Evolution of the structure and impact of Earth’s biosphere

Planavsky, Noah J.; Crowe, Sean A.; Fakhraee, Mojtaba; Beaty, Brian J.; Reinhard, Christopher T.; Mills, Benjamin J. W.; Holstege, Cerys; Konhauser, Kurt O.

doi:10.1038/s43017-020-00116-w

Cited by 53 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 192 publications

(264 reference statements)

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“…It is also commonly thought that ~10 −7 PAL P O 2 is a point of atmospheric instability, either resulting in a return to a more reduced state or the oxygenation of the atmosphere [i.e., ( 52 )]. It is much more likely that O 2 was produced locally in soils and shallow seas by microbial communities and rapidly consumed locally by reduced materials before entering the greater atmosphere [e.g., ( 39 , 53 , 54 )]. In such a scenario, our equivalent P O 2 estimates are still valid as lower limits for the P O 2 experienced by some soils but likely do not reflect the atmosphere in the way that P O 2 inferred from MIF-S does.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling evidence of oxidative weathering and atmospheric anoxia on Archean Earth

et al. 2021

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Evidence continues to emerge for the production and low-level accumulation of molecular oxygen (O 2 ) at Earth's surface before the Great Oxidation Event. Quantifying this early O 2 has proven difficult. Here, we use the distribution and isotopic composition of molybdenum in the ancient sedimentary record to quantify Archean Mo cycling, which allows us to calculate lower limits for atmospheric O 2 partial pressures (PO 2 ) and O 2 production fluxes during the Archean. We consider two end-member scenarios. First, if O 2 was evenly distributed throughout the atmosphere, then PO 2 > 10 -6.9 present atmospheric level was required for large periods of time during the Archean eon. Alternatively, if O 2 accumulation was instead spatially restricted (e.g., occurring only near the sites of O 2 production), then O 2 production fluxes >0.01 Tmol O 2 /year were required. Archean O 2 levels were vanishingly low according to our calculations but substantially above those predicted for an abiotic Earth system.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling evidence of oxidative weathering and atmospheric anoxia on Archean Earth

et al. 2021

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“…If the CO 2 level and CH 4 flux assumed here are correct for the mid-Proterozoic, few constraints can be placed on pO 2 from the existing O-MIF data. Terrestrial GPP values of 4,000 Tmol Á yr À1 or higher (26) can be ruled out, though, because they produce Δ 017 O values in O 2 less negative than À6& (SI Appendix, Fig. S6).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric O ₂ and biological productivity during the mid-Proterozoic

Liu

et al. 2021

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

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Reconstructing the history of biological productivity and atmospheric oxygen partial pressure (pO2) is a fundamental goal of geobiology. Recently, the mass-independent fractionation of oxygen isotopes (O-MIF) has been used as a tool for estimating pO2 and productivity during the Proterozoic. O-MIF, reported as Δ′17O, is produced during the formation of ozone and destroyed by isotopic exchange with water by biological and chemical processes. Atmospheric O-MIF can be preserved in the geologic record when pyrite (FeS2) is oxidized during weathering, and the sulfur is redeposited as sulfate. Here, sedimentary sulfates from the ∼1.4-Ga Sibley Formation are reanalyzed using a detailed one-dimensional photochemical model that includes physical constraints on air–sea gas exchange. Previous analyses of these data concluded that pO2 at that time was <1% PAL (times the present atmospheric level). Our model shows that the upper limit on pO2 is essentially unconstrained by these data. Indeed, pO2 levels below 0.8% PAL are possible only if atmospheric methane was more abundant than today (so that pCO2 could have been lower) or if the Sibley O-MIF data were diluted by reprocessing before the sulfates were deposited. Our model also shows that, contrary to previous assertions, marine productivity cannot be reliably constrained by the O-MIF data because the exchange of molecular oxygen (O2) between the atmosphere and surface ocean is controlled more by air–sea gas transfer rates than by biological productivity. Improved estimates of pCO2 and/or improved proxies for Δ′17O of atmospheric O2 would allow tighter constraints to be placed on mid-Proterozoic pO2.

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“…This is not the case. Discussing the early geochemical record of photosynthesis is outside the scope of this paper, and my expertise, but I do wish to highlight a recent review by Planavsky et al (2021) that illustrates how biological perspectives, in not small amount, contribute to shaping thinking on the topic when approached from an Earth Sciences perspective. The authors wrote:…”

Section: A New Revision: Simple But Radicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin and Early Evolution of Photosynthesis: A Brief Historical Account

Cardona¹

2022

Preprint

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What if oxygenic photosynthesis is a primordial process with roots at the origin of life? What would the impact of this change in perspective be on our understanding of the early Earth and of the emergence and diversification of life? In here, I will examine some of the historical context of the study of the evolution of photosynthesis, which led to the consolidation of the current notion that the origin of anoxygenic photosynthesis occurred before the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. I will show with a few examples how the mainstream view on the evolution of photosynthesis traces back to Oparin’s ‘primordial soup’ scenario for the origin of life, fuelled by the century-old perception that oxygenic photosynthesis is a plant rather than a bacterial trait. However, it has become more evident than ever before that the mainstream view is not supported by the evolution of the photosystems. In other words, the origin of biological water oxidation appears to be the seed from where photosynthesis sprout. Somewhat troubling and contrary to all predictions that derive from the mainstream view, photosystem II—the water-splitting and oxygen-evolving enzyme—shows features that are better explained if photochemical reaction centres originated during the establishment of oxygenic photosynthesis. An urgent revision of the evolution of photosynthesis procured to be free from biases of interpretations and presuppositions is strongly encouraged from all angles of the Life and Earth Sciences.

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Evolution of the structure and impact of Earth’s biosphere

Cited by 53 publications

References 192 publications

Reconciling evidence of oxidative weathering and atmospheric anoxia on Archean Earth

Reconciling evidence of oxidative weathering and atmospheric anoxia on Archean Earth

Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric O ₂ and biological productivity during the mid-Proterozoic

Origin and Early Evolution of Photosynthesis: A Brief Historical Account

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Evolution of the structure and impact of Earth’s biosphere

Cited by 53 publications

References 192 publications

Reconciling evidence of oxidative weathering and atmospheric anoxia on Archean Earth

Reconciling evidence of oxidative weathering and atmospheric anoxia on Archean Earth

Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric O 2 and biological productivity during the mid-Proterozoic

Origin and Early Evolution of Photosynthesis: A Brief Historical Account

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Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric O ₂ and biological productivity during the mid-Proterozoic