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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Preparation of Authigenic Pyrite from Methane-bearing Sediments for In Situ Sulfur Isotope Analysis Using SIMS
Published on: August 31, 2017
Anomalous fractionations of sulfur isotopes during thermochemical sulfate reduction
Yumiko Watanabe1, James Farquhar, Hiroshi Ohmoto
1NASA Astrobiology Institute and Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. yumiko@geosc.psu.edu
Abstract:
Anomalously fractionated sulfur isotopes in many sedimentary rocks older than 2.4 billion years have been widely believed to be the products of ultraviolet photolysis of volcanic sulfur dioxide in an anoxic atmosphere. Our laboratory experiments have revealed that reduced-sulfur species produced by reactions between powders of amino acids and sulfate at 150 degrees to 200 degrees C possess anomalously fractionated sulfur isotopes: Delta33S = +0.1 to +2.1 per mil and Delta36S = -1.1 to +1.1 per mil. These results suggest that reactions between organic matter in sediments and sulfate-rich hydrothermal solutions may have produced anomalous sulfur isotope signatures in some sedimentary rocks. If so, the sulfur isotope record of sedimentary rocks may be linked to the biological and thermal evolution of Earth in ways different than previously thought.
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