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Cited by 224Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsGeological and Geochemical AnalysisOrigins and Evolution of Life

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Evidence from massive siderite beds for a CO2-rich atmosphere before ~ 1.8 billion years ago

Ohmoto, Hiroshi, Watanabe, Yumiko, Kumazawa, Kazumasa·2004·Nature
DOI 10.1038/nature02573
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Abstract

It is generally thought that, in order to compensate for lower solar flux and maintain liquid oceans on the early Earth, methane must have been an important greenhouse gas before approximately 2.2 billion years (Gyr) ago. This is based upon a simple thermodynamic calculation that relates the absence of siderite (FeCO3) in some pre-2.2-Gyr palaeosols to atmospheric CO2 concentrations that would have been too low to have provided the necessary greenhouse effect. Using multi-dimensional thermodynamic analyses and geological evidence, we show here that the absence of siderite in palaeosols does not constrain atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Siderite is absent in many palaeosols (both pre- and post-2.2-Gyr in age) because the O2 concentrations and pH conditions in well-aerated soils have favoured the formation of ferric (Fe3+)-rich minerals, such as goethite, rather than siderite. Siderite, however, has formed throughout geological history in subsurface environments, such as euxinic seas, where anaerobic organisms created H2-rich conditions. The abundance of large, massive siderite-rich beds in pre-1.8-Gyr sedimentary sequences and their carbon isotope ratios indicate that the atmospheric CO2 concentration was more than 100 times greater than today, causing the rain and ocean waters to be more acidic than today. We therefore conclude that CO2 alone (without a significant contribution from methane) could have provided the necessary greenhouse effect to maintain liquid oceans on the early Earth.

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  1. Ohmoto, H. When did the atmosphere become oxic? Geochem. News 93, 12–13, 26–27 (1997)

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Metadata

Authors
Ohmoto, H., Watanabe, Y., & Kumazawa, K.
Affiliations
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • OYO Corporation (Japan) (JP)
Corresponding author
Ohmoto, Hiroshi
ORCID
Venue
Nature
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2004-05
Volume
429
Issue
6990
Pages
395-399
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
DOI
10.1038/nature02573
OpenAlex
W2071983566
Cited by
224
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 12
FWCI
11.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Korea Science and Engineering Foundation
  • Division of Materials Research
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
Keywords
siderite, atmospheric CO2, early Earth atmosphere, greenhouse effect, methane, paleosols, goethite, carbon isotope ratio, thermodynamic modeling, Precambrian
MeSH terms
Atmosphere, Carbon Dioxide, Carbonates, Ferric Compounds, Methane, Oceans and Seas, Oxygen, Seawater, Thermodynamics, Time Factors, Greenhouse Effect, Geologic Sediments

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