Proterozoic large igneous provinces and implications for paleogeographic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions

Abstract

The Proterozoic (2500541 Ma) is one of Earth's most important periods of transition in terms of tectonic regimes, atmosphere-ocean environments, and biological evolution. It is known as a transitional stage from prevailingly anoxic (Archean) to predominantly oxic (Phanerozoic) oceans and a transition in biological evolution from uninhabitable to inhabited. Proterozoic large igneous provinces (LIPs) of typically mafic dyke (sill) swarms and minor continental flood basalts are common