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Phosphorus-limited conditions in the early Neoproterozoic ocean maintained low levels of atmospheric oxygen

Nature Geoscience volume 13, pages 296–301 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The redox chemistry of anoxic continental margin settings evolved from widespread sulfide-containing (euxinic) conditions to a global ferruginous (iron-containing) state in the early Neoproterozoic era (from ~1 to 0.8 billion years ago). Ocean redox chemistry exerts a strong control on the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus, a limiting nutrient, and hence on primary production, but the response of the phosphorus cycle to this major ocean redox transition has not been investigated. Here, we use a geochemical speciation technique to investigate the phase partitioning of phosphorus in an open marine, early Neoproterozoic succession from the Huainan Basin, North China. We find that effective removal of bioavailable phosphorus in association with iron minerals in a globally ferruginous ocean resulted in oligotrophic (nutrient limited) conditions, and hence a probable global decrease in primary production, organic carbon burial and, subsequently, oxygen production. Nevertheless, phosphorus availability and organic carbon burial were sufficient to maintain an oxidizing atmosphere. These data imply substantial nutrient-driven variability in atmospheric oxygen levels through the Proterozoic, rather than the stable levels commonly invoked.

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Fig. 1: Sample locations within the North China craton.
Fig. 2: Geochemical variations against the main stratigraphy of the Huainan Basin.
Fig. 3: Corg versus P contents in Proterozoic sediments.
Fig. 4: P contents in black shales through time.
Fig. 5: Biogeochemical evolution of the ocean at the Mesoproterozoic/Neoproterozoic boundary (ca. 1 Ga).

Data availability

All data generated and analysed for the current study are attached, and are available from data repository https://doi.org/10.5285/72c9a48f-4813-4507-9137-a97d7e6bd2d9.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NERC (NE/I005978/1) and NSFC (41661134048) through the Co-evolution of Life and the Planet programme, through the Biosphere Evolution, Transitions and Resilience (NE/P013651) programme, and the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB18000000). S.W.P. and T.M.L. were supported by Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Awards and S.W.P. by a Leverhulme Trust Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France

    Romain Guilbaud

  2. School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Simon W. Poulton, Jennifer Thompson & Kathryn F. Husband

  3. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Nanjing, China

    Maoyan Zhu

  4. College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Maoyan Zhu

  5. Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK

    Ying Zhou & Graham A. Shields

  6. Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Timothy M. Lenton

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  1. Romain Guilbaud
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Contributions

R.G. and S.W.P. devised the research. R.G., S.W.P., G.A.S., Y.Z. and M.Z. collected samples. J.T. and K.F.H. analysed the Mesoproterozoic samples. R.G. analysed the Neoproterozoic samples and interpreted the data. R.G. wrote the manuscript with significant contributions from all co-authors.

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Correspondence to Romain Guilbaud.

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Peer review information Primary Handling Editors: James Super; Xujia Jiang.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary discussion, Tables 2 and 3, and Figs. 1–5.

Supplementary Table 1

Geochemical analyses

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Guilbaud, R., Poulton, S.W., Thompson, J. et al. Phosphorus-limited conditions in the early Neoproterozoic ocean maintained low levels of atmospheric oxygen. Nat. Geosci. 13, 296–301 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0548-7

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