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Earth's air pressure 2.7 billion years ago constrained to less than half of modern levels
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“The grey lines indicate the total pressure at 2.7 Ga of 0 . 23 ± 0 . 32 bar as inferred from gas bubbles in basaltic lava flows by Som et al. (2016).”
From The young Sun's XUV-activity as a constraint for lower CO2-limits in the Earth's Archean atmosphere (2021) · cites this paper as Som et al. (2016)
In the citing paper
“The cold trap, however, might not have existed continuously during the Archean eon due to fluctuations to very low total atmospheric surface pressures (Som et al. 2016; Lammer et al. 2018; St¨ ueken et al. 2020.”
From The young Sun's XUV-activity as a constraint for lower CO2-limits in the Earth's Archean atmosphere (2021) · cites this paper as Som et al. 2016
In the citing paper
“Third, vesicle volumes in 2.7-Ga-old basaltic lava flows erupted at sea level imply a 0.23 ± 0.23–bar [2σ] paleopressure (56).”
From The Archean atmosphere (2020) · cites this paper as [56]
In the citing paper
“Marine phyllosilicates at 3.8 Ga ago are ammonium enriched (146, 147), which probably came from porewater ammonium (NH4+) derived from degraded organics (Table 1) (148, 149), and these data have been used to argue that Archean N2 was sequestered into solid phases after an early advent of biological nitrogen fixation (56, 150).”
From The Archean atmosphere (2020) · cites this paper as [56]
In the citing paper
“N 2 likely has been outgassed and built up during the Archean eon (Mikhail and Sverjensky 2014; Som et al. 2016; Lammer et al. 2018; Lammer et al. 2019; St¨ ueken et al. 2020; Sproß et al. 2021), and became the main atmospheric species besides CO 2 .”
From The young Sun's XUV-activity as a constraint for lower CO2-limits in the Earth's Archean atmosphere (2021) · cites this paper as Som et al. 2016
Citations
Cites
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Self-citationPrecambrian paleosols and atmospheric CO2 levels
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Catling, D. C., & Zahnle, K. J. (2020) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1420 · Cited by 568
Self-citationThe evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle
Stüeken, E. E., Kipp, M. A., Koehler, M. C., & Buick, R. (2016) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.07.007 · Cited by 446
Self-citationConstraining the climate and ocean pH of the early Earth with a geological carbon cycle model
Krissansen-Totton, J., Arney, G. N., & Catling, D. C. (2018) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1721296115 · Cited by 348
“Halving Archean total pressure—as has been suggested by paleopressure proxies (53)—would cool the Earth by ∼5 K because of the loss of pressure broadening, thereby offsetting the lower land fraction (54).”
BackgroundSelf-citationImpact of space weather on climate and habitability of terrestrial-type exoplanets
Airapetian, V. S., Barnes, R., Cohen, O., Collinson, G. A., Danchi, W. C., Dong, C., C, A. D. D. G., France, K., Garcia-Sage, K., Glocer, A., et al. (2019) · International Journal of Astrobiology · doi:10.1017/s1473550419000132 · Cited by 288
“They revised this estimate to less than half of present levels in recent work (Som et al., 2016).”
BackgroundExoplanet Biosignatures: A Framework for Their Assessment
Catling, D. C., Krissansen-Totton, J., Kiang, N. Y., Crisp, D., Robinson, T. D., DasSarma, S., Rushby, A. J., Del Genio, A., Bains, W., & Domagal-Goldman, S. (2018) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1737 · Cited by 225
“This disequilibrium is biogenic because current levels of both atmospheric N2 and O2 would not persist in the absence of biogenic fluxes of both gases (e.g., Som et al., 2016; Stüeken et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSelf-citationOrigin and evolution of the atmospheres of early Venus, Earth and Mars
Lammer, H., Zerkle, A. L., Gebauer, S., Tosi, N., Noack, L., Scherf, M., Pilat-Lohinger, E., Güdel, M., Grenfell, J. L., Godolt, M., et al. (2018) · The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review · doi:10.1007/s00159-018-0108-y · Cited by 202
“The paleorock studies of Marty et al. (2013) and Som et al. (2016) also contradict hypotheses that above mentioned biological nitrogen fixation has caused atmospheric nitrogen levels to decrease over geological time which could have led to the before mentioned higher atmospheric surface pressures.”
BackgroundInfluentialHirschmann, M. M. (2018) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.08.023 · Cited by 207
The possible evolution and future of CO2-concentrating mechanisms
Raven, J. A., Beardall, J., & Sánchez‐Baracaldo, P. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Botany · doi:10.1093/jxb/erx110 · Cited by 190
Way, M. J., & C, A. D. D. G. (2020) · Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · doi:10.1029/2019je006276 · Cited by 199
Exploring the alternatives of biological nitrogen fixation
Mus, F., Alleman, A. B., Pence, N. K., Seefeldt, L. C., & Peters, J. W. (2018) · Metallomics · doi:10.1039/c8mt00038g · Cited by 181
Disequilibrium biosignatures over Earth history and implications for detecting exoplanet life
Krissansen-Totton, J., Olson, S., & Catling, D. C. (2018) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aao5747 · Cited by 177
Self-citationReflections on O 2 as a Biosignature in Exoplanetary Atmospheres
Meadows, V. S. (2017) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1578 · Cited by 173
Atmospheric Escape Processes and Planetary Atmospheric Evolution
Gronoff, G., Arras, P., Baraka, S., Bell, J. M., Cessateur, G., Cohen, O., Curry, S. M., Drake, J. J., Elrod, M. K., Erwin, J. T., et al. (2020) · Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics · doi:10.1029/2019ja027639 · Cited by 174
The geobiological nitrogen cycle: From microbes to the mantle
Zerkle, A. L., & Mikhail, S. (2017) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12228 · Cited by 113
“More recently, Som et al. (2016) used the size distribution of gas bubbles in basaltic lavas assumed to have solidified at sea level to conclude the atmospheric pressure was 0.23 ± 0.23 (2σ) bar at ~2.7 Ga.”
BackgroundInfluentialMineral-Bound Trace Metals as Cofactors for Anaerobic Biological Nitrogen Fixation
Sheng, Y., Baars, O., Guo, D., Whitham, J. M., Srivastava, S., & Dong, H. (2023) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.3c01371 · Cited by 99
Primary Productivity Was Limited by Electron Donors Prior to the Advent of Oxygenic Photosynthesis
Ward, L. M., Rasmussen, B., & Fischer, W. W. (2018) · Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences · doi:10.1029/2018jg004679 · Cited by 95
“…develop a Precambrian nitrogen isotope record, little consensus has been reached about the nature of the Archean nitrogen cycle (e.g., Garvin et al., 2009; Zerkle et al., 2017), and even the N2 content of the Archean atmosphere is poorly constrained (e.g., Som et al., 2016; Zerkle & Mikhail, 2017).”
BackgroundParsons, C., Stüeken, E. E., Rosen, C. J., Mateos, K., & Anderson, R. E. (2021) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12419 · Cited by 91
Mallik, A., Li, Y., & Wiedenbeck, M. (2018) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2017.11.045 · Cited by 85
Is the Faint Young Sun Problem for Earth Solved?
Charnay, B., Wolf, E. T., Marty, B. M., & Forget, F. (2020) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00711-9 · Cited by 86
Living off the Sun: chlorophylls, bacteriochlorophylls and rhodopsins
Larkum, A. W. D., Ritchie, R. J., & Raven, J. A. (2018) · Photosynthetica · doi:10.1007/s11099-018-0792-x · Cited by 82
“The atmosphere before the GOE about 2.3 Ga ago had very low O2, and probably also a low total atmospheric gas content and hence barometric pressure (Lyell 1851, Som et al. 2012, Som et al. 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialSpectra of Earth-like Planets through Geological Evolution around FGKM Stars
Rugheimer, S., & Kaltenegger, L. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaa47a · Cited by 87
“Some recent data has suggested atmospheric pressures lower than 0.5 bar in the late Archean (Som et al. 2016), though this still remains an open question since the method of obtaining constraints from basalt vesicularity (Sahagian & Maus 1994; Sahagian et al. 2002) is in practice confounded by vesicularity profiles th…”
MethodInfluentialStüeken, E. E., Kipp, M. A., Koehler, M. C., Schwieterman, E. W., Johnson, B., & Buick, R. (2016) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1537 · Cited by 73
“Shale samples of sub-greenschist metamorphic grade typically have nitrogen concentrations in the range of 100–1000 ppm with C/N ratios around 40, suggesting that most nitrogen is derived from organics (Stu¨eken et al. , 2016).”
InfluentialSelf-citationThe Effect of Ocean Salinity on Climate and Its Implications for Earth's Habitability
Olson, S. L., Jansen, M. F., Abbot, D. S., Halevy, I., & Goldblatt, C. (2022) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2021gl095748 · Cited by 86
Enigmatic evolution of microbial nitrogen fixation: insights from Earth’s past
Rucker, H. R., & Kaçar, B. (2023) · Trends in Microbiology · doi:10.1016/j.tim.2023.03.011 · Cited by 68
“Just as N 2 gas dominates the current atmosphere of Earth, N 2 was also highly abundant in the Precambrian atmosphere but perhaps at a lower partial pressure than modern values [9,10].”
BackgroundThe Role of N 2 as a Geo-Biosignature for the Detection and Characterization of Earth-like Habitats
Lammer, H., Sproß, L., Grenfell, J. L., Scherf, M., Fossati, L., Lendl, M., & Cubillos, P. E. (2019) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2018.1914 · Cited by 67
“Finally, at the GOE, O 2 built up catastrophically in the atmosphere, and the N 2 geobiolo-gical cycle changed to its modern form ( e.g., Zerkle and Mikhail, 2017; Zerkle et al., 2017), so that the surface pressure rose to the present level.”
InfluentialThe Long-Term Evolution of the Atmosphere of Venus: Processes and Feedback Mechanisms
Gillmann, C., Way, M. J., Avice, G., Breuer, D., Golabek, G., Höning, D., Krissansen‐Totton, J., Lammer, H., O'Rourke, J. G., Persson, M., et al. (2022) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-022-00924-0 · Cited by 77
“On present Earth (Som et al. 2016), nitrogen is thought to be approximately in balance between sources (half volcanic outgassing and half weathering by O2) and the sink (burial, with a touch of subducted flux).”
BackgroundInfluentialNitrogen solubility in the deep mantle and the origin of Earth's primordial nitrogen budget
Yoshioka, T., Wiedenbeck, M., Shcheka, S., & Keppler, H. (2018) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.02.021 · Cited by 64
Harman, C. E., Felton, R. C., Hu, R., Domagal-Goldman, S. D., Segura, A., Tian, F., & Kasting, J. F. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aadd9b · Cited by 67
“The total pressure for the Archean atmosphere may have been <0.5 bar (Som et al. 2012, 2016), suggesting that N2 would have been largely undetectable during this interval.”
BackgroundInfluentialOceanographic Considerations for Exoplanet Life Detection
Olson, S. L., Jansen, M. F., & Abbot, D. S. (2020) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab88c9 · Cited by 74
“…may have simply been less efficient on an early Earth that rotated faster (Williams 2000; Bartlett & Stevenson 2016), had lower surface pressure (Som et al. 2016; Lehmer et al. 2020; Payne et al. 2020), had less continental exposure (Johnson & Wing 2020), and orbited a fainter star compared to…”
BackgroundGeochemical Sources and Availability of Amidophosphates on the Early Earth
Gibard, C., Gorrell, I. B., Jiménez, E. I., Kee, T. P., Pasek, M. A., & Krishnamurthy, R. (2019) · Angewandte Chemie International Edition · doi:10.1002/anie.201903808 · Cited by 60
The relationship between mantle pH and the deep nitrogen cycle
Mikhail, S., Barry, P. H., & Sverjensky, D. A. (2017) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.gca.2017.04.007 · Cited by 59
Perspectives on Atmospheric Evolution from Noble Gas and Nitrogen Isotopes on Earth, Mars & Venus
Avice, G., & Marty, B. M. (2020) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00655-0 · Cited by 56
Archean coastal-plain paleosols and life on land
Retallack, G. J., Krinsley, D., Fischer, R., Razink, J. J., & Langworthy, K. A. (2016) · Gondwana Research · doi:10.1016/j.gr.2016.08.003 · Cited by 51
“Atmospheric pressure is constrained to no more than twice the modern value by 2.7 Ga raindrop imprints (Som et al., 2012) and no more than half the modern value by 2.7 Ga vesicle sizes in lava flows (Som et al., 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialEarthN: A New Earth System Nitrogen Model
Johnson, B. W., & Goldblatt, C. (2018) · Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems · doi:10.1029/2017gc007392 · Cited by 51
“In order to match constraints for similar or lower atmospheric N mass in the past (Marty et al., 2013; Som et al., 2012, 2016), but still end up with a 1 PAN modern atmosphere, our model has to be tuned to very specific parameters (Figure 8) within an otherwise nominal run.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialEquable end Mesoproterozoic climate in the absence of high CO2
Fiorella, R. P., & Sheldon, N. D. (2017) · Geology · doi:10.1130/g38682.1 · Cited by 49
Earth Without Life: A Systems Model of a Global Abiotic Nitrogen Cycle
Laneuville, M., Kameya, M., & Cleaves, H. J. (2018) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1700 · Cited by 47
The young Sun's XUV-activity as a constraint for lower CO2-limits in the Earth's Archean atmosphere
Johnstone, C. P., Lammer, H., Kislyakova, K. G., Scherf, M., & Güdel, M. (2021) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117197 · Cited by 47
Impact-induced amino acid formation on Hadean Earth and Noachian Mars
Takeuchi, Y., Furukawa, Y., Kobayashi, T., Sekine, T., Terada, N., & Kakegawa, T. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-66112-8 · Cited by 50
Schopf, J. W., Kudryavtsev, A. B., Osterhout, J. T., Williford, K. H., Kitajima, K., Valley, J. W., & Sugitani, K. (2017) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2017.07.021 · Cited by 48
“5 Ga fluid inclusions in volcanics (Som et al., 2016) suggesting the Archean origin of oxygen-poisoned nitrogen fixation, a biochemical reaction encoded by the early-evolved nif gene complex.”
BackgroundInfluentialPossible nitrogen fertilization of the early Earth Ocean by microbial continental ecosystems
Thomazo, C., Couradeau, E., & García‐Pichel, F. (2018) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04995-y · Cited by 44
Can volcanism build hydrogen-rich early atmospheres?
Liggins, P., Shorttle, O., & Rimmer, P. B. (2020) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116546 · Cited by 49
“They also cover pressures relevant to vents in submarine settings under shallow oceans, a possible scenario for the Archean (Flament et al., 2008).”
BackgroundInfluentialImpact of space weather on climate and habitability of terrestrial-type exoplanets
Airapetian, V., Gopalswamy, N., Grenfell, J. L., Gronoff, G., Güdel, M., Herbst, K., Henning, W. G., Jackman, C. H., Jin, M., Johnstone, C. P., et al. (2020) · Yokohama National University Repository (Yokohama National University) · Cited by 41
Mobility of nutrients and trace metals during weathering in the late Archean
Hao, J., Sverjensky, D. A., & Hazen, R. M. (2017) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2017.05.003 · Cited by 40
Biogeodynamics: bridging the gap between surface and deep Earth processes
Zerkle, A. L. (2018) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences · doi:10.1098/rsta.2017.0401 · Cited by 43
Atmospheric CO 2 levels from 2.7 billion years ago inferred from micrometeorite oxidation
Lehmer, O. R., Catling, D. C., Buick, R., Brownlee, D. E., & Newport, S. (2020) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay4644 · Cited by 39
Self-citationWestall, F., Höning, D., Avice, G., Gentry, D. M., Gerya, T., Gillmann, C., Izenberg, N. R., Way, M. J., & Wilson, C. (2023) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-023-00960-4 · Cited by 47
“…with time (from mantle conditions and composition evolution), and changes in the composition of the atmosphere (e.g. presence/absence of oxygen) (e.g. Som et al. 2016; Catling and Zahnle 2020), leading to changes in the chemical reactions between the atmosphere and the surface (i.e. weathering).”
BackgroundInfluentialProbing space to understand Earth
Lapôtre, M. G. A., O'Rourke, J. G., Schaefer, L., Siebach, K. L., Spalding, C., Tikoo-Schantz, S. M., & Wordsworth, R. (2020) · Nature Reviews Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43017-020-0029-y · Cited by 42
Timescales for Prebiotic Photochemistry Under Realistic Surface Ultraviolet Conditions
Rimmer, P. B., Thompson, S. J., Xu, J., Russell, D. A., Green, N. J., Ritson, D. J., Sutherland, J. D., & Queloz, D. P. (2021) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2020.2335 · Cited by 43
“Early Earth must have had an atmosphere to support liquid water, although this atmosphere may have been more tenuous 4.0 Ga than today (Som et al., 2016; Avice et al., 2017; Rimmer et al., 2019; Lehmer et al., 2020; Payne et al., 2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialNitrogenase resurrection and the evolution of a singular enzymatic mechanism
Garcia, A. K., Harris, D. F., Rivier, A. J., Carruthers, B. M., Pinochet-Barros, A., Seefeldt, L. C., & Kaçar, B. (2023) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.85003 · Cited by 35
“…indicates that this enzymatic characteristic was set early in nitrogenase evolutionary history and sustained through significant past environmental change ( Lyons et al., 2014 ; Som et al., 2016 ; Catling and Zahnle, 2020 ) and ecological diversification ( Boyd et al., 2015 ; Zehr et al., 2003 ).”
BackgroundMission to Planet Earth: The First Two Billion Years
Stüeken, E. E., Som, S. M., Claire, M. W., Rugheimer, S., Scherf, M., Sproß, L., Tosi, N., Ueno, Y., & Lammer, H. (2020) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00652-3 · Cited by 39
“The drawdown of atmospheric N2 (Som et al. 2016) would therefore have been dependent on biological productivity and biomass burial, which was in turn perhaps limited by low supplies of phosphorus (Kipp and Stüeken 2017; Reinhard et al. 2017).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationGeochemical Sources and Availability of Amidophosphates on the Early Earth
Gibard, C., Gorrell, I. B., Jiménez, E. I., Kee, T. P., Pasek, M. A., & Krishnamurthy, R. (2019) · Angewandte Chemie · doi:10.1002/ange.201903808 · Cited by 37
Warm and oxidizing slabs limit ingassing efficiency of nitrogen to the mantle
Jackson, C. R. M., Cottrell, E., & Andrews, B. J. (2020) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116615 · Cited by 35
A secular increase in continental crust nitrogen during the Precambrian
Johnson, B., & Goldblatt, C. (2017) · Geochemical Perspectives Letters · doi:10.7185/geochemlet.1731 · Cited by 34
“It is difficult to assess this, and other hypotheses of changing atmospheric mass (Som et al., 2012, 2016; Barry and Hilton, 2016), through direct measurements of palaeoatmospheric conditions.”
BackgroundResultFörster, M. W., Foley, S., Alard, O., & Buhre, S. (2019) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.07.042 · Cited by 32
Life as the Only Reason for the Existence of N2–O2-Dominated Atmospheres
Sproß, L., Scherf, M., Shematovich, V. I., Bisikalo, D. V., & Lammer, H. (2021) · Astronomy Reports · doi:10.1134/s1063772921040077 · Cited by 33
Ianeselli, A., Mast, C. B., & Braun, D. (2019) · Angewandte Chemie International Edition · doi:10.1002/anie.201907909 · Cited by 31
The origin and evolution of Earth's nitrogen
Li, Y. (2024) · National Science Review · doi:10.1093/nsr/nwae201 · Cited by 31
“The estimates derived from fossilized rain-drop imprints in tuffs [185 ] and from vesicle size distribution in the Archean basalts [186 ] indicate that the N 2 partial pressure of the Archean atmosphere may have been 0.5 bar 2.7 bi l lion years ago.”
MethodInfluentialOxidised micrometeorites as evidence for low atmospheric pressure on the early Earth
Rimmer, P. B., Shorttle, O., & Rugheimer, S. (2019) · Geochemical Perspectives Letters · doi:10.7185/geochemlet.1903 · Cited by 31
“This fits well with other evidence of low atmospheric surface pressures on the Archean Earth (e.g., Som et al., 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialHerwartz, D., Pack, A., & Nagel, T. J. (2021) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2023617118 · Cited by 37
Oxidized micrometeorites suggest either high p CO 2 or low p N 2 during the Neoarchean
Payne, R. C., Brownlee, D. E., & Kasting, J. F. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1910698117 · Cited by 30
Sholes, S., Montgomery, D. R., & Catling, D. C. (2019) · Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · doi:10.1029/2018je005837 · Cited by 29
“Arguably some of the best features to identify paleoshorelines would be exposed subaerial lava flows that progress into pillow basalts such as subaerial‐to‐subaqueous transitions found in terrestrial geology even as far back as in Archean rocks (e.g., Som et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSelf-citationGeoscience for Understanding Habitability in the Solar System and Beyond
Dehant, V., Debaille, V., Dobos, V., Gaillard, F., Gillmann, C., Goderis, S., Grenfell, J. L., Höning, D., Javaux, E., Karatekin, Ö., et al. (2019) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-019-0608-8 · Cited by 26
The thermodynamic effect of atmospheric mass on early Earth's temperature
Chemke, R., Kaspi, Y., & Halevy, I. (2016) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1002/2016gl071279 · Cited by 25
Early Habitability and Crustal Decarbonation of a Stagnant‐Lid Venus
Höning, D., Baumeister, P., Grenfell, J. L., Tosi, N., & Way, M. J. (2021) · Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · doi:10.1029/2021je006895 · Cited by 29
Large-scale Volcanism and the Heat Death of Terrestrial Worlds
Way, M. J., Ernst, R. E., & Scargle, J. D. (2022) · The Planetary Science Journal · doi:10.3847/psj/ac6033 · Cited by 28
“Furthermore, there is evidence that the atmospheric pressure in the Archean could have been as low as 0.25 bar (e.g., Som et al. 2012, 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialHarris, B., Hoog, J. C. M. D., & Halama, R. (2022) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.gca.2022.01.018 · Cited by 26
Possible Atmospheric Diversity of Low Mass Exoplanets – Some Central Aspects
Grenfell, J. L., Leconte, J., Forget, F., Godolt, M., Carrión-González, Ó., Noack, L., Tian, F., Rauer, H., Gaillard, F., Bolmont, É., et al. (2020) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00716-4 · Cited by 27
“A difficulty of this hypothesis is that the atmospheric pressure on Archean Earth might have been too low to support a strong N2H2 greenhouse effect based on measured raindrop distributions ∼3 Ga (Som et al. 2012; Som et al. 2016).”
BackgroundDynamics of Massive Atmospheres
Chemke, R., & Kaspi, Y. (2017) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa7742 · Cited by 25
“…even during their history (Nishizawa et al. 2007; Goldblatt et al. 2009; Som et al. 2012; Marty et al. 2013; Johnson & Goldblatt 2015; Kavanagh & Goldblatt 2015; Som et al. 2016), this study aims to better understand the physics behind the different flow regimes under a range of atmospheric masses.”
BackgroundMorphological and isotopic changes of heterocystous cyanobacteria in response to N2 partial pressure
Silverman, S. N., Kopf, S., Bebout, B. M., Gordon, R., & Som, S. M. (2018) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12312 · Cited by 23
“The chemical composition and physical structure of Earth’s ancient atmosphere are active areas of research because these properties can leave perceptible imprints on rocks (Rasmussen & Buick, 1999; Som, Catling, Harnmeijer, Polivka, & Buick, 2012; Som et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSelf-citationTotal Pressure Dependence of Sulfur Mass‐Independent Fractionation by SO2Photolysis
Endo, Y., Danielache, S. O., & Ueno, Y. (2018) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2018gl080730 · Cited by 23
“Our estimate is consistent with the previous report that suggested less than 100-kPa total pressure for the late Archean atmosphere based on fossil raindrop imprints and the size distribution of gas bubbles in pillowed lava (Som et al., 2012, 2016).”
ResultWhite, J. D., Montañez, I. P., Wilson, J. P., Poulsen, C. J., McElwain, J. C., DiMichele, W. A., Hren, M. T., Macarewich, S. I., Richey, J. D., & Matthaeus, W. J. (2020) · American Journal of Science · doi:10.2475/09.2020.01 · Cited by 25
Ianeselli, A., Mast, C. B., & Braun, D. (2019) · Angewandte Chemie · doi:10.1002/ange.201907909 · Cited by 23
Papineau, D., Yin, J., Devine, K. G., Liu, D., & She, Z. (2021) · Minerals · doi:10.3390/min11101060 · Cited by 22
Life’s Critical Role in the Long-term Carbon Cycle: the Biotic Enhancement of Weathering
SCHWARTZMAN, D. W. (2017) · AIMS Geosciences · doi:10.3934/geosci.2017.2.216 · Cited by 20
Zhang, Y., & Yang, J. (2020) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/abb87f · Cited by 20
“The value of pN2 is 0.78 bar on modern Earth, less than 0.5 bar on early Earth (Marty et al. 2013; Som et al. 2016), 1.4 bar on Titan (≈10 times Earth’s value for per unit area, given Titan’s gravity is only 1.35 m s−2), and 3.3 bar on Venus (Ingersoll 2013).”
BackgroundInfluentialOrigins and Early Evolution of the Atmosphere and the Oceans
Marty, B. M. (2020) · Geochemical Perspectives · doi:10.7185/geochempersp.9.2 · Cited by 21
Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.9 Ga) megascopic life on land in Western Australia
Retallack, G. J., & Mao, X. (2019) · Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology · doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109266 · Cited by 19
A shorter Archean day-length biases interpretations of the early Earth's climate
Spalding, C., & Fischer, W. W. (2019) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2019.02.032 · Cited by 19
“However, preserved raindrop imprints, and the size distribution of basaltic vesicles (Som et al., 2016), suggest atmospheric pressures similar to, or lower than, modern.”
BackgroundRetallack, G. J., Chen, Z., Huang, Y., & Fang, Y. (2021) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2021.106361 · Cited by 20
Wu, H., Murray, N., Kristen Menou, A., Lee, C., & Leconte, J. (2023) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.add2499 · Cited by 19
Eolianite Grain Size Distributions as a Proxy for Large Changes in Planetary Atmospheric Density
Goosmann, E. A., Catling, D. C., Som, S. M., Altermann, W., & Buick, R. (2018) · Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets · doi:10.1029/2018je005723 · Cited by 18
Self-citationChapter 4: A Geological and Chemical Context for the Origins of Life on Early Earth
Rodriguez, L. E., Altair, T., Hermis, N. Y., Jia, T. Z., Roche, T. P., Steller, L. H., & Weber, J. M. (2024) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2021.0139 · Cited by 20
“In addition, this atmosphere is estimated to have been less dense than today’s, perhaps as low as * 0.23 – 0.23 bar (Som et al., 2016).”
InfluentialDepositional evolution of an extinct sinter mound from source to outflow, El Tatio, Chile
Wilmeth, D. T., Nabhan, S., Myers, K. D., Slagter, S., Lalonde, S. V., Sansjofre, P., Homann, M., Konhauser, K. O., Muñoz-Sáez, C., & van Zuilen, M. A. (2020) · Sedimentary Geology · doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2020.105726 · Cited by 19
Earth: Atmospheric Evolution of a Habitable Planet
Olson, S. L., Schwieterman, E. W., Reinhard, C. T., & Lyons, T. W. (2018) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 18
Climate diversity in the solar-like habitable zone due to varying background gas pressure
Paradise, A., Fan, B. L., Kristen Menou, A., & Lee, C. (2021) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2020.114301 · Cited by 21
The origin of nitrogen in Earth's mantle: Constraints from basalts 15N/14N and N2/3He ratios
Labidi, J. (2022) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2022.120780 · Cited by 17
Biotic Enhancement of Weathering over the Past 3.7 Billion Years
Retallack, G. J. (2022) · GSA Today · doi:10.1130/gsatg543a.1 · Cited by 17
“…was limited to 1.1–0.5 bars judging from nitrogen and argon isotopic ratios in fluid inclusions dated to 3500 Ma (Marty et al., 2013), and total atmospheric pressure at 2700 Ma may have been only half modern judging from the size of lava vesicles and raindrop impressions (Som et al., 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialYoung Sun, galactic processes, and origin of life
Обридко, В. Н., Ragulskaya, M. V., & Khramova, E. G. (2020) · Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics · doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2020.105395 · Cited by 17
Wilmeth, D. T., Myers, K. D., Lalonde, S. V., Mänd, K., Konhauser, K. O., Grandin, P., & van Zuilen, M. A. (2021) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12476 · Cited by 15
“The high ultraviolet radiation and lower atmospheric pressure at El Tatio provide a potential analogue to conditions modeled on early Earth and Mars (Cockell, 2000; Ruff & Farmer, 2016; Som et al., 2012, 2016).”
BackgroundEta-Earth Revisited II: Deriving a Maximum Number of Earth-Like Habitats in the Galactic Disk
Scherf, M., Lammer, H., & Sproß, L. (2024) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2023.0076 · Cited by 19
Cannell, A., Blamey, N., Brand, U., Escapa, I., & Large, R. (2022) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104062 · Cited by 14
Varkouhi, S., Papineau, D., & Guo, Z. (2022) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2022.106876 · Cited by 17
Robinson, T. D. (2005) · University of Arizona Press eBooks · doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540068-ch015 · Cited by 21
“2012), and estimating total barometric pressure via the size distribution of vesicles in a lava flow from roughly the same age preserved in the Pilbara Craton, Australia (Som et al. 2016).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialVenus’s atmospheric nitrogen explained by ancient plate tectonics
Weller, M. B., Evans, A. J., Ibarra, D. E., & Johnson, A. V. (2023) · Nature Astronomy · doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02102-w · Cited by 13
“18,19).”
Habitable Zone and Atmosphere Retention Distance (HaZARD)
Looveren, G. V., Saikia, S. B., Herbort, O., Schleich, S., Güdel, M., Johnstone, C. P., & Kislyakova, K. G. (2025) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452998 · Cited by 22
Mikhailovsky, G. E., & Gordon, R. (2018) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811940-2.00016-2 · Cited by 14
Exploring cycad foliage as an archive of the isotopic composition of atmospheric nitrogen
Kipp, M. A., Stüeken, E. E., Gehringer, M. M., Sterelny, K., Scott, J. K., Forster, P. I., Strömberg, C. A. E., & Buick, R. (2019) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12374 · Cited by 14
“For this reason, there has been considerable effort in recent years to constrain pN2 using geological proxies that are sensitive to atmospheric pressure (e.g., Som, Catling, Harnmeijer, Polivka, & Buick, 2012; Som et al., 2016; Goosmann, Catling, Som, Altermann, & Buick, 2018).”
BackgroundSelf-citationHigh nitrogen solubility in stishovite (SiO2) under lower mantle conditions
Fukuyama, K., Kagi, H., Inoue, T., Kakizawa, S., Shinmei, T., Hishita, S., Takahata, N., & Sano, Y. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67621-2 · Cited by 14
Smaller Sensitivity of Precipitation to Surface Temperature Under Massive Atmospheres
Xiong, J., Yang, J., & Liu, J. (2022) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2022gl099599 · Cited by 12
“For early Earth, Marty et al. (2013), Som et al. (2016), and Avice et al. (2018) showed that the surface pressure was likely less than the present level, and the lower limit is unconstrained but maybe smaller than 0.5 bar, but global nitrogen budget suggests that N2 partial pressure might be ≥3 bar…”
BackgroundInfluentialEvolutionary exobiology: towards the qualitative assessment of biological potential on exoplanets
Stevenson, D. S., & Large, S. (2017) · International Journal of Astrobiology · doi:10.1017/s1473550417000349 · Cited by 12
Metadata
- Authors
- Som, S. M., Buick, R., Hagadorn, J. W., Blake, T. S., Perreault, J. M., Harnmeijer, J. P., & Catling, D. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Washington (US)
- Denver Museum of Nature and Science (US)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Som, Sanjoy M.
- Venue
- Nature Geoscience
- Published
- 2016-05-09
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 448-451
- ISSN
- 1752-0894 (ISSN-L)
- 1752-0908
- OpenAlex
- W2346163810
- Cited by
- 173
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 6
- FWCI
- 19.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature Geoscience (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Washington State University
- NASA Astrobiology Institute
- 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 › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Space and Planetary Science › Astro and Planetary Science
- Keywords
- atmospheric pressure, faint young Sun paradox, Pilbara Craton, greenhouse gases, methane, pressure broadening, fluid inclusions, atmospheric pressure fluctuations
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