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Biogeochemistry

Phosphorus and the gust of fresh air

Evidence of intense phosphorus weathering following 'snowball Earth' glaciations raises a further possibility — that this revved-up nutrient cycle drove conditions for the explosion of animal life. See Letter p.1088

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Figure 1: Snowball Earth glaciations and the rise in oxygen levels around 700 million years ago4.

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Filippelli, G. Phosphorus and the gust of fresh air. Nature 467, 1052–1053 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/4671052a

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