A sluggish mid-Proterozoic biosphere and its effect on Earth's redox balance

Abstract

The possibility of low but nontrivial atmospheric oxygen (O 2 ) levels during the mid-Proterozoic (between 1.8 and 0.8 billion years ago, Ga) has important ramifications for understanding Earth's O 2 cycle, the evolution of complex life and evolving climate stability. However, the regulatory mechanisms and redox fluxes required to stabilize these O 2 levels in the face of continued biological oxygen production remain uncertain. Here, we develop a biogeochemical model of the C-N-P-O 2 -S cycles and use it to constrain global redox balance in the mid-Proterozoic ocean–atmosphere system. By employing a Monte Carlo approach bounded by observations from the geologic record, we infer that the rate of net biospheric O 2 production was 3.5 -1.1+1.4 Tmol year −1 (1σ), or ~25% of today's value, owing largely to phosphorus scarcity in the ocean interior. Pyrite burial in marine sediments would have represented a comparable or more significant O 2 source than organic carbon burial, implying a potentially important role for Earth's sulphur cycle in balancing the oxygen cycle and regulating atmospheric O 2 levels. Our statistical approach provides a uniquely comprehensive view of Earth system biogeochemistry and global O 2 cycling during mid-Proterozoic time and implicates severe P biolimitation as the backdrop for Precambrian geochemical and biological evolution.