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The evolution of the marine phosphate reservoir

Nature volume 467, pages 1088–1090 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Phosphorus is a biolimiting nutrient that has an important role in regulating the burial of organic matter and the redox state of the ocean–atmosphere system1. The ratio of phosphorus to iron in iron-oxide-rich sedimentary rocks can be used to track dissolved phosphate concentrations if the dissolved silica concentration of sea water is estimated2,3,4,5. Here we present iron and phosphorus concentration ratios from distal hydrothermal sediments and iron formations through time to study the evolution of the marine phosphate reservoir. The data suggest that phosphate concentrations have been relatively constant over the Phanerozoic eon, the past 542 million years (Myr) of Earth’s history. In contrast, phosphate concentrations seem to have been elevated in Precambrian oceans. Specifically, there is a peak in phosphorus-to-iron ratios in Neoproterozoic iron formations dating from ∼750 to ∼635 Myr ago, indicating unusually high dissolved phosphate concentrations in the aftermath of widespread, low-latitude ‘snowball Earth’ glaciations. An enhanced postglacial phosphate flux would have caused high rates of primary productivity and organic carbon burial and a transition to more oxidizing conditions in the ocean and atmosphere. The snowball Earth glaciations and Neoproterozoic oxidation are both suggested as triggers for the evolution and radiation of metazoans6,7. We propose that these two factors are intimately linked; a glacially induced nutrient surplus could have led to an increase in atmospheric oxygen, paving the way for the rise of metazoan life.

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Figure 1: P/Fe molar ratios through time in iron-oxide-rich distal hydrothermal sediments and iron formations with low amounts of siliciclastic input.
Figure 2: Model for the coevolution of atmospheric and oceanic redox state and limiting nutrients for marine primary productivity.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding from the NSF-GSF program and the NASA Astrobiology Institute, to N.J.P.; from the NASA Exobiology Program and the NSF-EAR, to T.W.L.; from NSERC, to A.B., K.O.K. and S.V.L.; from NSF-OCE grants to O.J.R.; and from the NSF and the NASA Astrobiology Institute, to A.B.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, 92521, California, USA

    Noah J. Planavsky, Christopher T. Reinhard & Timothy W. Lyons

  2. Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, 02543, Massachusetts, USA

    Noah J. Planavsky & Olivier J. Rouxel

  3. Université Européene de Bretagne, European Institute for Marine Studies, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France,

    Olivier J. Rouxel

  4. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada,

    Andrey Bekker

  5. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada,

    Stefan V. Lalonde & Kurt O. Konhauser

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  1. Noah J. Planavsky
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  7. Timothy W. Lyons
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Contributions

All authors were involved in the writing and design of this study. A.B. and N.J.P. collected samples for this study, and N.J.P. and O.J.R. analysed them. N.J.P. and S.L. compiled literature data.

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Correspondence to Timothy W. Lyons.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Information

This file contains Supplementary Text comprising Sample Information and Methods and additional references. The file also includes Supplementary Figures 1-2 with legends and Supplementary Tables 1-2 with their appropriate references. (PDF 1756 kb)

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Planavsky, N., Rouxel, O., Bekker, A. et al. The evolution of the marine phosphate reservoir. Nature 467, 1088–1090 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09485

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