Rapid oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere 2.33 billion years ago

Luo, Genming; Ono, Shuhei; Beukes, Nicolas J.; Wang, David T.; Xie, Shucheng; Summons, Roger E.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600134

Cited by 287 publications

(267 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…This correlation is now shown to be incorrect based on the 2,426 ± 3 Ma age constraint provided by the Ongeluk Formation volcanic rocks and associated intrusions. In addition, lithologic and chemostratigraphic data for the Duitschland and Rooihoogte formations (15,18,23,24,31) coupled with recent age constraints (9,11,25) and arguments relying on basin architecture (16) indicate that the Duitschland and Rooihoogte formations are younger than the Postmasburg Group (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 2,316 ± 7 Ma Re-Os age for diagenetic pyrite (25) and a 2,309 ± 9 Ma U-Pb age for tuff in the lower Timeball Hill Formation (9), which conformably overlies the Rooihoogte Formation, suggest that the GOE began by ca. 2,309 Ma (24). All chronological and redox records for the Transvaal Supergroup are provided in Tables S1 and S2.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Transvaal subbasin (Fig. 1), the start of the GOE has been placed in the middle of either the Duitschland Formation or the Rooihoogte Formation by different authors (23,24), with the age of the upper Duitschland Formation constrained by detrital zircon to ≤2,424 ± 24 Ma (11). A 2,316 ± 7 Ma Re-Os age for diagenetic pyrite (25) and a 2,309 ± 9 Ma U-Pb age for tuff in the lower Timeball Hill Formation (9), which conformably overlies the Rooihoogte Formation, suggest that the GOE began by ca.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Timing and tempo of the Great Oxidation Event

Gumsley

Chamberlain

Bleeker

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

383

274

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The first significant buildup in atmospheric oxygen, the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), began in the early Paleoproterozoic in association with global glaciations and continued until the end of the Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion ca. 2,060 Ma. The exact timing of and relationships among these events are debated because of poor age constraints and contradictory stratigraphic correlations. Here, we show that the first Paleoproterozoic global glaciation and the onset of the GOE occurred between ca. 2,460 and 2,426 Ma, ∼100 My earlier than previously estimated, based on an age of 2,426 ± 3 Ma for Ongeluk Formation magmatism from the Kaapvaal Craton of southern Africa. This age helps define a key paleomagnetic pole that positions the Kaapvaal Craton at equatorial latitudes of 11°± 6°at this time. Furthermore, the rise of atmospheric oxygen was not monotonic, but was instead characterized by oscillations, which together with climatic instabilities may have continued over the next ∼200 My until ≤2,250-2,240 Ma. Ongeluk Formation volcanism at ca. 2,426 Ma was part of a large igneous province (LIP) and represents a waning stage in the emplacement of several temporally discrete LIPs across a large low-latitude continental landmass. These LIPs played critical, albeit complex, roles in the rise of oxygen and in both initiating and terminating global glaciations. This series of events invites comparison with the Neoproterozoic oxygen increase and Sturtian Snowball Earth glaciation, which accompanied emplacement of LIPs across supercontinent Rodinia, also positioned at low latitude.Great Oxidation Event | Snowball Earth | Paleoproterozoic |

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Timing and tempo of the Great Oxidation Event

Gumsley

Chamberlain

Bleeker

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

383

274

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“…2.4 Ga because of greater iron solubility under reducing conditions (e.g., Rye and Holland, 1998); (3) the appearance of red beds after ca. 2.3 Ga (e.g., Roscoe, 1969;Chandler, 1980;Melezhik et al, 2005;Bankole et al, 2016); (4) the loss of S-MIF in sulfide and sulfate minerals in sedimentary rocks deposited after 2.3 Ga (Farquhar et al, 2000;Bekker et al, 2004;Papineau et al, 2007;Partridge et al, 2008;Guo et al, 2009;Williford et al, 2011;Luo et al, 2016;Gumsley et al, 2017); and (5) the increase in Cr and U contents in IF at 2.45 Ga that records the onset of oxidative continental weathering Partin et al, 2013a). anomaly (Alibert and McCulloch, 1993), suggesting a strong hydrothermal imprint on the REE systematics during its deposition, although, as noted above (Fig.…”

Section: Neoarchaean-palaeoproterozoic Iron Formationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iron formations: A global record of Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic environmental history

Konhauser

Planavsky

Hardisty

et al. 2017

Earth-Science Reviews

337

257

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“…The disappearance of MIF in the early Paleoproterozoic rock record, around 2.4-2.3 Gyr, combined with photochemical models, suggests that atmospheric pO 2 rose permanently above 10 -5 PAL, quenching sulfur MIF production and causing the "Great Oxidation Event" (GOE) (Bekker et al, 2004;Luo et al, 2016;Pavlov and Kasting, 2002). It has been proposed that oxygen levels may even have approached modern levels during a brief "O 2 overshoot" between 2.3 Gyr and 2.05 Gyr and then declined again afterwards (Bekker and Holland, 2012;Partin et al, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Stüeken

Kipp

Koehler

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

290

287

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Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for all life on Earth and it acts as a major control on biological productivity in the modern ocean. Accurate reconstructions of the evolution of life over the course of the last four billion years therefore demand a better understanding of nitrogen bioavailability and speciation through time. The biogeochemical nitrogen cycle has evidently been closely tied to the redox state of the ocean and atmosphere. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the Earth"s surface has passed in a non-linear fashion from an anoxic state in the Hadean to an oxic state in the later Phanerozoic. It is therefore likely that the nitrogen cycle has changed markedly over time, with potentially severe implications for the productivity and evolution of the biosphere. Here we compile nitrogen isotope data from the literature and review our current understanding of the evolution of the nitrogen cycle, with particular emphasis on the Precambrian. Combined with recent work on redox conditions, trace metal availability, sulfur and iron cycling on the early Earth, we then use the nitrogen isotope record as a platform to test existing and new hypotheses about biogeochemical pathways that may have controlled nitrogen availability through time. Among other things, we conclude that (a) abiotic nitrogen sources were likely insufficient to sustain a large biosphere, thus favoring an early origin of biological N 2 fixation, (b) evidence of nitrate in the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic confirm current views of increasing surface oxygen levels at those times, (c) abundant ferrous iron and sulfide in the midPrecambrian ocean may have affected the speciation and size of the fixed nitrogen reservoir, and (d) nitrate availability alone was not a major driver of eukaryotic evolution.

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Rapid oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere 2.33 billion years ago

Abstract: Continuous multiple sulfur isotope profiles from South African rocks pinpoint the Great Oxygenation Event in the geologic record.

Cited by 287 publications

References 77 publications

Timing and tempo of the Great Oxidation Event

Timing and tempo of the Great Oxidation Event

Iron formations: A global record of Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic environmental history

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

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