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Generation of banded iron formations by internal dynamics and leaching of oceanic crust

Nature Geoscience volume 2, pages 781–784 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The chemical signatures and mineralogy of banded iron formations have the potential to provide information about the ocean environment on early Earth1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Their formation requires iron- and silicon-rich fluids, but the mechanisms by which the alternating layers of Si- and Fe-rich rock formed remain controversial8,9,10,11. Here we use thermodynamic calculations to show that Fe- and Si-rich fluids can be generated by hydrothermal leaching of low-Al oceanic crustal rocks such as komatiites. We find that positive feedbacks occur among the chemical reactions when hydrothermal fluids mix with ambient sea water. These feedbacks lead to alternating precipitation of Fe and Si minerals, owing to the formation of complexes between Fe(II) and silicic acid. We suggest that the small-scale (<1 cm) banding was produced by internal dynamics of the geochemical system, rather than any external forcing. As the Archaean eon progressed, the oceanic crust produced was rich in Al12. When Al-rich crust undergoes hydrothermal alteration, Fe is locked in Al–Fe silicate minerals. This results in iron-depleted hydrothermal fluids, and thus prevents the deposition of Fe-rich minerals. We therefore conclude that the widespread cessation of banded iron formation deposition 1.7 billion years ago reflects the changing composition of the oceanic crust.

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Figure 1: Precipitation of BIFs from a hydrothermal system.
Figure 2: Prediction of stability constant of FeH3SiO4+ using a linear free-energy correlation.
Figure 3: Dissolved Si and Fe concentrations in a hydrothermal plume.
Figure 4: Self-organized oscillatory precipitation of BIF in a mixing zone of a Si–Fe-rich hydrothermal fluid with the ambient sea water.

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Acknowledgements

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company for the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. This work is partly supported by DOE Sandia LDRD Program and NASA Astrobiology Institute under grant N07-5489 and NSF (EAR-0810150). The authors thank C. Jove-Colon and C. Bryan of Sandia National Laboratories, C. Klein of University of New Mexico, K. C. Condie of New Mexico Institute of Technology and P. Brown, E. Roden, C. Johnson and J. Valley of the University of Wisconsin for their comments on an early draft of this paper and M. Diman for the artwork of Fig. 1. H.X. also thanks D. F. Blake of NASA Ames Research Center, D. Ojakangas of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, P. Fralick of Lakehead University, P. Pufahl of Acadia University and Alumni Geology Field Experience Fund of the Department of Geology and Geophysics of University of Wisconsin for their help with a field trip and C. Klein of University of New Mexico for donating his BIF collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, PO Box 5800, USA

    Yifeng Wang

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics and NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA

    Huifang Xu & Hiromi Konishi

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA

    Enrique Merino

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  1. Yifeng Wang
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Contributions

Y.W. and H.X. formulated the model and Y.W. drafted the paper; E.M. contributed to conceptual model development and part of the writing; H.X. and H.K. provided the Supplementary Information.

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Correspondence to Yifeng Wang.

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Wang, Y., Xu, H., Merino, E. et al. Generation of banded iron formations by internal dynamics and leaching of oceanic crust. Nature Geosci 2, 781–784 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo652

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