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Atmosphere-altered sediments were recycled into the mantle across the Great Oxidation Event

Analysis of mineral inclusions in magmas that crystallized before and after the Great Oxidation Event reveals marked changes in the oxidation state of sulfur — owing to the recycling into the mantle of sediments that had been geochemically altered at the surface by atmospheric events.

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Fig. 1: The impact of sediment recycling into the mantle across the Great Oxidation Event is seen in sulfur speciation spectra of apatite inclusions in zircon.

References

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This is a summary of: Moreira, H. et al. Sub-arc mantle fugacity shifted by sediment recycling across the Great Oxidation Event. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01258-4 (2023).

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Atmosphere-altered sediments were recycled into the mantle across the Great Oxidation Event. Nat. Geosci. 16, 837–838 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01278-0

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