Cited by 505Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsGeochemistry and Elemental AnalysisGeological and Geochemical Analysis

Widespread iron-rich conditions in the mid-Proterozoic ocean

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Planavsky, Noah J., McGoldrick, Peter, Scott, Clinton T., Li, Chao, Reinhard, Christopher T., Kelly, Amy E., Chu, Xuelei, Bekker, Andrey +2 more·2011·Nature

Abstract

The chemical composition of the ocean changed markedly with the oxidation of the Earth's surface, and this process has profoundly influenced the evolutionary and ecological history of life. The early Earth was characterized by a reducing ocean-atmosphere system, whereas the Phanerozoic eon (less than 542 million years ago) is known for a stable and oxygenated biosphere conducive to the radiation of animals. The redox characteristics of surface environments during Earth's middle age (1.8-1 billion years ago) are less well known, but it is generally assumed that the mid-Proterozoic was home to a globally sulphidic (euxinic) deep ocean. Here we present iron data from a suite of mid-Proterozoic marine mudstones. Contrary to the popular model, our results indicate that ferruginous (anoxic and Fe(2+)-rich) conditions were both spatially and temporally extensive across diverse palaeogeographic settings in the mid-Proterozoic ocean, inviting new models for the temporal distribution of iron formations and the availability of bioessential trace elements during a critical window for eukaryotic evolution.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nature10327

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  • Speciation of iron-bearing minerals in marginal siliciclastic sedimentary rocks suggests that anoxic bottom waters were common on shelf and slope environments but were buffered by dissolved Fe2+ rather than hydrogen sulfide, termed ferruginous conditions.

    “The speciation of iron-bearing minerals in marginal siliciclastic sedimentary rocks (Guilbaud et al. 2015, Planavsky et al. 2011, Poulton et al. 2010, Sperling et al. 2015) suggests that anoxic bottom waters were common on shelf and slope environments but were buffered by dissolved Fe 2+ rather than hydrogen sulfide (termed ferruginous conditions).”

    From The History of Ocean Oxygenation (2022) · cites this paper as Planavsky et al. 2011

  • All available data that constrain the marine landscape in the mid-Proterozoic ocean are consistent with only locally developed euxinic conditions along productive continental margins or within intracratonic basins.

    “All available data that constrain the marine landscape in the midProterozoic ocean are consistent with only locally developed euxinic conditions along productive continental margins (e.g., in oxygen-minimum zones) or within intracratonic basins”
  • The emerging consensus is that the redox state of the deep ocean was spatially and temporally variable during the mid-Proterozoic but was generally at a low oxidation state.

    “The emerging consensus is that the redox state of the deep ocean was spatially and temporally variable during the mid-Proterozoic but was generally at a low oxidation state”

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Authors
Planavsky, N. J., McGoldrick, P., Scott, C. T., Li, C., Reinhard, C. T., Kelly, A. E., Chu, X., Bekker, A., Love, G. D., & Lyons, T. W.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Riverside (US)
  • University of Tasmania (AU)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • University of Manitoba (CA)
Corresponding author
Lyons, Timothy W.
Venue
Nature
Published
2011-09
Volume
477
Issue
7365
Pages
448-451
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2079758306
Cited by
505
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 26
FWCI
20.16
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UTAS Research Repository (acceptedVersion)
  • eCite Digital Repository (University of Tasmania) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Science Foundation
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
Keywords
ferruginous ocean, banded iron formations, iron reactivity, marine mudstones, ocean redox conditions, hydrogen sulfide, euxinia, eukaryotic evolution, trace element availability, Precambrian geochemistry
MeSH terms
Biological Evolution, Iron, Oceans and Seas, Seawater, Sulfur, Sulfur Isotopes, Time Factors, Geologic Sediments, History, Ancient

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