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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
Direct dating of 3.5 Ga biogenic carbon in a microbial mat remnant, Singhbhum Craton, India
Trisrota Chaudhuri1, T Mark Harrison2, Elizabeth A Bell2
1Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, Kolkata 700091, India.
Abstract:
Zircons interpreted to be of syn-volcanic origin recovered from the lower greenschist "black and white banded" Bhitardari chert, Eastern Iron Ore greenstone belt, Singhbhum craton, India, yield a 207Pb/206Pb zircon age of 3497 ± 5 Ma (n = 4; MSWD = 1.2). This chert contains abundant carbonaceous matter (CM) that occurs in two textural modes: 1) ultrafine laminae distributed within the matrix and 2) graphite flakes in late quartz veins. Bulk δ13CCM of both modes in the Bhitardari chert yield a value of -30.9‰, which we interpret as reflecting a biogenic origin. This represents the documentation of a directly dated, CM-bearing, Paleoarchean rock with δ13CCM diagnostic of biologic activity. The observed isotopic compositions are consistent with the rise of relatively sophisticated metabolic mechanisms (e.g., Calvin cycle) by 3.5 Ga.
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