Abstract
Geologists have documented at least fourteen occurrences of “giant
ooids”, a geologically rare type of carbonate allochem, in
Neoproterozoic successions at low paleo-latitudes. Recent experiments
and modeling demonstrated that ooid size reflects an equilibrium between
precipitation and abrasion rates, such that ooid size could be used as a
geological proxy for CaCO3 mineral saturation state (Ω). Here, the
documented sizes of Neoproterozoic giant ooids were applied to estimate
seawater , which provided a novel approach to constraining temperature,
partial pressure of CO2, and alkalinity preceding Neoproterozoic
glaciations. The results suggest that giant ooid formation was most
plausible with seawater alkalinity elevated over its present value by at
least a factor of two, and either much warmer (40C) or much colder (0C)
climate than modern tropical carbonate platforms, which have important
and divergent implications for climate states and ecosystem responses
prior to the initiation of each Neoproterozoic glaciation.