Paleosols on the Ediacaran basalts of the East European Craton: A unique record of paleoweathering with minimum diagenetic overprint

Volyn paleosols are close analogues of recent weathering of basalts on Hawaii and the coast of Costa Rica, including the presence of mixed-layer kaolinite-smectite. They document hot and humid Ediacaran climate on the East European Craton at ca. 550 Ma. The lack of aeolian contamination implies the lack of dry regions on the craton in this period. Mass-balance calculations suggest >90% of P loss from the top saprolitic layer. Given the area of the basalt trap, this reflects a significant release of P into the Ediacaran ocean, which possibly contributed to the Ediacaran life explosion and atmospheric O2 rise.