Cited by 196Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsGeological and Geochemical AnalysisGeology and Paleoclimatology Research

Triple oxygen isotope evidence for limited mid-Proterozoic primary productivity

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Crockford, Peter W., Hayles, Justin A., Bao, Huiming, Planavsky, Noah J., Bekker, Andrey, Fralick, Philip W., Halverson, Galen P., Bui, Thi Hao +2 more·2018·Nature

Abstract

The global biosphere is commonly assumed to have been less productive before the rise of complex eukaryotic ecosystems than it is today 1. However, direct evidence for this assertion is lacking. Here we present triple oxygen isotope measurements (∆17 O) from sedimentary sulfates from the Sibley basin (Ontario, Canada) dated to about 1.4 billion years ago, which provide evidence for a less productive biosphere in the middle of the Proterozoic eon. We report what are, to our knowledge, the most-negative ∆17 O values (down to -0.88‰) observed in sulfates, except for those from the terminal Cryogenian period 2. This observation demonstrates that the mid-Proterozoic atmosphere was distinct from what persisted over approximately the past 0.5 billion years, directly reflecting a unique interplay among the atmospheric partial pressures of CO 2 and O 2 and the photosynthetic O 2 flux at this time 3. Oxygenic gross primary productivity is stoichiometrically related to the photosynthetic O 2 flux to the atmosphere. Under current estimates of mid-Proterozoic atmospheric partial pressure of CO 2 (2-30 times that of pre-anthropogenic levels), our modelling indicates that gross primary productivity was between about 6% and 41% of pre-anthropogenic levels if atmospheric O 2 was between 0.1-1% or 1-10% of pre-anthropogenic levels, respectively. When compared to estimates of Archaean 4-6 and Phanerozoic primary production 7, these model solutions show that an increasingly more productive biosphere accompanied the broad secular pattern of increasing atmospheric O 2 over geologic time 8.

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Crossref · 10.1038/s41586-018-0349-y

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  • Primary production during the boring billion was limited, as supported by recent novel triple oxygen isotope measurements.

    “Regardless, it appears that primary production during the boring billion was limited—as supported by recent novel triple oxygen isotope measurements (Crockford et al., 2018; Hodgskiss et al., 2019).”

    From Oxygenation, Life, and the Planetary System during Earth's Middle History: An Overview (2021) · cites this paper as Crockford et al., 2018

  • Mid-Proterozoic marine nutrient abundances and levels of primary productivity were very low.

    “At the same time, there is increasing evidence from both the rock record and biogeochemical models indicating very low marine nutrient abundances-and thus levels of primary productivity-during the same period.”

    From The History of Ocean Oxygenation (2022) · cites this paper as Crockford et al. 2018

  • Stable oxygen isotope compositions of marine and lacustrine evaporite minerals suggest reduced biospheric productivity during the mid-Proterozoic.

    “A lowproductivity marine biosphere is also consistent with the stable oxygen isotope compositions of marine and lacustrine evaporite minerals, which have been interpreted to suggest reduced biospheric productivity during the mid-Proterozoic (Crockford et al. 2018).”

    From The History of Ocean Oxygenation (2022) · cites this paper as Crockford et al. 2018

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Authors
Crockford, P. W., Hayles, J. A., Bao, H., Planavsky, N. J., Bekker, A., Fralick, P. W., Halverson, G. P., Bui, T. H., Peng, Y., & Wing, B. A.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • Louisiana State University (US)
  • Yale University (US)
  • University of California, Riverside (US)
  • Lakehead University (CA)
  • McGill University (CA)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
Corresponding author
Crockford, Peter W.
Venue
Nature
Published
2018-07
Volume
559
Issue
7715
Pages
613-616
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2883348468
Cited by
196
References
95
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 6
FWCI
17.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Civil War Book Review (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship@McGill (McGill) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
Keywords
triple oxygen isotopes, oxygen-17, gross primary productivity, atmospheric oxygen, atmospheric CO2
MeSH terms
Atmosphere, Carbon Dioxide, Ontario, Oxygen, Oxygen Isotopes, Partial Pressure, Photosynthesis, Probability, Sulfates, Sulfides, Sulfur, Sulfur Isotopes, Ecosystem, Geologic Sediments, History, Ancient

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