A record of deep-ocean dissolved O2 from the oxidation state of iron in submarine basalts
Abstract
The oxygenation of the deep ocean in the geological past has been associated with a rise in the partial pressure of atmospheric molecular oxygen (O2) to near-present levels and the emergence of modern marine biogeochemical cycles. It has also been linked to the origination and diversification of early animals. It is generally thought that the deep ocean was largely anoxic from about 2,500 to 800 million years ago, with estimates of the occurrence of deep-ocean oxygenation and the linked increase in the partial pressure of atmospheric oxygen to levels sufficient for this oxygenation ranging from about 800 to 400 million years ago. Deep-ocean dissolved oxygen concentrations over this interval are typically estimated using geochemical signatures preserved in ancient continental shelf or slope sediments, which only indirectly reflect the geochemical state of the deep ocean. Here we present a record that more directly reflects deep-ocean oxygen concentrations, based on the ratio of Fe3+ to total Fe in hydrothermally altered basalts formed in ocean basins. Our data allow for quantitative estimates of deep-ocean dissolved oxygen concentrations from 3.5 billion years ago to 14 million years ago and suggest that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred in the Phanerozoic (541 million years ago to the present)more »
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science; Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1571938
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nature (London)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Nature (London); Journal Volume: 553; Journal Issue: 7688; Journal ID: ISSN 0028-0836
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES
Citation Formats
Stolper, Daniel A., and Keller, C. Brenhin. A record of deep-ocean dissolved O2 from the oxidation state of iron in submarine basalts. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1038/nature25009.
Stolper, Daniel A., & Keller, C. Brenhin. A record of deep-ocean dissolved O2 from the oxidation state of iron in submarine basalts. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25009
Stolper, Daniel A., and Keller, C. Brenhin. Wed .
"A record of deep-ocean dissolved O2 from the oxidation state of iron in submarine basalts". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25009. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1571938.
@article{osti_1571938,
title = {A record of deep-ocean dissolved O2 from the oxidation state of iron in submarine basalts},
author = {Stolper, Daniel A. and Keller, C. Brenhin},
abstractNote = {The oxygenation of the deep ocean in the geological past has been associated with a rise in the partial pressure of atmospheric molecular oxygen (O2) to near-present levels and the emergence of modern marine biogeochemical cycles. It has also been linked to the origination and diversification of early animals. It is generally thought that the deep ocean was largely anoxic from about 2,500 to 800 million years ago, with estimates of the occurrence of deep-ocean oxygenation and the linked increase in the partial pressure of atmospheric oxygen to levels sufficient for this oxygenation ranging from about 800 to 400 million years ago. Deep-ocean dissolved oxygen concentrations over this interval are typically estimated using geochemical signatures preserved in ancient continental shelf or slope sediments, which only indirectly reflect the geochemical state of the deep ocean. Here we present a record that more directly reflects deep-ocean oxygen concentrations, based on the ratio of Fe3+ to total Fe in hydrothermally altered basalts formed in ocean basins. Our data allow for quantitative estimates of deep-ocean dissolved oxygen concentrations from 3.5 billion years ago to 14 million years ago and suggest that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred in the Phanerozoic (541 million years ago to the present) and potentially not until the late Palaeozoic (less than 420 million years ago).},
doi = {10.1038/nature25009},
journal = {Nature (London)},
number = 7688,
volume = 553,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 03 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Wed Jan 03 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}
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