Late Proterozoic rise in atmospheric oxygen concentration inferred from phylogenetic and sulphur-isotope studies
Abstract
The evolution of non-photosynthetic sulphide-oxidizing bacteria was contemporaneous with a large shift in the isotopic composition of biogenic sedimentary sulphides between 0.64 and 1.05 billion years ago. Both events were probably driven by a rise in atmospheric oxygen concentrations to greater than 5-18% of present levels--a change that may also have triggered the evolution of animals.
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The Precambrian d34S record is spotty for sulfide S and almost nonexistent for sulfate S.
“The Precambrian d34S record is spotty for sulfide S and almost nonexistent for sulfate S (Canfield, 2005; Canfield and Teske, 1996; Strauss, 1993).”
From Evolution of Sedimentary Rocks (2014) · cites this paper as Canfield and Teske, 1996
A major increase in atmospheric oxygen level occurred between 1,000 and 640 Mya.
“Moreover, it has been proposed that a major increase in atmospheric oxygen level occurred between 1,000 and 640 Mya (54).”
From The timing of eukaryotic evolution: Does a relaxed molecular clock reconcile proteins and fossils? (2004) · cites this paper as [54]
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- Authors
- Canfield, D. E., & Teske, A.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (DE)
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 1996-07
- Volume
- 382
- Issue
- 6587
- Pages
- 127-132
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2048980980
- Cited by
- 869
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 35.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Keywords
- atmospheric oxygen, Late Proterozoic, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria, sulfur isotopes, animal evolution, Great Oxidation, microbial evolution
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Atmosphere, Bacteria, Biological Evolution, Marine Biology, Mollusca, Oxygen, Paleontology, RNA, Bacterial, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Sulfur, Symbiosis, Water Microbiology, Earth, Planet, Geologic Sediments, Evolution, Planetary
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