banded iron formations: the evolution of earth’s surface and life
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Banded Iron Formations: The Evolution of Earth’s Surface and Life. Mike Tice 6 August 2009. Earth History. The Most Important Organisms in Earth History:. The Cyanobacteria!. Bacteria The first organisms to produce oxygen during photosynthesis - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Banded Iron Formations: The Evolution of Earth’s Surface and Life
Mike Tice6 August 2009
Earth History
The Most Important Organisms in Earth History:
https://eapbiofield.wikispaces.com/file/detail/I11-30-cyanobacteria.jpg
The Cyanobacteria!
• Bacteria
• The first organisms to produce oxygen during photosynthesis
• The ultimate source of all oxygen in our atmosphere
Banded Iron Formation
This is a photograph of a slab of banded iron formation cut with a rock saw.
This is a photograph of a slab of banded iron formation cut with a rock saw.
This image uses color to represent the composition of a small part of the slab. Here, red represents the element Fe.
• Is this piece of banded iron formation more like a shale or a conglomerate?
• Why are they similar?
shale conglomerate
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Limestone_on_shale.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lehigh_conglom.jpg
Model of BIF Deposition
• Dissolved iron (and no oxygen) in the deep ocean
• Cyanobacteria producing oxygen in the shallow ocean
Another Model of BIF Deposition
• Dissolved iron (and no oxygen) in the deep ocean
• UV light passing through the upper atmosphere with no ozone layer
UV light
Another Model of BIF Deposition
• Dissolved iron (and no oxygen) in the deep ocean
• Non-oxygen producing (anoxygenic) photosynthetic bacteria in shallow water
anoxygenic bacteria
Questions
• What do banded iron formations tell us about changing environments in the Earth’s oceans?
• What do banded iron formations tell us about the evolution of photosynthesis?
• How were changing conditions in the atmosphere and oceans related in time? How would organisms living in the shallow and deep oceans have reacted to changing environmental conditions?