Early diagenetic quartz formation at a deep iron oxidation front in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific - A modern analogue for banded iron/chert formations?

Two possible mechanisms may be operative during early diagenetic chert formation at iron oxidation fronts: (1) silica precipitation is catalysed by adsorption to freshly precipitated iron oxide surfaces, and (2) porewater silica concentration is locally decreased below opal-A and opal-CT saturation allowing for precipitation of the thermodynamically more stable phase: quartz. This mechanism of chert formation at the iron oxidation front in suboxic zones may explain why early-diagenetic microcrystalline chert only occurs sporadically in modern marine sediments. It may also serve as a modern analogue for the deposition of much more abundant banded iron/chert formations at the time of the great oxidation event around 2.4 Ga BP, which was probably the largest iron oxidation front in Earth's history.