Enigmatic super-heavy pyrite formation: Novel mechanistic insights from the aftermath of the Sturtian Snowball Earth

Abstract

It is not well understood how, in the immediate aftermath of the Sturtian Snowball Earth, marine sulfur cycling resulted in a global distribution of sedimentary pyrite with δ34S values higher than coeval seawater. Here, we analyze the quadruple sulfur isotope systematics of organic-bound sulfur (OS) from the lowermost post-Sturtian Datangpo Formation, South China, and identify two generations of OS formation, each sampling an isotopically distinct sulfate reservoir (δ34S ≈ 26‰ and 52–93‰) that differentially impacted its respective, co-occurring pyrite. Combining several lines of geochemical evidence, we argue that the first OS generation was the product of a sulfate-impoverished meltwater-influenced setting, with OS preservation being the result of resistance to acid hydrolysis. However, the second OS generation was sourced from H2S produced in sediments during early diagenesis via microbial reduction of a 34S-enriched sulfate pool derived from overlying euxinic or ferruginous seawater. This is the first ancient marine data set where all observed pyrite is more enriched in 34S than its associated OS. Our proposed origin may be applied to global superheavy pyrite (SHP) immediately after the Sturtian and is comparable to processes linked to freshwater-to-marine transitions during rising sea level in the wake of recent glaciation.