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Carbon-isotope events across the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary on the Siberian Platform

Nature volume 320, pages 258–259 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Variations of marine isotopes with time have been observed through the Phanerozoic1,2, in association with some period boundaries: Pleistocene/Holocene3, Cretaceous/Tertiary4, Permo-Triassic5,6 and Frasnian/Fammenian7. Most of these changes are associated with extinction events, reflecting changes in life on Earth. One of the major biological changes in Earth's history occurred near the end of Proterozoic time, with widespread increase of bio-mineralization and the appearance of shelly fauna8–10. We present here an initial survey of carbon isotope ratios in a section on the Siberian Platform that spans the Proterozoic/Palaeozoic boundary. After a high of δ13C = + 3.4‰, 15 m below the boundary, δ13C drops sharply in two cycles across the boundary, to δ13C = −2‰, near the end of the Tommotian Stage. These variations suggest an initial bloom of biomass in late Vendian time corresponding to the dramatic diversification that must have preceeded the widespread appearance of new taxa in the Cambrian fossil record.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Isotopes Department, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Mordeckai Magaritz

  2. Department of Geology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403, USA

    William T. Holser

  3. Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, The California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA

    Joseph L. Kirschvink

Authors
  1. Mordeckai Magaritz
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  2. William T. Holser
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  3. Joseph L. Kirschvink
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Magaritz, M., Holser, W. & Kirschvink, J. Carbon-isotope events across the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary on the Siberian Platform. Nature 320, 258–259 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320258a0

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