Nitrogen cycle feedbacks as a control on euxinia in the mid-Proterozoic ocean

R.A. Boyle (), J.R. Clark, S.W. Poulton, G. Shields-Zhou, D.E. Canfield and T.M. Lenton
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R.A. Boyle: Earth System Science Group, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter
J.R. Clark: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
S.W. Poulton: School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
G. Shields-Zhou: Faculty of Maths & Physical Sciences, University College London
D.E. Canfield: Institute of Biology and The Nordic Centre for Earth Evolution (NordCEE) University of Southern Denmark
T.M. Lenton: Earth System Science Group, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Geochemical evidence invokes anoxic deep oceans until the terminal Neoproterozoic ~0.55 Ma, despite oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere nearly 2 Gyr earlier. Marine sediments from the intervening period suggest predominantly ferruginous (anoxic Fe(II)-rich) waters, interspersed with euxinia (anoxic H2S-rich conditions) along productive continental margins. Today, sustained biotic H2S production requires NO3− depletion because denitrifiers outcompete sulphate reducers. Thus, euxinia is rare, only occurring concurrently with (steady state) organic carbon availability when N2-fixers dominate the production in the photic zone. Here we use a simple box model of a generic Proterozoic coastal upwelling zone to show how these feedbacks caused the mid-Proterozoic ocean to exhibit a spatial/temporal separation between two states: photic zone NO3− with denitrification in lower anoxic waters, and N2-fixation-driven production overlying euxinia. Interchange between these states likely explains the varying H2S concentration implied by existing data, which persisted until the Neoproterozoic oxygenation event gave rise to modern marine biogeochemistry.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2511

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