Chemical changes in the oceans more than 800 million years ago almost destroyed the oxygen-rich atmosphere that paved the way for complex life on Earth, new research suggests.
Chemical changes in the oceans more than 800 million years ago almost destroyed the oxygen-rich atmosphere that paved the way for complex life on Earth, new research suggests.
Then, as now, the planet had an “oxidizing” atmosphere, driven by phytoplankton – the “plants” of the ocean – releasing oxygen during photosynthesis.
However, new research from an international team including the University of Exeter and spanning Toulouse, Leeds, London and Nanjing, suggests ocean changes in the early Neoproterozoic era (from one billion to 800 million years ago) may have locked away phosphorus – a vital nutrient for life – limiting phytoplankton growth and oxygen release.
The study suggests the amount of phosphorus available remained “just sufficient” to support the oxidising atmosphere – preventing a return to the “reducing” (oxygen-poor) atmosphere that existed over a billion years earlier.
Read more at University of Exeter
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