Krause, AJ, Mills, BJW orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-0931, Merdith, AS orcid.org/0000-0002-7564-8149 et al. (2 more authors) (2022) Extreme variability in atmospheric oxygen levels in the late Precambrian. Science Advances, 8 (41). ISSN 2375-2548
Abstract
Mapping the history of atmospheric O₂ during the late Precambrian is vital for evaluating potential links to animal evolution. Ancient O₂ levels are often inferred from geochemical analyses of marine sediments, leading to the assumption that the Earth experienced a stepwise increase in atmospheric O₂ during the Neoproterozoic. However, the nature of this hypothesized oxygenation event remains unknown, with suggestions of a more dynamic O₂ history in the oceans and major uncertainty over any direct connection between the marine realm and atmospheric O₂. Here, we present a continuous quantitative reconstruction of atmospheric O₂ over the past 1.5 billion years using an isotope mass balance approach that combines bulk geochemistry and tectonic recycling rate calculations. We predict that atmospheric O₂ levels during the Neoproterozoic oscillated between ~1 and ~50% of the present atmospheric level. We conclude that there was no simple unidirectional rise in atmospheric O₂ during the Neoproterozoic, and the first animals evolved against a backdrop of extreme O₂ variability.
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). | ||||||||||||
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Institution: | The University of Leeds | ||||||||||||
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst for Climate & Atmos Science (ICAS) (Leeds) |
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Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications | ||||||||||||
Date Deposited: | 25 Aug 2022 11:57 | ||||||||||||
Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2023 23:05 | ||||||||||||
Status: | Published | ||||||||||||
Publisher: | American Association for the Advancement of Science | ||||||||||||
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm8191 |