Oxidation of the Ediacaran Ocean

D. A. Fike (), J. P. Grotzinger, L. M. Pratt and R. E. Summons
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D. A. Fike: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. P. Grotzinger: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
L. M. Pratt: Indiana University
R. E. Summons: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nature, 2006, vol. 444, issue 7120, 744-747

Abstract: Animals in the air Oxygenation of the Earth's surface is thought to have occurred in two main steps. The first, about 2,300 million years ago, saw a significant increase in atmospheric and surface ocean oxygen levels and has been widely studied. Much less is known about the second step, which took place around 800–540 million years ago and appears to have been associated with the evolution of complex animals. Now carbon and sulphur isotope records from sediments in the Sultanate of Oman have been used to construct a record of the amount of oxygen in the ocean during the Ediacaran period (635–542 million years ago). The data suggest that there were three distinct stages of oxidation within this period: the second stage involved an increase in oxygen in the deep ocean and appears to have been associated with the evolution of complex animals.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05345

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