Principal Investigator Shuhei Ono
Sulfur isotope system provide a unique window to study early evolution of microbial life and its impacts on atmospheric and ocean chemistry. Sulfur isotope evidence suggests sulfate-reducing metabolism dates back as old as 3.47 Ga, and the Earth’s atmosphere was devoid of oxygen for about 2 billion years. We are studying detailed sulfur isotope systematics of Archean rocks in South Africa and Western Australia. We are also carrying out some simple photochemical experiments to identify the source reaction(s) of Archean sulfur mass-independent fractionation.