Abstract
Stratiform stromatolites, which occur in some modern intertidal and lacustrine environments, are organo-sedimentary structures commonly produced by the sediment-trapping activities of the cyanobacterÃa (blue-green algae). Stromatolites were prominent in analogous Proterozoic environments and are often associated with sulfide mineral deposits (Mendlsohn, 1976). It has been suggested that this association implies a role for the biological activities of stromatolitic ecosystems in the formation of some base metal sulfide deposits (Renfro, 1974; Trudinger and Mendelsohn, 1976). This suggestion appears feasible since the accumulated organic matter in the stromatolites would have been a potential source of energy for sulfate-reducing bacteria and, furthermore, fractionation during bacterial sulfate reduction could account for particular sulfur isotope distribution patterns in some deposits.
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Bauld, J., Burne, R.V., Chambers, L.A., Ferguson, J., Skyring, G.W. (1980). Sedimentological and Geobiological Studies of Intertidal Cyanobacterial Mats in North-Eastern Spencer Gulf, South Australia. In: Biogeochemistry of Ancient and Modern Environments. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-26582-6_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-26582-6_17
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