The Aftermath of the Sturtian Glaciation: Reconstructing Palaeo- Seawater Chemistry and Silicate Weathering

The Cryogenian marks a crucial time in Earth’s history, with significant climatic change characterized by global glaciations and the emergence of metazoan organisms. Dolostones deposited in South Australia and Namibia during the aftermath of the Sturtian glaciation, also known as ‘cap carbonates’, can be used as a potential archive for environmental change throughout the Neoproterozoic. The deglaciation of such a large glacial event undeniably impacted both the climate and the chemistry of oceans, which could have contributed to the potential biological shift from phototrophic bacteria to planktonic algae.