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Two-step rise of atmospheric oxygen linked to the growth of continents

Nature Geoscience volume 9, pages 417–424 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Earth owes its oxygenated atmosphere to its unique claim on life, but how the atmosphere evolved from an initially oxygen-free state remains unresolved. The rise of atmospheric oxygen occurred in two stages: approximately 2.5 to 2.0 billion years ago during the Great Oxidation Event and roughly 2 billion years later during the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event. We propose that the formation of continents about 2.7 to 2.5 billion years ago, perhaps due to the initiation of plate tectonics, may have led to oxygenation by the following mechanisms. In the first stage, the change in composition of Earth's crust from iron- and magnesium-rich mafic rocks to feldspar- and quartz-rich felsic rocks could have caused a decrease in the oxidative efficiency of the Earth's surface, allowing atmospheric O2 to rise. Over the next billion years, as carbon steadily accumulated on the continents, metamorphic and magmatic reactions within this growing continental carbon reservoir facilitated a gradual increase in the total long-term input of CO2 to the ocean–atmosphere system. Given that O2 is produced during organic carbon burial, the increased CO2 input may have triggered a second rise in O2. A two-step rise in atmospheric O2 may therefore be a natural consequence of plate tectonics, continent formation and the growth of a crustal carbon reservoir.

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Figure 1: Constraints on continental evolution.
Figure 2: Compositional systematics of magma differentiation.
Figure 3: Whole-Earth carbon and oxygen cycling.
Figure 4: Box modelling of carbon and oxygen.
Figure 5: O2 inputs and outputs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NSF Frontiers of Earth Systems Dynamics grant OCE-1338842. Discussions with B. Dyer, R. Dasgupta, B. Shen, N. Planavsky, C. Reinhard and the 'CIA' (continental-island arc) working group are appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

    Cin-Ty A. Lee, Laurence Y. Yeung & Adrian Lenardic

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    N. Ryan McKenzie

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China

    N. Ryan McKenzie

  4. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Japan

    Yusuke Yokoyama & Kazumi Ozaki

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Contributions

C.-T. A. L. conceived the idea, developed the models and wrote the manuscript. L.Y.Y provided conceptual insight into box modelling and atmospheric chemistry. N.R.M provided insight into zircon data and general geology. Y.Y. and K.O. provided insight into global carbon cycle modelling. A.L. provided insight into mantle dynamics. All authors contributed to editing the manuscript and validating the models.

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Correspondence to Cin-Ty A. Lee.

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Lee, CT., Yeung, L., McKenzie, N. et al. Two-step rise of atmospheric oxygen linked to the growth of continents. Nature Geosci 9, 417–424 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2707

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