, and paleontologists rallied around the charter of IGCP-Project 157 (Early Organic Evolution and Mineral and Energy Resources). Apart from several review papers summarizing the state of the art in selected facets of the subject, the bulk of the contributions reflects current research activities in the field (including modern analogs of ancient processes) ranging from early evolution of life on this planet to questions of Precambrian weathering, metallogeny and petroleum formation. Dealing with processes at the interface between evolutionary biology, organic geochemistry and economic geology, the book gives an updated summary of the current state of one of the most challenging frontiers in Earth Sciences An overview of the work performed between 1978-1989 by an international task force of geologists, geochemists, and paleontologists concerned with the charter of IGCP-Project 157 (Early Organic Evolution and Mineral and Energy Resources).