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Published online 25 July 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.974

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Colliding continents may have oxygenated the Earth

Controversial theory proposes that tectonic activity fertilized cyanobacteria.

Amber Dance

The clashing of supercontinents billions of years ago may have been responsible for the oxygen-rich atmosphere that sustains much of the life on Earth today.

That’s the controversial theory proposed in a paper published today in Nature Geosciences1.

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  • “They have ignored the terrestrial carbon cycle, the rise of trees on the continents and the increased burial of resistant organic matter derived from wood.â€� So, what kind of "trees" were growing on earth 2.5 billion yrs ago?

    • 27 Jul, 2008
    • Posted by: mike mccall

  • so, the rate of carbon sinking must have been higher than the one of carbon production. Isn`t orogenesis just too slow to bury carbon that quickly?

    • 28 Jul, 2008
    • Posted by: Andrea graziadei