Nodular and wavy-laminated stromatolites (Fig. B8) were first reported from a chert unit within the Dresser Formation at North Pole by Walter et al. (1980). A biological explanation was put forward based upon the close macro-morphological similarity with younger unambiguous biological stromatolites. However, when subjected to re-examination, doubts were raised regarding their biogenicity. For example, Lowe (1994) re-interpreted the Dresser stromatolites as produced by soft sediment deformation of originally flat layers.
Van Kranendonk (2006) showed that a number of Dresser Formation stromatolites (Fig. B9) occur in the vents of barite dykes and suggested that these may have been constructed by hyper-thermophilic microbes. The biogenicity of these stromatolites is again uncertain, because their macro-morphology appears to be largely controlled by the thickness of precipitated barite crusts and draping chert layers. Their distribution could simply reflect the supply of supersaturated solutions from which they precipitated. Robust micro-textural and isotopic evidence for the involvement of any kinds of microbes in the growth of these stromatolites is still lacking.
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(2009). ˜3,490 Ma Dresser Formation, East Pilbara, Western Australia. In: Wacey, D. (eds) Early Life on Earth. Topics in Geobiology, vol 31. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9389-0_8
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