Limited role for methane in the mid-Proterozoic greenhouse
Open accessAbstract
Significance Proterozoic climate dynamics, including both remarkable climate stability during the mid-Proterozoic and extreme low-latitude glaciation in the Neoproterozoic, must be understood in the framework of evolving oxidant reservoirs throughout the Precambrian. We present Earth system model simulations showing that recent constraints on atmospheric oxygen and oceanic sulfate during Proterozoic time have profound implications for marine methane cycling and the accumulation of methane in the atmosphere. Our model results challenge the paradigm of persistently elevated methane during the Precambrian, thus extending the relevance of the faint young Sun paradox throughout the Proterozoic. In light of the possibility of low methane during the mid-Proterozoic, we also suggest a conceptual model for the relationship between oxygenation, methane, and Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth events.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Methane may have been much lower than previously imagined during the boring billion due to muted production and preservation in the oceans and photochemical instability in the atmosphere.
“Alternatively, methane may have mostly been much lower than previously imagined during the boring billion due to muted production and preservation in the oceans and photochemical instability in the atmosphere (Olson et al., 2016).”
From Oxygenation, Life, and the Planetary System during Earth's Middle History: An Overview (2021) · cites this paper as Olson et al., 2016
Cites
Relationship between wind speed and gas exchange over the ocean
Wanninkhof, R. (1992) · Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans · doi:10.1029/92jc00188 · Cited by 4,737 · see citing works
The rise of oxygen in Earth's early ocean and atmosphere
Lyons, T. W., Reinhard, C. T., & Planavsky, N. J. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature13068 · Cited by 2,810 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Previous models that have suggested the existence of a CH4 greenhouse during the Proterozoic have assumed that pO2 stabilized at, or above, ∼10% present atmospheric levels (PAL) following the GOE (9), but several diverse proxy records collectively indicate that pO2 may have eventually stabilized at much lower levels t…”
BackgroundSelf-citationA negative feedback mechanism for the long‐term stabilization of Earth's surface temperature
Walker, J. C. G., Hays, P. B., & Kasting, J. F. (1981) · Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans · doi:10.1029/jc086ic10p09776 · Cited by 2,310 · see citing works
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 768 · see citing works
Self-citationStatistical analysis of iron geochemical data suggests limited late Proterozoic oxygenation
Sperling, E. A., Wolock, C. J., Morgan, A. S., Gill, B. C., Kunzmann, M., Halverson, G. P., Macdonald, F. A., Knoll, A. H., & Johnston, D. T. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature14589 · Cited by 637 · see citing works
Etiope, G., & Sherwood Lollar, B. (2013) · Reviews of Geophysics · doi:10.1002/rog.20011 · Cited by 620 · see citing works
Kopp, R. E., Kirschvink, J. L., Hilburn, I. A., & Nash, C. Z. (2005) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0504878102 · Cited by 565 · see citing works
Greenhouse warming by CH <sub>4</sub> in the atmosphere of early Earth
Pavlov, A. A., Kasting, J. F., Brown, L. L., Rages, K. A., & Freedman, R. (2000) · Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets · doi:10.1029/1999je001134 · Cited by 537 · see citing works
Oceanic nickel depletion and a methanogen famine before the Great Oxidation Event
Konhauser, K. O., Pecoits, E., Lalonde, S. V., Papineau, D., Nisbet, E. G., Barley, M. E., Arndt, N. T., Zahnle, K., & Kamber, B. S. (2009) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature07858 · Cited by 515 · see citing works
The evolution of the marine phosphate reservoir
Planavsky, N. J., Rouxel, O. J., Bekker, A., Lalonde, S. V., Konhauser, K. O., Reinhard, C. T., & Lyons, T. W. (2010) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature09485 · Cited by 488 · see citing works
Self-citationLow marine sulphate and protracted oxygenation of the Proterozoic biosphere
Kah, L. C., Lyons, T. W., & Frank, T. D. (2004) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature02974 · Cited by 482 · see citing works
Self-citationZAHNLE, K., CLAIRE, M., & CATLING, D. (2006) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2006.00085.x · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Bistability of atmospheric oxygen and the Great Oxidation
Goldblatt, C., Lenton, T. M., & Watson, A. J. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature05169 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
Kendall, B., Komiya, T., Lyons, T. W., Bates, S. M., Gordon, G. W., Romaniello, S. J., Jiang, G., Creaser, R. A., Xiao, S., McFadden, K., et al. (2015) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.gca.2015.02.025 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Self-citationQuantifying the areal extent and dissolved oxygen concentrations of Archean oxygen oases
Olson, S. L., Kump, L. R., & Kasting, J. F. (2013) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2013.08.012 · Cited by 239 · see citing works
Self-citationBiogeochemical modelling of the rise in atmospheric oxygen
CLAIRE, M. W., CATLING, D. C., & ZAHNLE, K. J. (2006) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2006.00084.x · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Methane and climate during the Precambrian era
KASTING, J. (2005) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2005.03.002 · Cited by 190 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 75(1-2):97–122.”
BackgroundBiogeochemical controls on photic-zone euxinia during the end-Permian mass extinction
Meyer, K. M., Kump, L. R., & Ridgwell, A. (2008) · Geology · doi:10.1130/g24618a.1 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Selenium isotope evidence for progressive oxidation of the Neoproterozoic biosphere
Pogge von Strandmann, P. A. E., Stüeken, E. E., Elliott, T., Poulton, S. W., Dehler, C. M., Canfield, D. E., & Catling, D. C. (2015) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms10157 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Catling, D. C., & Zahnle, K. J. (2020) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1420 · Cited by 568 · see citing works
Constraining 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 · see citing works
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 · see citing works
“Alternatively, methane may have mostly been much lower than previously imagined during the boring billion due to muted production and preservation in the oceans and photochemical instability in the atmosphere (Olson et al., 2016).”
BackgroundSelf-citationDisequilibrium 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 · see citing works
Self-citationProterozoic seawater sulfate scarcity and the evolution of ocean–atmosphere chemistry
Fakhraee, M., Hancisse, O., Canfield, D. E., Crowe, S. A., & Katsev, S. (2019) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0351-5 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
False Negatives for Remote Life Detection on Ocean-Bearing Planets: Lessons from the Early Earth
Reinhard, C. T., Olson, S. L., Schwieterman, E. W., & Lyons, T. W. (2017) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1598 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Self-citationEffects of primitive photosynthesis on Earth’s early climate system
Ozaki, K., Tajika, E., Hong, P. K., Nakagawa, Y., & Reinhard, C. T. (2018) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/s41561-017-0031-2 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Self-citationBray, M. S., Wu, J., Reed, B. C., Kretz, C. B., Belli, K. M., Simister, R. L., Henny, C., Stewart, F. J., DiChristina, T. J., Brandes, J. A., et al. (2017) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12239 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
- Authors
- Olson, S. L., Reinhard, C. T., & Lyons, T. W.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2016-09-26
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 41
- Pages
- 11447-11452
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC5068276
- OpenAlex
- W2526157218
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 10 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 10.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNA15BB03A)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution
- Keywords
- methane, atmospheric oxygen, faint young Sun paradox, Neoproterozoic glaciation, Snowball Earth, Earth system modeling
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
