Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Geology
Stromatolites And Miss—Differences Between Relatives, N. Noffke, S. M. Awramik
Stromatolites And Miss—Differences Between Relatives, N. Noffke, S. M. Awramik
OES Faculty Publications
Benthic microorganisms form highly organized communities called “biofilms.” A biofilm consists of the individual cells plus their extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In marine and non-marine environments, benthic microbial communities interact with the physical sediment dynamics and other factors in the environment in order to survive. This interaction can produce distinctive sedimentary structures called microbialites. Binding, biostabilization, baffling, and trapping of sediment particles by microorganisms result in the formation of microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS); however, if carbonate precipitation occurs in EPS, and these processes happen in a repetitive manner, a multilayered build-up can form—stromatolites. Stromatolites and MISS are first found …
Turbulent Lifestyle: Microbial Mats On Earth’S Sandy Beaches—Today And 3 Billion Years Ago, Nora Noffke
Turbulent Lifestyle: Microbial Mats On Earth’S Sandy Beaches—Today And 3 Billion Years Ago, Nora Noffke
OES Faculty Publications
Archean Earth history is very difficult to reconstruct. Until recently, only bacterial cells preserved in chert, microborings, and stromatolites provided the few clues to ancient life. Now, siliciclastic “microbially induced sedimentary structures” (MISS) are adding to our knowledge of both past life and paleoenvironments. MISS rise from the interaction of photoautotrophic microbial mats with physical sediment dynamics in siliciclastic, shallow-marine settings. Archean MISS can be understood through observations of living microbial mats and modern biotic-physical sedimentary processes. Such geobiological studies are key to the interpretation of the early evolution of prokaryotes. For example, the 2.9 Ga Pongola Supergroup, South Africa, …
Cluster Analysis Of Grain Size Parameters From A Beach Ridge Complex, Cape Henry, Virginia, Amy T. Robbins, G. Richard Whittecar
Cluster Analysis Of Grain Size Parameters From A Beach Ridge Complex, Cape Henry, Virginia, Amy T. Robbins, G. Richard Whittecar
OES Faculty Publications
Cape Henry is a Holocene beach ridge complex at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Analyses of cross-cutting relationships visible on aerial photographs divide the complex into five geomorphic zones. Low, arcuate beach ridges, ornamented in places with small dunes, characterize the four oldest zones. The youngest zone consists of large irregular-shaped dunes which bury the margins of all older zones. Locations of 102 samples taken from 1 m depths on ridge crests were based upon a random stratified sampling grid covering all of Cape Henry. The use of half-phi size data generated standard sediment parameters. Weighted-pair cluster analyses of …