Revealing the climate of snowball Earth from δ17O systematics of hydrothermal rocks

Abstract

The oxygen isotopic composition of hydrothermally altered rocks partly originates from the interacting fluid. We use the triple oxygen isotope composition (17O/16O, 18O/16O) of Proterozoic rocks to reconstruct the 18O/16O ratio of ancient meteoric waters. Some of these waters have originated from snowball Earth glaciers and thus give insight into the climate and hydrology of these critical intervals in Earth history. For a Paleoproterozoic [∼2.3-2.4 gigayears ago (Ga)] snowball Earth, δ18O = -43 ± 3‰ is estimated for pristine meteoric waters that precipitated at low paleo-latitudes (≤35°N). Today, such low 18O/16O values are only observed in central Antarctica, where long distillation trajectories in combination with low condensation temperatures promote extreme 18O depletion. For a Neoproterozoic (∼0.6-0.7 Ga) snowball Earth, higher meltwater δ18O estimates of -21 ± 3‰ imply less extreme climate conditions at similar paleolatitudes (≤35°N). Both estimates are single snapshots of ancient water samples and may not represent peak snowball Earth conditions. We demonstrate how 17O/16O measurements provide information beyond traditional 18O/16O measurements, even though all fractionation processes are purely mass dependent.