Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures Recording An Ancient Ecosystem In The Ca. 3.48 Billion-Year-Old Dresser Formation, Pilbara, Western Australia, Nora Noffke, Daniel Christian, David Wacey, Robert M. Hazen

OES Faculty Publications

Microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) result from the response of microbial mats to physical sediment dynamics. MISS are cosmopolitan and found in many modern environments, including shelves, tidal flats, lagoons, riverine shores, lakes, interdune areas, and sabkhas. The structures record highly diverse communities of microbial mats and have been reported from numerous intervals in the geological record up to 3.2 billion years (Ga) old. This contribution describes a suite of MISS from some of the oldest well-preserved sedimentary rocks in the geological record, the early Archean (ca. 3.48 Ga) Dresser Formation, Western Australia. Outcrop mapping at the meter to …