Caco<inf>3</inf> precipitation in multilayered cyanobacterial mats: Clues to explain the alternation of micrite and sparite layers in calcareous stromatolites

Kaźmierczak, J; Fenchel, T; Kühl, M; Kempe, S; Kremer, B; Łącka, B; Małkowski, K

Caco<inf>3</inf> precipitation in multilayered cyanobacterial mats: Clues to explain the alternation of micrite and sparite layers in calcareous stromatolites

Kaźmierczak, J Fenchel, T Kühl, M

Kempe, S Kremer, B Łącka, B Małkowski, K

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Life, 2015, 5 (1), pp. 744 - 769
Issue Date:: 2015-03-09

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Kaźmierczak, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fenchel, T	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kühl, M https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1792-4790	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kempe, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kremer, B	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Łącka, B	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Małkowski, K	en_US
dc.date.available	2015-02-25	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-03-09	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Life, 2015, 5 (1), pp. 744 - 769	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35896
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Marine cyanobacterial mats were cultured on coastal sediments (Nivå Bay, Øresund, Denmark) for over three years in a closed system. Carbonate particles formed in two different modes in the mat: (i) through precipitation of submicrometer-sized grains of Mg calcite within the mucilage near the base of living cyanobacterial layers, and (ii) through precipitation of a variety of mixed Mg calcite/aragonite morphs in layers of degraded cyanobacteria dominated by purple sulfur bacteria. The 13C values were about 2‰ heavier in carbonates from the living cyanobacterial zones as compared to those generated in the purple bacterial zones. Saturation indices calculated with respect to calcite, aragonite, and dolomite inside the mats showed extremely high values across the mat profile. Such high values were caused by high pH and high carbonate alkalinity generated within the mats in conjunction with increased concentrations of calcium and magnesium that were presumably stored in sheaths and extracellular polymer substances (EPS) of the living cyanobacteria and liberated during their post-mortem degradation. The generated CaCO3 morphs were highly similar to morphs reported from heterotrophic bacterial cultures, and from bacterially decomposed cyanobacterial biomass emplaced in Ca-rich media. They are also similar to CaCO3 morphs precipitated from purely inorganic solutions. No metabolically (enzymatically) controlled formation of particular CaCO3 morphs by heterotrophic bacteria was observed in the studied mats. The apparent alternation of in vivo and post-mortem generated calcareous layers in the studied cyanobacterial mats may explain the alternation of fine-grained (micritic) and coarse-grained (sparitic) laminae observed in modern and fossil calcareous cyanobacterial microbialites as the result of a probably similar multilayered mat organization.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Life	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/life5010744	en_US
dc.title	Caco<inf>3</inf> precipitation in multilayered cyanobacterial mats: Clues to explain the alternation of micrite and sparite layers in calcareous stromatolites	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	5	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - C3 - Climate Change Cluster
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	5	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Marine cyanobacterial mats were cultured on coastal sediments (Nivå Bay, Øresund, Denmark) for over three years in a closed system. Carbonate particles formed in two different modes in the mat: (i) through precipitation of submicrometer-sized grains of Mg calcite within the mucilage near the base of living cyanobacterial layers, and (ii) through precipitation of a variety of mixed Mg calcite/aragonite morphs in layers of degraded cyanobacteria dominated by purple sulfur bacteria. The 13C values were about 2‰ heavier in carbonates from the living cyanobacterial zones as compared to those generated in the purple bacterial zones. Saturation indices calculated with respect to calcite, aragonite, and dolomite inside the mats showed extremely high values across the mat profile. Such high values were caused by high pH and high carbonate alkalinity generated within the mats in conjunction with increased concentrations of calcium and magnesium that were presumably stored in sheaths and extracellular polymer substances (EPS) of the living cyanobacteria and liberated during their post-mortem degradation. The generated CaCO3 morphs were highly similar to morphs reported from heterotrophic bacterial cultures, and from bacterially decomposed cyanobacterial biomass emplaced in Ca-rich media. They are also similar to CaCO3 morphs precipitated from purely inorganic solutions. No metabolically (enzymatically) controlled formation of particular CaCO3 morphs by heterotrophic bacteria was observed in the studied mats. The apparent alternation of in vivo and post-mortem generated calcareous layers in the studied cyanobacterial mats may explain the alternation of fine-grained (micritic) and coarse-grained (sparitic) laminae observed in modern and fossil calcareous cyanobacterial microbialites as the result of a probably similar multilayered mat organization.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35896