Hofmann Axel

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Hofmann
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Axel
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  • Preprint
    Multiple sulphur and iron isotope composition of detrital pyrite in Archaean sedimentary rocks : a new tool for provenance analysis
    ( 2009-06-29) Hofmann, Axel ; Bekker, Andrey ; Rouxel, Olivier J. ; Rumble, Douglas ; Master, Sharad
    Multiple S (δ34S and δ33S) and Fe (δ56Fe) isotope analyses of rounded pyrite grains from 3.1 to 2.6 Ga conglomerates of southern Africa indicate their detrital origin, which supports anoxic surface conditions in the Archaean. Rounded pyrites from Meso- to Neoarchaean gold and uranium-bearing strata of South Africa are derived from both crustal and sedimentary sources, the latter being characterised by non-mass dependent fractionation of S isotopes (Δ33S as negative as -1.35‰) and large range of Fe isotope values (δ56Fe between -1.1 and 1.2‰). Most sediment-sourced pyrite grains are likely derived from sulphide nodules in marine organic matter-rich shales, sedimentary exhalites and volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. Some sedimentary pyrite grains may have been derived from in situ sulphidised Fe-oxides, prior to their incorporation into the conglomerates, as indicated by unusually high positive δ56Fe values. Sedimentary sulphides without significant non-mass dependent fractionation of S isotopes were also present in the source of some conglomerates. The abundance in these rocks of detrital pyrite unstable in the oxygenated atmosphere may suggest factors other than high pO2 as the cause for the absence of significant non-mass dependent fractionation processes in the 3.2 – 2.7 Ga atmosphere. Rounded pyrites from the ca. 2.6 Ga conglomerates of the Belingwe greenstone belt in Zimbabwe have strongly fractionated δ34S, Δ33S and δ56Fe values, the source of which can be traced back to black shale-hosted massive sulphides in the underlying strata. The study demonstrates the utility of combined multiple S and Fe isotope analysis for provenance reconstruction of Archaean sedimentary successions.
  • Article
    Possible discontinuous evolution of atmospheric xenon suggested by Archean barites
    (Elsevier, 2021-06-25) Almayrac, Matthieu ; Broadley, Michael W. ; Bekaert, David V. ; Hofmann, Axel ; Marty, Bernard
    The Earth's atmosphere has continually evolved since its formation through interactions with the mantle as well as through loss of volatile species to space. Atmospheric xenon isotopes show a unique and progressive evolution during the Archean that stopped around the Archean-Proterozoic transition. The Xe isotope composition of the early atmosphere has been previously documented through the analysis of fluid inclusions trapped within quartz and barite. Whether this evolution was continuous or not is unclear, requiring additional analyses of ancient samples, which may potentially retain remnants of the ancient atmosphere. Here we present new argon, krypton and xenon isotopic data from a suite of Archean and Proterozoic barites ranging in age from 3.5 to 1.8 Ga, with the goal of providing further insights in to the evolution of atmospheric Xe, whilst also outlining the potential complications that can arise when using barites as a record of past atmospheres. Xenon released by low temperature pyrolysis and crushing of two samples which presumably formed around 2.8 and 2.6 Ga show Xe isotope mass dependent fractionation (MDF) of 11‰.u−1 and 3.4‰.u−1, respectively, relative to modern atmosphere. If trapped Xe is contemporaneous with the respective formation age, the significant difference in the degree of fractionation between the two samples provides supporting evidence for a plateau in the MDF-Xe evolution between 3.3 Ga and 2.8 Ga, followed by a rapid evolution at 2.8–2.6 Ga. This sharp decrease in MDF-Xe degree suggests the potential for a discontinuous temporal evolution of atmospheric Xe isotopes, which could have far reaching implications regarding current physical models of the early evolution of the Earth's atmosphere.