Articles | Volume 21, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4119-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4119-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Reply to Head's comment on “The Volyn biota (Ukraine) – indications of 1.5 Gyr old eukaryotes in 3D preservation, a spotlight on the `boring billion' ” by Franz et al. (2023)
Gerhard Franz
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Vladimir Khomenko
Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
M.P. Semenenko Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Ore Formation, The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 34, Palladina av., Kyiv, 03142, Ukraine
Peter Lyckberg
Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History, 25 Rue Münster, 2160 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Vsevolod Chournousenko
Volyn Quartz Samotsvety Company, Khoroshiv (Volodarsk-Volynski), Ukraine
now at: Kondratyuka str. 9, ap. 25, Zhytomyr, 10009, Ukraine
Ulrich Struck
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
Related authors
Gerhard Franz, Vladimir Khomenko, Peter Lyckberg, Vsevolod Chournousenko, Ulrich Struck, Ulrich Gernert, and Jörg Nissen
Biogeosciences, 20, 1901–1924, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1901-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This research describes the occurrence of Precambrian fossils, with exceptionally well preserved morphology in 3D. These microfossils reach a size of millimeters (possibly up to centimeters) and thus indicate the presence of multicellular eukaryotes. Many of them are filamentous, but other types were also found. These fossils lived in a depth of several hundred meters and thus provide good evidence of a continental the deep biosphere, from a time generally considered as the
boring billion.
Gerhard Franz, Peter Lyckberg, Vladimir Khomenko, Vsevolod Chournousenko, Hans-Martin Schulz, Nicolaj Mahlstedt, Richard Wirth, Johannes Glodny, Ulrich Gernert, and Jörg Nissen
Biogeosciences, 19, 1795–1811, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1795-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1795-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In pegmatites from Ukraine Precambrian fossils between 1.5 Ga and 1.76 Ga were preserved in cavities connected to the surface in a geyser system. The fossilization process is silicification of the outermost rim of the fossils, stabilizing the remaining part of the organisms. The variety of organisms points to an ecosystem of several microorganisms which was active in the continental environment, and igneous rocks such as the pegmatites seem to be an ideal habitat for the deep biosphere.
Gerhard Franz, Masafumi Sudo, and Vladimir Khomenko
Eur. J. Mineral., 34, 7–18, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-34-7-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-34-7-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The age of formation of buddingtonite, ammonium-bearing feldspar, can be dated with the Ar–Ar method; however, it may often give only minimum ages due to strong resetting. In the studied example it gives a Precambrian minimum age of fossils, associated with this occurrence, and the age of the accompanying mineral muscovite indicates an age near 1.5 Ga. We encourage more dating attempts of buddingtonite, which will give valuable information of diagenetic or hydrothermal events.
Leonid Shumlyanskyy, Gerhard Franz, Sarah Glynn, Oleksandr Mytrokhyn, Dmytro Voznyak, and Olena Bilan
Eur. J. Mineral., 33, 703–716, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-703-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-703-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In the paper we discuss the origin of large chamber pegmatite bodies which contain giant gem-quality crystals of black quartz (morion), beryl, and topaz. We conclude that these pegmatites develop under the influence of later intrusions of mafic rocks that cause reheating of the partly crystallized granite massifs and that they supply a large amount of fluids that facilitate the
inflationof pegmatite chambers and crystallization of giant crystals of various minerals.
Gerhard Franz, Martin Kutzschbach, Eleanor J. Berryman, Anette Meixner, Anselm Loges, and Dina Schultze
Eur. J. Mineral., 33, 401–423, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-401-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-401-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Metamorphic rocks contain information about their original rocks and thus provide insight into the earlier stages of a region of interest. Here, we used the whole-rock chemical composition and stable boron isotopes of a suite of rocks from the Alps (Italy–Austria), which were deposited in a restricted intramontane basin before the Alpine orogeny. It is possible to reconstruct the depositional conditions for these sediments, which are now common metamorphic rocks such as schists and gneisses.
Gerhard Franz, Vladimir Khomenko, Peter Lyckberg, Vsevolod Chournousenko, Ulrich Struck, Ulrich Gernert, and Jörg Nissen
Biogeosciences, 20, 1901–1924, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1901-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This research describes the occurrence of Precambrian fossils, with exceptionally well preserved morphology in 3D. These microfossils reach a size of millimeters (possibly up to centimeters) and thus indicate the presence of multicellular eukaryotes. Many of them are filamentous, but other types were also found. These fossils lived in a depth of several hundred meters and thus provide good evidence of a continental the deep biosphere, from a time generally considered as the
boring billion.
Gerhard Franz, Peter Lyckberg, Vladimir Khomenko, Vsevolod Chournousenko, Hans-Martin Schulz, Nicolaj Mahlstedt, Richard Wirth, Johannes Glodny, Ulrich Gernert, and Jörg Nissen
Biogeosciences, 19, 1795–1811, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1795-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1795-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In pegmatites from Ukraine Precambrian fossils between 1.5 Ga and 1.76 Ga were preserved in cavities connected to the surface in a geyser system. The fossilization process is silicification of the outermost rim of the fossils, stabilizing the remaining part of the organisms. The variety of organisms points to an ecosystem of several microorganisms which was active in the continental environment, and igneous rocks such as the pegmatites seem to be an ideal habitat for the deep biosphere.
Gerhard Franz, Masafumi Sudo, and Vladimir Khomenko
Eur. J. Mineral., 34, 7–18, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-34-7-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-34-7-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The age of formation of buddingtonite, ammonium-bearing feldspar, can be dated with the Ar–Ar method; however, it may often give only minimum ages due to strong resetting. In the studied example it gives a Precambrian minimum age of fossils, associated with this occurrence, and the age of the accompanying mineral muscovite indicates an age near 1.5 Ga. We encourage more dating attempts of buddingtonite, which will give valuable information of diagenetic or hydrothermal events.
Leonid Shumlyanskyy, Gerhard Franz, Sarah Glynn, Oleksandr Mytrokhyn, Dmytro Voznyak, and Olena Bilan
Eur. J. Mineral., 33, 703–716, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-703-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-703-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In the paper we discuss the origin of large chamber pegmatite bodies which contain giant gem-quality crystals of black quartz (morion), beryl, and topaz. We conclude that these pegmatites develop under the influence of later intrusions of mafic rocks that cause reheating of the partly crystallized granite massifs and that they supply a large amount of fluids that facilitate the
inflationof pegmatite chambers and crystallization of giant crystals of various minerals.
Gerhard Franz, Martin Kutzschbach, Eleanor J. Berryman, Anette Meixner, Anselm Loges, and Dina Schultze
Eur. J. Mineral., 33, 401–423, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-401-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-401-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Metamorphic rocks contain information about their original rocks and thus provide insight into the earlier stages of a region of interest. Here, we used the whole-rock chemical composition and stable boron isotopes of a suite of rocks from the Alps (Italy–Austria), which were deposited in a restricted intramontane basin before the Alpine orogeny. It is possible to reconstruct the depositional conditions for these sediments, which are now common metamorphic rocks such as schists and gneisses.
Cited articles
Barton, M. D. and Young, S.: Non-pegmatitic deposits of beryllium: Mineralogy, geology, phase equilibria and origin, Rev. Mineral. Geochem., 50, 591–691, 2002.
Cartigny, P.: Stable isotopes and the origin of diamond, Elements, 1, 79–84, 2005.
Ciarniello, M., Moroz, L. V., Poch, O., Vinogradoff, V., Beck, P., Rousseau, B., Istiqomah, I., Sultana, R., Raponi, A., Schroeder, S., Kappel, D., Quirico, E., Filacchione, G., Pommerol, A., Mennella, V., and Pilorget, C.: VIS-IR spectroscopy of mixtures of ice, organic matter and opaque minerals in support of minor bodies remote sensing observations, EPSC Abstracts, 13, 1467–1468, 2019.
Durand, B.: Sedimentary organic matter and kerogen, Definition and qualitative importance of kerogen, in: Kerogen – Insoluble Organic Matter from Sedimentary Rocks, edited by: Durand, B., 13–34, Editions Technip, Paris, 1980.
Ensikat, H.-J., Mustafa, A., and Weigend, M.: Complex patterns of multiple biomineralization in single-celled plant trichomes of the Loasaceae, Amer. J. Bot., 104, 195–206, 2017.
Franz, G., Khomenko, V., Vishnyevskyy, A., Wirth, R., Nissen, J., and Rocholl, A.: Biologically mediated crystallization of buddingtonite in the Paleoproterozoic: Organic-igneous interactions from the Volyn pegmatite, Ukraine, Amer. Mineral. 102, 2119–2135, 2017.
Franz, G., Sudo, M., and Khomenko, V.: 40Ar 39Ar dating of a hydrothermal pegmatitic buddingtonite–muscovite assemblage from Volyn, Ukraine, Eur. J. Mineral., 34, 7–18, https://https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-34-7-2022, 2022a.
Franz, G., Lyckberg, P., Khomenko, V., Chournousenko, V., Schulz, H.-M., Mahlstedt, N., Wirth, R., Glodny, J., Gernert, U., and Nissen, J.: Fossilization of Precambrian microfossils in the Volyn pegmatite, Ukraine, Biogeosciences, 19, 1795–1811, https://https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1795-2022, 2022b.
Franz, G., Khomenko, V., Lyckberg, P., Chornousenko, V., Struck, U., Wirth, R., Gernert, U., and Nissen, J.: The Volyn biota (Ukraine) – indications for 1.5 Gyr old eucaryotes in 3D-preservation, a spotlight on the `boring billion', BioGeosciences, 20, 1901–1924, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1901-2023, 2023a.
Franz, G., Vyschnevskyi, O. A., Khomenko, V. M., Lyckberg, P., and Gernert, U.: Etch pits in heliodor and green beryl from the Volyn pegmatites, Northwest Ukraine: A diagnostic feature, Gems Gemol., 59, 324–339, 2023b.
Ginzburg, A. I., Bulgakov, V. S., Vasilishin, I. S., Luk'yanova, V. T., Solntseva, L. S., Urmenova, A. M., and Uspenskaya, V. A.: Kerite from pegmatites of Volyn, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 292, 188–191, 1987 (in Russian).
Gorlenko, V. M., Zhmur, S. I., Duda, V. I., Osipov, G. A., Suzina, N. E., and Dmitriev, V. V.: Fine structure of fossilized bacteria in Volyn kerite, Orig. Life Evol. Biosph., 30, 567–577, 2000.
Head, M. J., Riding, J. B., O'Keefe, J. M. K., Jeiter, J., and Gravendyck, J.: Comment on “The Volyn biota (Ukraine) – indications of 1.5 Gyr old eukaryotes in 3D preservation, a spotlight on the `boring billion' ” by Franz et al. (2023), Biogeosciences, 21, 1773–1783, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1773-2024, 2024.
Kalyuzhnyi V. A., Voznyak, D. K., and Gigashvili, G. M.: Mineral-forming fluids and mineral paragenesis of chamber pegmatites of Ukraine, Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 216 pp., 1971 (in Ukrainian).
Lazarenko, E. K., Pavlishin, V. J., Latysh, V. T., and Sorokon, Ju. G.: Mineralogy and genesis of the chamber pegmatites from Volyn, Lvov, Vysskaja shkola, 360 pp., 1973 (in Russian).
Liu, Y., Schmidt, C., and Li, J.: Peralkalinity in peraluminous granitic pegmatites, I. Evidence from whewellite and hydrogen carbonate in fluid inclusions, Amer. Mineral, 107, 233–238, 2022.
Loges, A., Manni, M., Louvel, M., Wilke, M., Jahn, S., Welter, E., Borchert, M., Qiao, S., Klemme, S., and Keller, B. G.: Complexation of Zr and Hf in fluoride-rich hydrothermal aqueous fluids and its significance for high field strength element fractionation, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 366, 167–181, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2023.12.013, 2023.
Loron, C. C., François, C., Rainbird, R. H., Turner, E. C., Borensztajn, S., and Javaux, E. J.: Early fungi from the Proterozoic era in Arctic Canada, Nature, 570, 232–235, 2019.
Lu'kyanova, V. T., Lobzova, R. V., and Popov, V. T.: Filaceous kerite in pegmatites of Volyn, Izvestiya Ross. Akademii Nauk Ser, Geologicheskaya, 5, 102–118, 1992 (in Russian).
Mäder, U. K., Ramseyer, K., Daniels, E. J., and Althaus, E.: Gibbs free energy of buddingtonite (NH4AlSi3O8) extrapolated from experiments and comparison to natural occurrences and polyedral estimation, Eur. J. Mineral., 8, 755–766, 1996.
Marty, B., Alexander, O'D., and Raymond, S. N.: Primordial origins of Earth's carbon, Rev. Mineral. Geochem., 75, 149–181, 2013.
McCollom, T. M. and Seewald, J. S.: Carbon isotope composition of organic compounds produced by abiotic synthesis under hydrothermal conditions, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 243, 74–84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2006.01.027, 2006.
Ménez, B., Pisapia, C., Andreani, M., Jamme, F., Vanbellingen, Q., Brunelle, A., Richard, L., Dumas, P., and Réfrégiers, M.: abiotic synthesis of amino acids in the recesses of the oceanic lithosphere, Nature, 564, 59–63, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-018-0684-z.hal-02111638, 2018.
Moroz, L. V., Arnold, G., Korochantsev, A. V., and Wäsch, R.: Natural solid bitumens as possible analogs for cometary and asteroid organics: 1. Reflectance spectroscopy of pure bitumens, ICARUS, 134, 253–268, https://doi.org/10.1006/icar.1998.5955, 1998.
Mustafa, A., Ensikat, H.-J., and Weigend, M.: Ontogeny and the process of biomineralization in the trichomes of Laosaceae, Amer. J. Bot., 104, 367–378, 2017.
Mustafa, A., Ensikat, H.-J., and Weigend, M.: Mineralized trichomes in Boraginales: complex microscale heterogeneity and simple phylogenetic patterns, Ann. Botany, 121, 741–751, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx191, 2018.
Nan, J., King, H. E., Delen, G., Meirer, F., Weckhuysen, B. M., Guo, Z., Peng, Z., and Plümper, O.: The nanogeochemistry of abiotic carbonaceous matter in serpentinites from the Yap Trench, western Pacific Ocean, Geology, 49, 330–334, https://doi.org/10.1130/G48153.1, 2021.
Popov, D. V.: Do pegmatites crystallise fast? A perspective from petrologically-constrained isotopic dating, Geosciences, 13, 297, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13100297, 2023.
Proshko, V. Ya., Bagmut, N. N., Vasilishin, I. S., and Panchenko, V. I.: Ammonium feldspars from Volyn pegmatites and their radiospectroscopic properties, Mineral. J., 9, 67–71, 1987 (in Russian).
Shumlyanskyy, L., Nosova, A., Billström, K., Söderlund, U., Andréasson, P.-G., and Kuzmenkova, O.: The U–Pb zircon and baddeleyite ages of the Neoproterozoic Volyn Large Igneous Province: implication for the age of the magmatism and the nature of a crustal contaminant, Gff-Upsala, 138, 17–30, 2016.
Shumlyanskyy, L., Hawkesworth, C., Billström, K., Bogdanova, S., Mytrokhyn, O., Romer, R., Dhuime, B., Claesson, S., Ernst, R., Whitehouse, M., and Bilan, O.: The origin of the Palaeoproterozoic AMCG complexes in the Ukrainian Shield: new U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes in zircon, Precam. Res., 292, 216–239, 2017.
Shumlyanskyy, L., Franz, G., Glynn, S., Mytrokhyn, O., Voznyak, D., and Bilan, O.: Geochronology of granites of the western Korosten AMCG complex (Ukrainian Shield): implications for the emplacement history and origin of miarolitic pegmatites, Eur. J. Mineral., 33, 703–716, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-33-703-2021, 2021.
Vasilev, A., Efimov, M., Bondarenko, G., Kozlov, V., Dzidziguri, E., and Karpacheva, G.: Thermal behavior of chitosan as a carbon material precursor under IR radiation, IOP Conf. Ser.-Mater. Sci. Eng., 693, 012002, https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/693/1/012002, 2019.
Voznyak, D. K., Khomenko, V. M., Franz, G., and Wiedenbeck, M.: Physico-chemical conditions of the late stage of Volyn pegmatite evolution: Fluid inclusions in beryl studied by thermobarometry and IR-spectroscopy methods, Mineral. J., 34, 26–38, 2012 (in Ukrainian).
Wanjun T., Cunxin W., and Donghua, C.: Kinetic studies on the pyrolysis of chitin and chitosan, Polym. Degrad. Stabil., 87, 389–394, 2005.
Yushkin, N. P.: Natural polymer crystals of hydrocarbons as models of prebiological organisms, J. Crystal Growth, 167, 237–247, 1996.
Zawadzki, J. and Kaczmarek, H.: Thermal treatment of chitosan in various conditions, Carbohydr. Polym., 80, 394–400, 2010.
Zhmur, S. I.: Origin of Cambrian fibrous kerites of the Volyn region, Lithol. Mineral Resour., 38, 55–73, 2003
Short summary
The Volyn biota (Ukraine), previously assumed to be an extreme case of natural abiotic synthesis of organic matter, is more likely a diverse assemblage of fossils from the deep biosphere. Although contamination by modern organisms cannot completely be ruled out, it is unlikely, considering all aspects, i.e., their mode of occurrence in the deep biosphere, their fossilization and mature state of organic matter, their isotope signature, and their large morphological diversity.
The Volyn biota (Ukraine), previously assumed to be an extreme case of natural abiotic synthesis...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint