title: The Archean Nickel Famine Revisited.
abstract: Iron formations (IF) preserve a history of Precambrian oceanic elemental abundance that can be exploited to examine nutrient limitations on early biological productivity. However, in order for IF to be employed as paleomarine proxies, lumped-process distribution coefficients for the element of interest must be experimentally determined or assumed. This necessitates consideration of bulk ocean chemistry and which authigenic ferric iron minerals controlled the sorption reactions. It also requires an assessment of metal mobilization reactions that might have occurred in the water column during particle descent and during post-depositional burial. Here, we summarize recent developments pertaining to the interpretation and fidelity of the IF record in reconstructions of oceanic trace element evolution. Using an updated compilation, we reexamine and validate temporal trends previously reported for the nickel content in IF (see Konhauser et al., 2009 ). Finally, we reevaluate the consequences of methanogen Ni starvation in the context of evolving views of the Archean ocean-climate system and how the Ni famine may have ultimately facilitated the rise in atmospheric oxygen.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Canada .
authors.forename: Kurt O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Konhauser
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Canada .
authors.forename: Leslie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Canada .|2 Equipe Géobiosphère, Institut de Physique du Globe-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot , CNRS, Paris, France .
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pecoits
authors.affiliation: 3 School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds , Leeds, UK .
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peacock
authors.affiliation: 4 Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen , Tuebingen, Germany .
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kappler
authors.affiliation: 5 CNRS-UMR6538 Laboratoire Domaines Océaniques, European Institute for Marine Studies , Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané, France .
authors.forename: Stefan V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Lalonde
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry; D018534:Earth, Planet; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D008697:Methane; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010100:Oxygen; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009532:Nickel; D006859:Hydrogen; D007501:Iron; D008697:Methane; D010100:Oxygen