A sluggish mid‐Proterozoic biosphere and its effect on Earth's redox balance
Open accessAbstract
The possibility of low but nontrivial atmospheric oxygen (O 2) levels during the mid‐Proterozoic (between 1.8 and 0.8 billion years ago, Ga) has important ramifications for understanding Earth's O 2 cycle, the evolution of complex life and evolving climate stability. However, the regulatory mechanisms and redox fluxes required to stabilize these O 2 levels in the face of continued biological oxygen production remain uncertain. Here, we develop a biogeochemical model of the C‐N‐P‐O 2‐S cycles and use it to constrain global redox balance in the mid‐Proterozoic ocean–atmosphere system. By employing a Monte Carlo approach bounded by observations from the geologic record, we infer that the rate of net biospheric O 2 production was Tmol year−1 (1σ), or ~25% of today's value, owing largely to phosphorus scarcity in the ocean interior. Pyrite burial in marine sediments would have represented a comparable or more significant O 2 source than organic carbon burial, implying a potentially important role for Earth's sulphur cycle in balancing the oxygen cycle and regulating atmospheric O 2 levels. Our statistical approach provides a uniquely comprehensive view of Earth system biogeochemistry and global O 2 cycling during mid‐Proterozoic time and implicates severe P biolimitation as the backdrop for Precambrian geochemical and biological evolution.
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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 Ozaki et al. 2019
The mid-Proterozoic PO4 3- inventory was on the order of 5% of the present oceanic level.
“In parallel, large-ensemble biogeochemical modeling (Ozaki et al. 2019) suggests a mid-Proterozoic PO 4 3-inventory on the order of 5% of the present oceanic level (Figure 6), consistent with results from low-order Earth system models (e.g., Laakso & Schrag 2017).”
From The History of Ocean Oxygenation (2022) · cites this paper as Ozaki et al. 2019
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- Authors
- Ozaki, K., Reinhard, C. T., & Tajika, E.
- Affiliations
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Ozaki, Kazumi
- Venue
- Geobiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-10-03
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-11
- ISSN
- 1472-4669 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-4677
- PMC
- PMC6585969
- OpenAlex
- W2895575935
- Cited by
- 77
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 7.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Geobiology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JP16K05618, JP25870185)
- NASA Astrobiology Institute (NNA15BB03A)
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (FR‐2015‐65744)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Keywords
- Mid-Proterozoic, atmospheric oxygen, redox homeostasis, oxygen cycle, pyrite burial, sulphur cycle, organic carbon burial, Precambrian evolution
- MeSH terms
- Atmosphere, Models, Theoretical, Oceans and Seas, Oxidation-Reduction, Seawater, Earth, Planet, Evolution, Planetary, Biodiversity
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