Item Number
555
Type
image
Description
Banded Iron Formation
Age
Precambrian, Archean 2 billion years old.
Status
in inventory
Display/Storage
Display
Building
Zuhl Museum
Original Site
Michigan
Date Acquired
1994
Source
John Kramer
Gallery/Room\Floor
History of Life Gallery
Notes
Fossil Algae Specimen from Upper Michigan. Banded iron formations (BIF), also known as banded ironstone, are most widely recognized for their exquisite banding/layers. For the most part the black layers are made up of iron oxides and the red layers are made of red jasper. BIFs are evidence for some of the very first living things on earth, Cyanobacteria (blue/green algae). BIFs are formed when cyanobacteria produce gaseous oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis, the oxygen then reacted with ionized iron in the shallow nearshore marine habitat to form iron oxide. The iron oxide precipitated out in layers on the seafloor, creating iron rich layers (indicated by the black coloration of iron oxides) and iron poor layers (typically indicated by the red coloration of red quartz/jasper). Bacteria, including the photosynthetic cyanobacteria, were the only forms of life for the first 2 billion years that life existed on Earth. In the modern-day BIFs are hosts to some of the oldest fossil microbes, as well as being a primary source of iron ore in the steel production industry.
Preview
Description
Fossil Algae Specimen from Upper Michigan. Banded iron formations (BIF), also known as banded ironstone, are most widely recognized for their exquisite banding/layers. For the most part the black layers are made up of iron oxides and the red layers are made of red jasper. BIFs are evidence for some of the very first living things on earth, Cyanobacteria (blue/green algae). BIFs are formed when cyanobacteria produce gaseous oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis, the oxygen then reacted with ionized iron in the shallow nearshore marine habitat to form iron oxide. The iron oxide precipitated out in layers on the seafloor, creating iron rich layers (indicated by the black coloration of iron oxides) and iron poor layers (typically indicated by the red coloration of red quartz/jasper). Bacteria, including the photosynthetic cyanobacteria, were the only forms of life for the first 2 billion years that life existed on Earth. In the modern-day BIFs are hosts to some of the oldest fossil microbes, as well as being a primary source of iron ore in the steel production industry. 12x11
Keywords
Banded Iron Formation Fossil Algae Specimen from Upper Michigan. Banded iron formations (BIF), also known as banded ironstone, are most widely recognized for their exquisite banding/layers. For the most part the black layers are made up of iron oxides and the red layers are made of red jasper. BIFs are evidence for some of the very first living things on earth, Cyanobacteria (blue/green algae). BIFs are formed when cyanobacteria produce gaseous oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis, the oxygen then reacted with ionized iron in the shallow nearshore marine habitat to form iron oxide. The iron oxide precipitated out in layers on the seafloor, creating iron rich layers (indicated by the black coloration of iron oxides) and iron poor layers (typically indicated by the red coloration of red quartz/jasper). Bacteria, including the photosynthetic cyanobacteria, were the only forms of life for the first 2 billion years that life existed on Earth. In the modern-day BIFs are hosts to some of the oldest fossil microbes, as well as being a primary source of iron ore in the steel production industry. 1994 Precambrian, Archean 2 billion years old. Fossil
Keywords
Banded Iron Formation Fossil Algae Specimen from Upper Michigan. Banded iron formations (BIF), also known as banded ironstone, are most widely recognized for their exquisite banding/layers. For the most part the black layers are made up of iron oxides and the red layers are made of red jasper. BIFs are evidence for some of the very first living things on earth, Cyanobacteria (blue/green algae). BIFs are formed when cyanobacteria produce gaseous oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis, the oxygen then reacted with ionized iron in the shallow nearshore marine habitat to form iron oxide. The iron oxide precipitated out in layers on the seafloor, creating iron rich layers (indicated by the black coloration of iron oxides) and iron poor layers (typically indicated by the red coloration of red quartz/jasper). Bacteria, including the photosynthetic cyanobacteria, were the only forms of life for the first 2 billion years that life existed on Earth. In the modern-day BIFs are hosts to some of the oldest fossil microbes, as well as being a primary source of iron ore in the steel production industry. 1994 Precambrian, Archean 2 billion years old. Fossil