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Bacterial paleontology of the Neoarchean banded iron formations of Karelia and the Kola Peninsula

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Abstract

Probable microfossils, presumably of bacterial origin, were found in the banded iron formations of Karelia and the Kola Peninsula. The age of these formations is 2.7–2.8 Ga. Based on the organic carbon content and balance estimations it was established that these banded iron formations were deposited in environments rich in organic matter. Comparative analysis of the morphology of Recent and Neoarchean microorganisms suggests a bacterial origin for some magnetite in the studied quartzites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 123, Moscow, 117647, Russia

    M. M. Astafieva

  2. Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology, Russian Academy of Sciences, nab. Makarova 2, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    S. B. Felitsyn & N. A. Alfimova

  3. St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab. 7–9, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    N. A. Alfimova

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  1. M. M. Astafieva
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  2. S. B. Felitsyn
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  3. N. A. Alfimova
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Original Russian Text © M.M. Astafieva, S.B. Felitsyn, N.A. Alfimova, 2017, published in Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal, 2017, No. 4, pp. 93–102.

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Astafieva, M.M., Felitsyn, S.B. & Alfimova, N.A. Bacterial paleontology of the Neoarchean banded iron formations of Karelia and the Kola Peninsula. Paleontol. J. 51, 430–440 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030117040037

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