Science. 1994 Jan 28;263(5146):494-8. doi: 10.1126/science.263.5146.494.
Microfossils have been discovered in cavity-fill and replacement silica that occurs between chert-breccia clasts in 1200-million-year-old paleokarst at the top of the Mescal Limestone, central Arizona, and in approximately 800-million-year-old paleokarst at the top of the Beck Spring Dolomite, southeastern California. Microbial communities on Precambrian (>550 million years ago) land may have been extensive enough to affect weathering, erosion, sedimentation, and geochemical processes.
微化石已在亚利桑那州中部梅斯卡莱姆石灰岩层顶部的 12 亿年古喀斯特顶部的燧石角砾岩之间的空腔填充和替代硅质以及加利福尼亚州东南部贝克泉白云岩顶部的约 8 亿年古喀斯特中发现。前寒武纪(>5.5 亿年前)陆地的微生物群落可能广泛到足以影响风化、侵蚀、沉积和地球化学过程。