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Geology; July 2000; v. 28; no. 7; p. 619-622; DOI: 10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<619:CGOTGC>2.0.CO;2
© 2000 Geological Society of America
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Chuar Group of the Grand Canyon: Record of breakup of Rodinia, associated change in the global carbon cycle, and ecosystem expansion by 740 Ma

Karl E. Karlstrom*,1, Samuel A. Bowring*,2, Carol M. Dehler*,1, Andrew H. Knoll*,3, Susannah M. Porter*,3, David J. Des Marais*,4, Arlo B. Weil*,5, Zachary D. Sharp*,1, John W. Geissman*,1, Maya B. Elrick*,1, J. Michael Timmons*,1, Laura J. Crossey*,1 and Kathleen L. Davidek*,2

1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA
2 Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
3 Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
4 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
5 Department of Geosciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1063, USA

The Chuar Group (~1600 m thick) preserves a record of extensional tectonism, ocean-chemistry fluctuations, and biological diversification during the late Neoproterozoic Era. An ash layer from the top of the section has a U-Pb zircon age of 742 ± 6 Ma. The Chuar Group was deposited at low latitudes during extension on the north-trending Butte fault system and is inferred to record rifting during the breakup of Rodinia. Shallow-marine deposition is documented by tide- and wave-generated sedimentary structures, facies associations, and fossils. C isotopes in organic carbon show large stratigraphic variations, apparently recording incipient stages of the marked C isotopic fluctuations that characterize later Neoproterozoic time. Upper Chuar rocks preserve a rich biota that includes not only cyanobacteria and algae, but also heterotrophic protists that document increased food web complexity in Neoproterozoic ecosystems. The Chuar Group thus provides a well-dated, high-resolution record of early events in the sequence of linked tectonic, biogeochemical, environmental, and biological changes that collectively ushered in the Phanerozoic Eon.

Key Words: Rodinia • Chuar Group • Grand Canyon • Neoproterozoic • C isotopes




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