Atmospheric sulfur is recycled to the crystalline continental crust during supercontinent formation.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30348984.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-06691-3 and PMC identifier 6197212.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The sulfur cycle across the lithosphere and the role of this volatile element in the metasomatism of the mantle at ancient cratonic boundaries are poorly constrained. We address these knowledge gaps by tracking the journey of sulfur in the assembly of a Proterozoic supercontinent using mass independent isotope fractionation (MIF-S) as an indelible tracer. MIF-S is a signature that was imparted to supracrustal sulfur reservoirs before the ~2.4 Ga Great Oxidation Event. The spatial representation of multiple sulfur isotope data indicates that successive Proterozoic granitoid suites preserve Δ<sup>33</sup>S up to +0.8‰ in areas adjacent to Archean cratons. These results indicate that suturing of cratons began with devolatilisation of slab-derived sediments deep in the lithosphere. This process transferred atmospheric sulfur to a mantle source reservoir, which was tapped intermittently for over 300 million years of magmatism. Our work tracks pathways and storage of sulfur in the lithosphere at craton margins.