An early ecosystem of Archean tidal microbial mats (Moodies Group, South Africa, ca. 3.2 Ga)

Research Article| October 01, 2009 An early ecosystem of Archean tidal microbial mats (Moodies Group, South Africa, ca. 3.2 Ga) Christoph Heubeck Christoph Heubeck 1Department of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Christoph Heubeck 1Department of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 03 Feb 2009 Revision Received: 22 May 2009 Accepted: 29 May 2009 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2009 Geological Society of America Geology (2009) 37 (10): 931–934. https://doi.org/10.1130/G30101A.1 Article history Received: 03 Feb 2009 Revision Received: 22 May 2009 Accepted: 29 May 2009 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Christoph Heubeck; An early ecosystem of Archean tidal microbial mats (Moodies Group, South Africa, ca. 3.2 Ga). Geology 2009;; 37 (10): 931–934. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G30101A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Abundant microbial mats from the Mesoarchean Moodies Group (Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, ca. 3.2 Ga) are densely interbedded with coarse-grained and gravelly sandstones in a nearly mud-free setting. They apparently grew in marginal marine and possibly subaerial coastal and tidal environments. Characteristic sedimentary structures include anastomosing bedding, gas or fluid escape structures, sand volcanoes, biomat doming, patchy silicified microstromatolites, and microbial sand-chip conglomerates. They indicate rapid growth of mechanically tough microbial mats, possibly aided by early seafloor silicification, in a high-energy, high-sedimentation-rate environment.The observations expand the knowledge of the habitat of Archean microbial mats and life on early Earth. If tidal environments were more widespread in the Archean than today, biomats in extensive intertidal settings may have contributed to immobilize large volumes of sand. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.