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Mount McRae Shale

Definition

The Mount McRae Shale is a 2.5-Ga-old unit of mudstone, siltstone, chert, iron formation, and dolomite in the Hamersley basin of the Pilbara craton, Western Australia. It is characterized by a high concentration of organic carbon (∼2–8 wt%), abundant disseminated pyrite (∼1 to ∼10 wt% S in the bulk rocks), and pyrite nodules (∼1–10 cm radius). Analysis of S and Fe isotopic compositions of carbonaceous pyritic shale recovered in the NASA-sponsored Astrobiology Drilling Program revealed variations in isotopic compositions that have been linked to changes in the composition of the ocean and the atmosphere and to fluctuations and a temporary rises of atmospheric oxygen that preceded the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) at 2.32 Ga.

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  1. Maison des Géosciences, LGCA, Université J. Fourier, 1381, rue de la Piscine, 38400, St-Martin d’Hères, France

    Nicholas Arndt

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  1. Nicholas Arndt
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Correspondence to Nicholas Arndt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Arndt, N. (2014). Mount McRae Shale. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1029-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1029-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Mount McRae Shale
    Published:
    11 March 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1029-4

  2. Original

    Mount McRae Shale
    Published:
    29 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1029-3

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