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Palaeozoic cooling modulated by ophiolite weathering through organic carbon preservation

Nature Geoscience volume 17, pages 88–93 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Ophiolite obductions in the tropics are coeval with Phanerozoic glaciations. The exposure of mafic and ultramafic rocks is thought to trigger cooling by increasing global weatherability. However, each Palaeozoic icehouse also coincides with a δ13C increase of 3−5‰, interpreted as an increase in organic carbon burial, not weatherability. Here we provide a framework that explains the tectonic forces behind Palaeozoic glaciations through increased organic carbon burial caused by the weathering of mafic and ultramafic lithologies in ophiolites. To evaluate the leverage ophiolite obduction has over organic carbon burial, we couple a mineral weathering model with a carbon box model. We show that the weathering of (ultra)mafic rocks can substantially enhance the preservation of organic carbon through the formation of high-surface-area smectite clays. The heightened organic carbon burial induced by an idealized ophiolite obduction causes ocean δ13C to increase by ~3.7‰. The temporal evolution and magnitude of our modelled δ13C excursion approximates Palaeozoic records. We present an analysis of shale geochemistry, which shows a correlation between ultramafic provenance and total organic carbon. Our results indicate that high-surface-area clays, formed during weathering of (ultra)mafic lithologies, exert a major control over Earth’s long-term carbon cycle.

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Fig. 1: Relationships among primary lithology, modelled weathering products, SSA and TOC.
Fig. 2: Model results from an idealized ophiolite obduction.
Fig. 3: Comparison with the Palaeozoic δ13C record.
Fig. 4: Analysis of SGP shale and siltstone geochemistries.

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Data availability

Compiled SSA and TOC data are available in Supplementary Table 6. Geologic constraints are available in Supplementary Table 7. SGP data were downloaded on 3 October 2022, filtering for the following lithologies: shale, mudstone, siltstone. Iron and phosphorus data were downloaded from EarthChem on 19 March 2022, filtering all igneous rock analyses for which SiO2, FeO, and P2O5 are present. The igneous and sedimentary geochemical data are reproduced within the Supplementary Data and are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24433012.

Code availability

MATLAB functions are available for both the weathering model, weatherRock.m, and the carbon box model, carbonPhosphorusModel.m. The functions can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24433012.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Rothman and F. Macdonald for their insight, particularly in respect to the carbon cycle and its isotopic record. We thank M. Follows for a valuable discussion on dissolved oxygen and remineralization. Funding for this work came from NSF EAR 1925863.

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  1. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Joshua Murray & Oliver Jagoutz

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J.M. and O.J. conceptualized the research. J.M. led modelling and statistical methods. J.M. and O.J. were responsible for data analysis, writing and editing.

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Correspondence to Joshua Murray.

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Murray, J., Jagoutz, O. Palaeozoic cooling modulated by ophiolite weathering through organic carbon preservation. Nat. Geosci. 17, 88–93 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01342-9

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