Highlights—Microbes Pumping Iron(stone)

Oolitic ironstones occur quite frequently in condensed sections in the stratigraphic record and can serve as important iron resources. In this paper, Barale et al. use a Cretaceous condensed section to explore the conditions in which mixed Fe-oxide / Ca-phosphate ooids form, why they usually show an ellipsoidal shape in spite of a sub-equidimensional nucleus, and why Fe-oxide cortical layers intimately alternate with Ca-phosphate layers. Their results, which integrate cathodoluminescence, EDS microprobe, backscattered electron imaging, epifluorescence, XRD, and micro Raman spectroscopy, reveal a complex history of prolonged alterations of oxic and post-oxic conditions, interpreted to be related to alternating accumulation and winnowing, and related stop-and-start microbial activity. Collectively, the results provide new insights into the sedimentological and paleoenvironmental conditions in which oolitic ironstones form, detailing the sedimentation, shallow burial, reworking and sea-floor exposure of sediment that ultimately is composed almost exclusively of authigenic grains. 

The Role of Microbial Activity In the Generation of Lower Cretaceous Mixed Fe-Oxide–Phosphate Ooids from the Provençal Domain, French Maritime Alps by Luca Barale, Anna D'atri, and Luca Martire