Decoding Earth's ancient history through stromatolites: This review explores the significance of stromatolites, ancient sedimentary structures formed by microbial communities, in understanding Precambrian environments. It discusses the challenges in interpreting stromatolites due to diagenetic recrystallization and emphasizes the need for a process-based approach. By analyzing lamination textures and deducing accretion mechanisms, researchers can test hypotheses using numerical simulations based on modern stromatolite growth. The review highlights a shift from in situ precipitation of laminae during Archean and older Proterozoic times to the accretion of carbonate sediments, likely through microbial trapping and binding, in younger Proterozoic stromatolites. This trend likely reflects long-term evolution of Earth's environment rather than microbial communities themselves. This work underscores the importance of stromatolites as indicators of past environmental conditions and provides insights into the coevolution of life and the planet.
Published in the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, this review aligns perfectly with the journal's focus on providing comprehensive overviews of key topics in geosciences. By synthesizing current knowledge on the formation and interpretation of stromatolites, the paper offers valuable insights into Precambrian environments and the evolution of Earth's surface, a key area of interest for the journal's readership.