Ironstone, phosphorite, and nutrient cycling during Paleozoic biodiversification

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Ironstone and phosphorite are marine chemical sediments of scientific and industrial importance. Ironstone is enriched in Fe, which is not only required for steel production, but also essential for nearly all living things. It is necessary for photosynthesis in plants, part of many proteins, and involved in microbial metabolisms that cycle other nutrient elements. Phosphorite is the most important source of P in fertilizer, and therefore vital for feeding the Earth’s burgeoning population. Like Fe, P is also a bioessential element. It forms skeletons, is a building block of DNA, is essential for cellular energy transfer, and limits biologic productivity over geologic timescales. Because the precipitation of ironstone and phosphorite is so closely tied to biology, these deposits are not simply recorders of geologic processes, but intimately involved in Earth system evolution.