Chen, B, Hu, C, Mills, BJW orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-0931 et al. (9 more authors) (2022) A short-lived oxidation event during the early Ediacaran and delayed oxygenation of the Proterozoic ocean. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 577. 117274. ISSN 0012-821X
Abstract
The Ediacaran Period was characterised by major carbon isotope perturbations. The most extreme of these, the ∼570 Ma Shuram/DOUNCE (Doushantuo Negative Carbon isotope Excursion) anomaly, coincided with early radiations of benthic macrofauna linked to a temporary expansion in the extent of oxygenated seawater. Here we document an earlier negative excursion (the ∼610 Ma WANCE (Weng'An Negative Carbon isotope Excursion)) anomaly in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China, that reached equally extreme carbon isotope values and was associated with a similar degree of environmental perturbation. Specifically, new uranium isotope data evidence a significant, but transient, shift towards more oxygenated conditions in tandem with decreasing carbon isotope values, while strontium and sulfur isotope data support an increase in continental weathering through the excursion. We utilize a biogeochemical modelling approach to demonstrate that the influx of such a weathering pulse into an organically-laden, largely anoxic ocean, fully reproduces each of these distinct isotopic trends. Our study directly supports the hypothesis that a large dissolved marine organic pool effectively buffered against widespread oxygenation of the marine environment through the Proterozoic Eon, and in doing so, substantially delayed the radiation of complex aerobic life on Earth.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 Elsevier B.V. This is an author produced version of an article published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | DOM (Dissolved Organic Matter), carbon isotope perturbations, strontium isotopes, sulfur isotopes, uranium isotopes, metazoans |
Dates: |
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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) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Royal Society WM150108 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/N018559/1 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/P013627/1 NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/S009663/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 Sep 2021 12:07 |
Last Modified: | 18 Mar 2023 18:49 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117274 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178394 |