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Early Earth

Cyanobacteria at work

Nature Geoscience volume 7, pages 253–254 (2014)Cite this article

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Oxygen-producing photosynthesis must have evolved before the pervasive oxidation of the atmosphere around 2.4 billion years ago, but how long before is unclear. Geochemical analyses of ancient sedimentary rocks now suggest that cyanobacteria generated oxygen at least 3 billion years ago.

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Figure 1: Geochemical signals in the folds.

© CALLAN BENTLEY/NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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  1. Alan J. Kaufman is in the Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-4211, USA,

    Alan J. Kaufman

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  1. Alan J. Kaufman
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Correspondence to Alan J. Kaufman.

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Kaufman, A. Cyanobacteria at work. Nature Geosci 7, 253–254 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2128

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