Through the Evolution of Minerals in the Earth's CrustA new international study by a team of geologists from the University of Tasmania, in collaboration with scientists from the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the University of Toronto, proposes an alternative theory for the origin of oxygen on Earth. Discuss
Most scientific studies show that oxygen levels rose rapidly around 2.4 billion years ago and then dropped just as sharply over the next 200 million years. This event is called the Great Oxidation Event.
The new study suggests that the rise in atmospheric oxygen was a very slow process that lasted from 2.8 to 1.8 million years ago, associated with the collision of continental plates during supercontinent cycles and the evolution of cyanobacteria in our oceans. Atmospheric oxygen has been rising over a billion years, reaching a peak close to the current level of 21% oxygen around 1.9 billion years ago. The oxygen then declined over the next period, known as the “boring billion”.
A study has shown that the evolution of minerals in the earth's crust is correlated with an increase in oxygen due to the presence of new oxidized metal species that were only made available by the increase in oxygen. The new theory uses measurements of the redox chemistry of minerals that form in rocks and on the seafloor over geologic time. gas and methane, making the conditions in the ocean and atmosphere more favorable for life.
“Our study shows that as the amount of oxygen increased, the chemical composition of the ocean changed, toxic elements decreased , and vital elements such as phosphorus, molybdenum and zinc have become more available to drive evolutionary change,” the authors explain the evolution of the Earth.
Source: Geosystems and Geoenvironment