PP23D-05
Can We Determine Temperatures Associated with Critical Transitions During the Evolution of Metazoan life? Application of ‘Clumped’ Isotope Thermometry to the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic
Tuesday, 15 December 2015: 14:40
2003 (Moscone West)
William Defliese1, Miguel Gutierrez2, Steve Flores1, Greg Retallack3 and Aradhna Tripati4, (1)University of California Los Angeles, Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (2)University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (3)University of Oregon, Department of Geological Sciences, Eugene, OR, United States, (4)University of California Los Angeles, Planetary and Space Sciences, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Abstract:
The evolution and development of metazoan life during the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic was one of the largest and monumental events in Earth history. Conditions surrounding these events are uncertain, as there remain many questions about the types of environment transitions such as the development of multicellular life, evolution of hard shells, and the transitions of life to land took place in. While mass-47 clumped isotope signatures are prone to thermal resetting and diagenesis, it remains the best tool for reconstructing temperatures in uncertain regimes, and can be integrated along with traditional tools such as textural petrography and cathodoluminescence to screen for diagenetic alteration. In this context, we analyze suites of Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic sediments and brachiopods for clumped isotope temperatures, and combine with microscopy and stratigraphic data to infer diagenetic and burial histories of these rocks. Samples judged to be unaltered will be further analyzed for the conditions prevalent during critical transitions during the evolution of metazoan life.
