The rise of atmospheric oxygen

Kump, Lee R.

doi:10.1038/nature06587

Cited by 440 publications

(247 citation statements)

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“…carbon isotopes | oxygen | siderite | carbon cycle | Great Oxidation Event R econstructing the geologic history of atmospheric oxygen is among the foremost scientific challenges of our time (1). The level of atmospheric oxygen (pO 2 ) without doubt played a key role in the evolution of the Earth System (2), exerting a major influence on the biosphere, especially the evolution of metazoans (3).…”

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The rise of oxygen and siderite oxidation during the Lomagundi Event

Bachan

Kump

2015

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

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The Paleoproterozoic Lomagundi Event is an interval of 130-250 million years, ca. 2.3-2.1 billion years ago, in which extraordinarily 13 C enriched (>10‰) limestones and dolostones occur globally. The high levels of organic carbon burial implied by the positive δ 13 C values suggest the production of vast quantities of O 2 as well as an alkalinity imbalance demanding extremely low levels of weathering. The oxidation of sulfides has been proposed as a mechanism capable of ameliorating these imbalances: It is a potent sink for O 2 as well as a source of acidity. However, sulfide oxidation consumes more O 2 than it can supply CO 2 , leading to insurmountable imbalances in both carbon and oxygen. In contrast, the oxidation of siderite (FeCO 3 proper, as well as other Fe 2+ -bearing carbonate minerals), produces 4 times more CO 2 than it consumes O 2 and is a common-although often overlooked-constituent of Archean and Early Proterozoic sedimentary successions. Here we propose that following the initial rise of O 2 in the atmosphere, oxidation of siderite provided the necessary carbon for the continued oxidation of sulfides, burial of organic carbon, and, most importantly, accumulation of free O 2 . The duration and magnitude of the Lomagundi Event were determined by the size of the preexisting Archean siderite reservoir, which was consumed through oxidative weathering. Our proposal helps resolve a long-standing conundrum and advances our understanding of the geologic history of atmospheric O 2 .carbon isotopes | oxygen | siderite | carbon cycle | Great Oxidation Event R econstructing the geologic history of atmospheric oxygen is among the foremost scientific challenges of our time (1). The level of atmospheric oxygen (pO 2 ) without doubt played a key role in the evolution of the Earth System (2), exerting a major influence on the biosphere, especially the evolution of metazoans (3). With no direct way of measuring oxygen concentrations in deep geologic time, the stable isotopes of carbon recorded in marine limestones provide key constraints (4). Carbon enters the ocean−atmosphere system through volcanoes and weathering of carbon-bearing sedimentary rocks and can exit in one of two ways: (i) uptake during photosynthesis and burial of organic carbon leading to O 2 production and (ii) reaction during weathering and formation of CaCO 3 in the ocean. The carbon isotopic record tells us how carbon was partitioned between these two sinks: A δ 13 C value of 0‰ indicates that ∼80% of incoming carbon was buried as carbonate carbon and 20% as organic carbon. Positive excursions in δ 13 C are unusual and indicate that a larger fraction of carbon was fixed and buried as organic carbon and, with it, a larger amount of O 2 was produced.Following the indications for the first rise of O 2 in the atmosphere (5, 6) is the largest and most protracted period of 13 C enrichment in the geologic record, known as the Lomagundi Event (Fig. 1). Limestones and dolostones with extreme carbon isotopic values of + 8‰ to greater than + 15‰ occur g...

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The rise of oxygen and siderite oxidation during the Lomagundi Event

Bachan

Kump

2015

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

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“…1) (16,18). In general, these reconstructions have received support from datasets of the abundance of redox-sensitive trace metals in fine-grained sedimentary rocks that tend to show low Proterozoic values contrasting with high Phanerozoic values (19,20).…”

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“…The loss of redox-sensitive detrital grains, appearance of fluvial and near-shore marine red beds, and other sedimentary features indicative of oxidative weathering during continental denudation mark a major rise in atmospheric O 2 concentrations beginning at ∼2.35 Ga; estimates suggest this corresponded to O 2 levels of 1% PAL or greater ( Fig. 1) (16,17 …”

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Breathing room for early animals

Fischer

2016

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

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“…In the models of Franck et al (2002), carbon dioxide pressure falls from several bar in early Earth to the present-day value while the mass of water in the oceans calls by a factor ∼ 2.5 since early times, and the surface temperature dropped from 350 K to the present-day value. The rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.5 billion years ago might be partly related to a change in oxidation state of the interior (Kump (2008), Kump et al (2001)). While the solid Earth is thus important for buffering the surface environment, water in the mantle also has important effects on rheology that may cause interesting feedbacks (Crowley et al (2011)).…”

Section: Mantle Convection and Plate Tectonicsmentioning

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Habitable Planets: Interior Dynamics and Long-Term Evolution

et al. 2012

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Abstract.Here, the state of our knowledge regarding the interior dynamics and evolution of habitable terrestrial planets including Earth and super-Earths is reviewed, and illustrated using state-of-the-art numerical models. Convection of the rocky mantle is the key process that drives the evolution of the interior: it causes plate tectonics, controls heat loss from the metallic core (which generates the magnetic field) and drives long-term volatile cycling between the atmosphere/ocean and interior. Geoscientists have been studying the dynamics and evolution of Earth's interior since the discovery of plate tectonics in the late 1960s and on many topics our understanding is very good, yet many first-order questions remain. It is commonly thought that plate tectonics is necessary for planetary habitability because of its role in long-term volatile cycles that regulate the surface environment. Plate tectonics is the surface manifestation of convection in the 2900-km deep rocky mantle, yet exactly how plate tectonics arises is still quite uncertain; other terrestrial planets like Venus and Mars instead have a stagnant lithosphereessentially a single plate covering the entire planet. Nevertheless, simple scalings as well as more complex models indicate that plate tectonics should be easier on larger planets (super-Earths), other things being equal. The dynamics of terrestrial planets, both their surface tectonics and deep mantle dynamics, change over billions of years as a planet cools. Partial melting is a key process influencing solid planet evolution. Due to the very high pressure inside super-Earths' mantles the viscosity would normally be expected to be very high, as is also indicated by our density function theory (DFT) calculations. Feedback between internal heating, temperature and viscosity leads to a superadiabatic temperature profile and self-regulation of the mantle viscosity such that sluggish convection still occurs.

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The rise of atmospheric oxygen

Cited by 440 publications

References 19 publications

The rise of oxygen and siderite oxidation during the Lomagundi Event

The rise of oxygen and siderite oxidation during the Lomagundi Event

Breathing room for early animals

Habitable Planets: Interior Dynamics and Long-Term Evolution

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