Special

The Rise of Oxygen

Earth's early atmosphere is thought to have contained only small amounts of oxygen, not enough to sustain life as we know it today. The events that changed an atmosphere essentially deprived of oxygen to one that contains about 21 percent remain hotly debated. Nature presents a Review article that discusses our latest understanding of the evolution of Earth's oxygen levels together with a selection of related content that Nature has published during the past ten years.

Credit: Ariel D. Anbar

Review
Feature
Article and Letters
News and Views

Review

The rise of oxygen in Earth's early ocean and atmosphere

Lyons et al.

Nature 506, 307-315 ( 20 February 2014 )

Feature

The rise of atmospheric oxygen

Lee R. Kump

Nature 451, 277-278 ( 17 January 2008 )

Article and Letters

Atmospheric oxygenation three billion years ago

Crowe et al.

Nature 501, 535-538 ( 26 September 2013 )
Geochemical evidence for widespread euxinia in the Later Cambrian ocean

Gill et al.

Nature 469, 80-83 ( 06 January 2011 )
Fluctuations in Precambrian atmospheric oxygenation recorded by chromium isotopes

Frei et al.

Nature 461, 250-253 ( 10 September 2009 )
Oceanic nickel depletion and a methanogen famine before the Great Oxidation Event

Konhauser et al.

Nature 458, 750-753 ( 9 April 2009 )
Fossil steroids record the appearance of Demospongiae during the Cryogenian period

Love et al.

Nature 457, 718-721 ( 5 February 2009 )
Reassessing the first appearance of eukaryotes and cyanobacteria

Rassmussen et al.

Nature 455, 1101-1104 ( 23 October 2008 )
Isotopic evidence for Mesoarchaean anoxia and changing atmospheric sulphur chemistry

Farquhar et al.

Nature 449, 706-709 ( 11 October 2007 )
Increased subaerial volcanism and the rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.5 billion years ago

Kump & Barley

Nature 448, 1033-1036 ( 30 August 2007 )
Sulphur isotope evidence for an oxic Archaean atmosphere

Ohmoto et al.

Nature 442, 908-911 ( 24 August 2006 )
Dating the rise of atmospheric oxygen

Bekker et al.

Nature 427, 117-120 ( 8 January 2004 )

News and Views

Biogeochemistry: Toxic Cambrian oceans

Graham Shields-Zhou

Nature 469, 42-43 ( 06 January 2011 )
Early Earth: Oxygen for heavy-metal fans

Timothy W. Lyons & Christopher T. Reinhard

Nature 461, 179-181 ( 10 September 2009 )
Biogeochemistry: Less nickel for more oxygen

Mak A. Saito

Nature 458, 714-715 ( 9 April 2009 )
Biogeochemistry: Early animals out in the cold

Jochen J. Brocks & Nicholas J. Butterfield

Nature 457, 672-673 ( 5 February 2009 )
Biogeochemistry: Life before the rise of oxygen

Woodward L. Fischer

Nature 455, 1051-1052 ( 23 October 2008 )
Palaeoclimate: Oxygen's rise reduced

Timothy W. Lyons

Nature 448, 1005-1006 ( 30 August 2007 )
Earth Sciences: Signature required

L. Paul Knauth

Nature 442, 873-874 ( 24 August 2006 )

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Special

The Rise of Oxygen

Review

The rise of oxygen in Earth's early ocean and atmosphere

Feature

The rise of atmospheric oxygen

Article and Letters

Atmospheric oxygenation three billion years ago

Geochemical evidence for widespread euxinia in the Later Cambrian ocean

Fluctuations in Precambrian atmospheric oxygenation recorded by chromium isotopes

Oceanic nickel depletion and a methanogen famine before the Great Oxidation Event

Fossil steroids record the appearance of Demospongiae during the Cryogenian period

Reassessing the first appearance of eukaryotes and cyanobacteria

Isotopic evidence for Mesoarchaean anoxia and changing atmospheric sulphur chemistry

Increased subaerial volcanism and the rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.5 billion years ago

Sulphur isotope evidence for an oxic Archaean atmosphere

Dating the rise of atmospheric oxygen

News and Views

Biogeochemistry: Toxic Cambrian oceans

Early Earth: Oxygen for heavy-metal fans

Biogeochemistry: Less nickel for more oxygen

Biogeochemistry: Early animals out in the cold

Biogeochemistry: Life before the rise of oxygen

Palaeoclimate: Oxygen's rise reduced

Earth Sciences: Signature required

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The Rise of Oxygen

Review

Feature

Article and Letters

News and Views

Science jobs

NatureJobs.com

Science events

NatureEvents Directory

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