A productivity collapse to end Earth’s Great Oxidation
Open accessAbstract
It has been hypothesized that the overall size of-or efficiency of carbon export from-the biosphere decreased at the end of the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) (ca. 2,400 to 2,050 Ma). However, the timing, tempo, and trigger for this decrease remain poorly constrained. Here we test this hypothesis by studying the isotope geochemistry of sulfate minerals from the Belcher Group, in subarctic Canada. Using insights from sulfur and barium isotope measurements, combined with radiometric ages from bracketing strata, we infer that the sulfate minerals studied here record ambient sulfate in the immediate aftermath of the GOE (ca. 2,018 Ma). These sulfate minerals captured negative triple-oxygen isotope anomalies as low as ∼ -0.8‰. Such negative values occurring shortly after the GOE require a rapid reduction in primary productivity of >80%, although even larger reductions are plausible. Given that these data imply a collapse in primary productivity rather than export efficiency, the trigger for this shift in the Earth system must reflect a change in the availability of nutrients, such as phosphorus. Cumulatively, these data highlight that Earth's GOE is a tale of feast and famine: A geologically unprecedented reduction in the size of the biosphere occurred across the end-GOE transition.
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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 Hodgskiss et al., 2019
These observations are consistent with recent oxygen isotopic evidence for a dramatic drop in oceanic primary production after approximately 2 Gya.
“These observations are consistent with recent oxygen isotopic evidence for a dramatic drop in oceanic primary production after ∼2 Gya (Hodgskiss et al. 2019).”
From The History of Ocean Oxygenation (2022) · cites this paper as Hodgskiss et al. 2019
Cites
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Self-citationTwo-billion-year-old evaporites capture Earth’s great oxidation
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A case for low atmospheric oxygen levels during Earth's middle history
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“P. W. Crockford et al., Triple oxygen isotope evidence for limited mid-Proterozoic primary productivity.”
InfluentialSelf-citationBacterial sulfur disproportionation constrains timing of Neoproterozoic oxygenation
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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
“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).”
BackgroundThe History of Ocean Oxygenation
Reinhard, C. T., & Planavsky, N. J. (2022) · Annual Review of Marine Science · doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-031721-104005 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Scientific novelty beyond the experiment
Hallsworth, J. E., Udaondo, Z., Pedrós‐Alió, C., Höfer, J., Benison, K. C., Lloyd, K. G., Cordero, R. J. B., de Campos, C. B. L., Yakimov, M. M., & Amils, R. (2023) · Microbial Biotechnology · doi:10.1111/1751-7915.14222 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Two-billion-year transitional oxygenation of the Earth's surface
Wang, H., Li, C., Peng, Y., Zhang, J., Cheng, M., Cao, X., Qie, W., Zhang, Z., Dodd, M. S., Hou, M., et al. (2025) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09471-4 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Hodgskiss, M. S. W., Crockford, P. W., Peng, Y., Wing, B. A., & Horner, T. J.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- Nanjing University (CN)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US)
- Corresponding author
- Crockford, Peter W.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2019-08-12
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 35
- Pages
- 17207-17212
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC6717284
- OpenAlex
- W2967894559
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 14
- FWCI
- 12.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Civil War Book Review (submittedVersion)
- Open Access Server of the Woods Hole Scientific Community (Woods Hole Scientific Community) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (N/A)
- National Geographic Society (N/A)
- American Philosophical Society (N/A)
- Northern Scientific Training Program (N/A)
- McGill University (N/A)
- Geological Society of America (N/A)
- Mineralogical Association of Canada (N/A)
- Stanford University (N/A)
- CU | University of Colorado Boulder (N/A)
- Agouron Institute (N/A)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB26000000)
- National Science Foundation (N/A)
- 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 › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
- Keywords
- Great Oxidation Event, sulfate minerals, sulfur isotopes, barium isotopes, carbon export, atmospheric oxygen rise, phosphorus limitation, Precambrian, Neoproterozoic
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