The DOI matches its Crossref record; 93 of the 95 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Triple oxygen isotope evidence for limited mid-Proterozoic primary productivity
Open accessAbstract
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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“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
In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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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Cites
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Self-citationTarget Atmospheric CO: Where Should Humanity Aim?
Hansen, J., Sato, M., Kharecha, P., Beerling, D. J., Berner, R., Masson‐Delmotte, V., Mark Pagani, I., Raymo, M. E., Royer, D. L., & Zachos, J. C. (2008) · The Open Atmospheric Science Journal · doi:10.2174/1874282300802010217 · Cited by 1,378
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Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim
Hansen, J., Sato, M., Kharecha, P. A., Beerling, D. J., Berner, R., Masson‐Delmotte, V., Mark Pagani, I., Raymo, M. E., Royer, D. L., & Zachos, J. C. (2008) · White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) · Cited by 904
Low Mid-Proterozoic atmospheric oxygen levels and the delayed rise of animals
Planavsky, N. J., Reinhard, C. T., Wang, X., Thomson, D., McGoldrick, P., Rainbird, R. H., Johnson, T., Fischer, W. W., & Lyons, T. W. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1258410 · Cited by 763
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Metsaranta, R. T. Sedimentology and Geochemistry of the Mesoproterozoic Pass Lake and Rossport Formations, Sibley Group. MSc thesis, Lakehead Univ. (2006).
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Orogenic quiescence in Earth’s middle age
Tang, M., Chu, X., Hao, J., & Shen, B. (2021) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.abf1876 · Cited by 220
Oxygenation, Life, and the Planetary System during Earth's Middle History: An Overview
Lyons, T. W., Diamond, C. W., Planavsky, N. J., Reinhard, C. T., & Li, C. (2021) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2020.2418 · Cited by 211
“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).”
BackgroundSelf-citationClaypool continued: Extending the isotopic record of sedimentary sulfate
Crockford, P. W., Kunzmann, M., Bekker, A., Hayles, J. A., Bao, H., Halverson, G. P., Peng, Y., Bui, T. C. N., Cox, G. M., Gibson, T. M., et al. (2019) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.02.030 · Cited by 169
Self-citationA pulse of oxygen increase in the early Mesoproterozoic ocean at ca. 1.57–1.56 Ga
Shang, M., Tang, D., Shi, X., Zhou, L., Zhou, X., Song, H., & Jiang, G. (2019) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115797 · Cited by 143
On the co‐evolution of surface oxygen levels and animals
Cole, D. B., Mills, D. B., Erwin, D. H., Sperling, E. A., Porter, S. M., Reinhard, C. T., & Planavsky, N. J. (2020) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12382 · Cited by 141
Self-citation
Metadata
- 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.
- ORCID
- 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
- cc-by-nc-nd
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- 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 › Geochemistry and Petrology › 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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