The multiple sulphur isotope fingerprint of a sub-seafloor oxidative sulphur cycle driven by iron

Jiarui Liu; André Pellerin; Gareth Izon; Jiasheng Wang; Gilad Antler; Jinqiang Liang; Pibo Su; Bo Barker Jørgensen; Shuhei Ono

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116165

The multiple sulphur isotope fingerprint of a sub-seafloor oxidative sulphur cycle driven by iron

Jiarui Liu, André Pellerin, Gareth Izon, Jiasheng Wang^*, Gilad Antler, Jinqiang Liang, Pibo Su, Bo Barker Jørgensen, Shuhei Ono

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

38 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

Oxidative sulphur cycling is pervasive in marine sediments, replenishing the oxidised sulphur reservoir via re-oxidation of sulphide. An active, yet cryptic, sulphur cycle has been proposed to operate at depth beneath the sulphate-methane transition (SMT), fuelled by simultaneous sulphide oxidation and sulphate reduction under low-sulphate conditions. The existence of a cryptic sulphur cycle, however, is centred on porewater and genetic data that have little, to no, preservation potential, and thus are rarely accessible from the geological record. The absence of a suitable archive has hindered our ability to reconstruct the operation and importance of the cryptic sulphur cycle through space and time. To overcome this obstacle, and to develop a better understanding of the oxidative sulphur cycle in the deep biosphere, we have determined the abundance and triple sulphur isotope composition (Δ³³S and δ³⁴S) of both elemental sulphur and pyrite extracted from sediments recovered from the methane prone Taixinan Basin, South China Sea. Here, multiple sulphur isotope systematics of pyrite clearly reveal a tiering, with organoclastic sulphate reduction succumbing to sulphate-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane at depth. Importantly, a negative Δ³³S-δ³⁴S correlation was found at the periphery of the SMT that requires repeated and sustained iron-driven sulphide oxidation with concomitant disproportionation of the elemental sulphur product. We conclude that minor sulphur isotopes may provide a unique lens to resolve the cryptic sulphur cycle, allowing the importance of the deep biosphere to be evaluated over geological timescales. In turn, a better understanding of the cryptic sulphur cycle remains central to testing hypotheses linking major elemental cycles and diverse microbial activities that persist under the energy-limited conditions that typify the deep biosphere.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	116165
Tidsskrift	Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Vol/bind	536
Antal sider	10
ISSN	0012-821X
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116165
Status	Udgivet - 2020

Adgang til dokumentet

10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116165

Andre filer og links

http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080055491&partnerID=8YFLogxK

Citationsformater

@article{2f1da3e90cdf403389c5f0f5b73eb98c,

title = "The multiple sulphur isotope fingerprint of a sub-seafloor oxidative sulphur cycle driven by iron",

abstract = "Oxidative sulphur cycling is pervasive in marine sediments, replenishing the oxidised sulphur reservoir via re-oxidation of sulphide. An active, yet cryptic, sulphur cycle has been proposed to operate at depth beneath the sulphate-methane transition (SMT), fuelled by simultaneous sulphide oxidation and sulphate reduction under low-sulphate conditions. The existence of a cryptic sulphur cycle, however, is centred on porewater and genetic data that have little, to no, preservation potential, and thus are rarely accessible from the geological record. The absence of a suitable archive has hindered our ability to reconstruct the operation and importance of the cryptic sulphur cycle through space and time. To overcome this obstacle, and to develop a better understanding of the oxidative sulphur cycle in the deep biosphere, we have determined the abundance and triple sulphur isotope composition (Δ33S and δ34S) of both elemental sulphur and pyrite extracted from sediments recovered from the methane prone Taixinan Basin, South China Sea. Here, multiple sulphur isotope systematics of pyrite clearly reveal a tiering, with organoclastic sulphate reduction succumbing to sulphate-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane at depth. Importantly, a negative Δ33S-δ34S correlation was found at the periphery of the SMT that requires repeated and sustained iron-driven sulphide oxidation with concomitant disproportionation of the elemental sulphur product. We conclude that minor sulphur isotopes may provide a unique lens to resolve the cryptic sulphur cycle, allowing the importance of the deep biosphere to be evaluated over geological timescales. In turn, a better understanding of the cryptic sulphur cycle remains central to testing hypotheses linking major elemental cycles and diverse microbial activities that persist under the energy-limited conditions that typify the deep biosphere.",

keywords = "cryptic sulphur cycle, deep biosphere, sedimentary pyrite, South China Sea, sulphur disproportionation, triple sulphur isotopes",

author = "Jiarui Liu and Andr{\'e} Pellerin and Gareth Izon and Jiasheng Wang and Gilad Antler and Jinqiang Liang and Pibo Su and J{\o}rgensen, {Bo Barker} and Shuhei Ono",

year = "2020",

doi = "10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116165",

language = "English",

volume = "536",

journal = "Earth and Planetary Science Letters",

issn = "0012-821X",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The multiple sulphur isotope fingerprint of a sub-seafloor oxidative sulphur cycle driven by iron

AU - Liu, Jiarui

AU - Pellerin, André

AU - Izon, Gareth

AU - Wang, Jiasheng

AU - Antler, Gilad

AU - Liang, Jinqiang

AU - Su, Pibo

AU - Jørgensen, Bo Barker

AU - Ono, Shuhei

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Oxidative sulphur cycling is pervasive in marine sediments, replenishing the oxidised sulphur reservoir via re-oxidation of sulphide. An active, yet cryptic, sulphur cycle has been proposed to operate at depth beneath the sulphate-methane transition (SMT), fuelled by simultaneous sulphide oxidation and sulphate reduction under low-sulphate conditions. The existence of a cryptic sulphur cycle, however, is centred on porewater and genetic data that have little, to no, preservation potential, and thus are rarely accessible from the geological record. The absence of a suitable archive has hindered our ability to reconstruct the operation and importance of the cryptic sulphur cycle through space and time. To overcome this obstacle, and to develop a better understanding of the oxidative sulphur cycle in the deep biosphere, we have determined the abundance and triple sulphur isotope composition (Δ33S and δ34S) of both elemental sulphur and pyrite extracted from sediments recovered from the methane prone Taixinan Basin, South China Sea. Here, multiple sulphur isotope systematics of pyrite clearly reveal a tiering, with organoclastic sulphate reduction succumbing to sulphate-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane at depth. Importantly, a negative Δ33S-δ34S correlation was found at the periphery of the SMT that requires repeated and sustained iron-driven sulphide oxidation with concomitant disproportionation of the elemental sulphur product. We conclude that minor sulphur isotopes may provide a unique lens to resolve the cryptic sulphur cycle, allowing the importance of the deep biosphere to be evaluated over geological timescales. In turn, a better understanding of the cryptic sulphur cycle remains central to testing hypotheses linking major elemental cycles and diverse microbial activities that persist under the energy-limited conditions that typify the deep biosphere.

AB - Oxidative sulphur cycling is pervasive in marine sediments, replenishing the oxidised sulphur reservoir via re-oxidation of sulphide. An active, yet cryptic, sulphur cycle has been proposed to operate at depth beneath the sulphate-methane transition (SMT), fuelled by simultaneous sulphide oxidation and sulphate reduction under low-sulphate conditions. The existence of a cryptic sulphur cycle, however, is centred on porewater and genetic data that have little, to no, preservation potential, and thus are rarely accessible from the geological record. The absence of a suitable archive has hindered our ability to reconstruct the operation and importance of the cryptic sulphur cycle through space and time. To overcome this obstacle, and to develop a better understanding of the oxidative sulphur cycle in the deep biosphere, we have determined the abundance and triple sulphur isotope composition (Δ33S and δ34S) of both elemental sulphur and pyrite extracted from sediments recovered from the methane prone Taixinan Basin, South China Sea. Here, multiple sulphur isotope systematics of pyrite clearly reveal a tiering, with organoclastic sulphate reduction succumbing to sulphate-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane at depth. Importantly, a negative Δ33S-δ34S correlation was found at the periphery of the SMT that requires repeated and sustained iron-driven sulphide oxidation with concomitant disproportionation of the elemental sulphur product. We conclude that minor sulphur isotopes may provide a unique lens to resolve the cryptic sulphur cycle, allowing the importance of the deep biosphere to be evaluated over geological timescales. In turn, a better understanding of the cryptic sulphur cycle remains central to testing hypotheses linking major elemental cycles and diverse microbial activities that persist under the energy-limited conditions that typify the deep biosphere.

KW - cryptic sulphur cycle

KW - deep biosphere

KW - sedimentary pyrite

KW - South China Sea

KW - sulphur disproportionation

KW - triple sulphur isotopes

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080055491&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116165

DO - 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116165

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85080055491

SN - 0012-821X

VL - 536

JO - Earth and Planetary Science Letters

JF - Earth and Planetary Science Letters

M1 - 116165

ER -

The multiple sulphur isotope fingerprint of a sub-seafloor oxidative sulphur cycle driven by iron

Abstract

Adgang til dokumentet

Andre filer og links

Fingeraftryk

Citationsformater