Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is the key nutrient thought to limit primary productivity on geological timescales, and hence P bioavailability exerted a major influence on Earth’s surface oxygenation dynamics through the Precambrian, with ensuing implications for biological evolution. Here, we document highly elevated P contents in non-glacial Ediacaran (635–541 Ma) iron formations from Northwestern China, with P dominantly occurring as carbonate fluorapatite formed during early diagenesis. These analyses, in combination with marine sediment P contents and phosphorite abundance data, point to a state change in oceanic P concentrations during the Ediacaran, which we attribute to enhanced recycling from marine sediments under redox-stratified conditions. Subsequent elevated rates of primary productivity and organic carbon production may have sustained the contemporaneous first appearance of complex deep marine habitats, and would have increased the extent and stability of surface water oxygen concentrations, leading to conditions conducive to the subsequent evolution of more complex animals.

Increased phosphorous availability and enhanced rate of primary production in the Ediacaran Ocean could have aided diversification and the rise of complex life, according to geochemical and microscopy analyses of iron formations from northwest China

Details

Title
A phosphate-rich marine reservoir in the redox stratified Ediacaran ocean
Author
Yang, Xiuqing 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mao, Jingwen 2 ; Bowyer, Fred T. 3 ; Wu, Changzhi 4 ; Li, Rongxi 4 ; Zhao, Chao 4 ; Yang, Guowei 4 ; Poulton, Simon W. 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 School of Earth Science and Resources, Chang’an University, MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Xi’an, China (GRID:grid.440661.1) (ISNI:0000 0000 9225 5078); University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment, Leeds, UK (GRID:grid.9909.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8403) 
 School of Earth Science and Resources, Chang’an University, MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Xi’an, China (GRID:grid.440661.1) (ISNI:0000 0000 9225 5078); China University of Geosciences, MNR Key Laboratory for Exploration Theory & Technology of Critical Mineral Resources, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.503241.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1760 9015) 
 University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, UK (GRID:grid.4305.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7988) 
 School of Earth Science and Resources, Chang’an University, MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Xi’an, China (GRID:grid.440661.1) (ISNI:0000 0000 9225 5078) 
 University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment, Leeds, UK (GRID:grid.9909.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8403) 
Pages
41
Publication year
2024
Publication date
Dec 2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
26624435
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2916530519
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.