Redox stabilization of the atmosphere and oceans by phosphorus-limited marine productivity
- Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
- Univ. of Texas, Port Aransas, TX (United States)
Data from modern and ancient marine sediments demonstrate that burial of the limiting nutrient phosphorus is less efficient when bottom waters are low in oxygen. Mass-balance calculations using a coupled model of the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, phosphorus, oxygen, and iron indicate that the redox dependence of phosphorus burial in the oceans provides a powerful forcing mechanism for balancing production and consumption of atmospheric oxygen over geologic time. The oxygen-phosphorus coupling further guards against runaway ocean anoxia. Phosphorus-mediated redox stabilization of the atmosphere and oceans may have been crucial to the radiation of higher life forms during the Phanerozoic. 17 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 213080
- Journal Information:
- Science, Vol. 271, Issue 5248; Other Information: PBD: 26 Jan 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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