Red crust: evidence for an early Paleozoic oceanic anoxic event

Abstract

Lower Cambrian carbonates of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, feature a distinctive and laterally continuous hematitic horizon known as the Red Crust. Previously interpreted as a subaerial unconformity and major sequence boundary, we present conclusive paleontological and petrographic evidence that all occurrences of hematite are in the form of ferrimicrobialites constituting a component of the carbonate sediment. Newly described fossil assemblages including Gravestockia calcareous sponges, archaeocyaths and associated stereoplasm also indicate that deposition occurred in a shallow-water marine environment. The Red Crust is interpreted to reflect a widespread and dramatic shift to anoxic reducing conditions driven by ferruginous marine waters during the early Paleozoic, marking the oldest recognised Paleozoic oceanic anoxic event (OAE) of this type, coeval with the Cambrian explosion of life.

Keywords:

• Red Crust
• ferruginous
• ferrimicrobialites
• oceanic anoxic event
• time-specific facies
• Cambrian
• Flinders Ranges

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Joachim Reitner and Peter Kruse for advice and assistance. Thanks also to the Adnyamathana people and managers of the Flinders Ranges National Park, and to Leonard and Sharon Nutt of Edeowie Station, for access to the field areas. Annalisa Ferretti and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for constructive reviews that improved this manuscript, and Stephen Hore is thanked for editorial handling.

Additional information

Funding

NL is supported by a Research Training Program (RTP) Domestic Fee Offset Scholarship.