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Review
. 2006 Jun 29;361(1470):903-15.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2006.1838.

The oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans

Heinrich D Holland  1
Affiliations
Review

The oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans

Heinrich D Holland. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

The last 3.85 Gyr of Earth history have been divided into five stages. During stage 1 (3.85-2.45 Gyr ago (Ga)) the atmosphere was largely or entirely anoxic, as were the oceans, with the possible exception of oxygen oases in the shallow oceans. During stage 2 (2.45-1.85 Ga) atmospheric oxygen levels rose to values estimated to have been between 0.02 and 0.04 atm. The shallow oceans became mildly oxygenated, while the deep oceans continued anoxic. Stage 3 (1.85-0.85 Ga) was apparently rather 'boring'. Atmospheric oxygen levels did not change significantly. Most of the surface oceans were mildly oxygenated, as were the deep oceans. Stage 4 (0.85-0.54 Ga) saw a rise in atmospheric oxygen to values not much less than 0.2 atm. The shallow oceans followed suit, but the deep oceans were anoxic, at least during the intense Neoproterozoic ice ages. Atmospheric oxygen levels during stage 5 (0.54 Ga-present) probably rose to a maximum value of ca 0.3 atm during the Carboniferous before returning to its present value. The shallow oceans were oxygenated, while the oxygenation of the deep oceans fluctuated considerably, perhaps on rather geologically short time-scales.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The values of Δ33S, indicator of mass-independent fractionation (MIF) of sulphur in pyrite and barite during the past 4000 Myr. The data were compiled by S. Ono from (Farquhar et al. 2000, 2002; Ono et al. 2003, Mojzsis et al. 2003; Hu et al. 2003).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Carbon isotopic evolution of marine carbonate based on published analyses of limestones (circles), dolostones (triangles) and Phanerozoic calcitic fossils. Poorly time-constrained samples (more than ±50 Ma) are shown as open symbols (Shields & Veizer 2002).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Time-series of occurrences of iron formation generated by summing Gaussian distributions of unit area in the compilation by Isley & Abbott (1999).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Marine manganese deposits (Roy 1997).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Compilation of the isotopic composition of sedimentary sulphides (diamonds) through time. Also shown is a reconstruction of the isotopic composition of sulphate (upper line) and, as a guide, the isotopic composition of sulphate offset by 55% (lower line) (Canfield 2005).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The isotopic composition of carbon in marine carbonates between 490 and 830 Ma (Halverson et al. 2005).
Figure 7
Figure 7
The distribution of Neoproterozoic glacial deposits with and without BIFs (Hoffman in press).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Composite diagram of the δ13C value of Palaeozoic carbonates of the Great Basin, USA (Saltzman 2005).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Estimated abundance of phosphate (expressed as metric tons P2O5) in phosphate deposits throughout the Phanerozoic. The fixed time interval in the histogram is 25 Myr. It should be noted that a logarithmic scale is used for P2O5 abundance (Cook & McElhinny 1979). At the right margin, there is a list of the large Phanerozoic marine manganese deposits (Roy 1997). The numbers identify the following deposits: 1, Nikopol, Ukraine; 2, Chiatura, Georgia; 3, Groote Eylandt, Australia; 4, Molango, Mexico; 5, Úrkút, Hungary; 6, Taojiang, China.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Estimated evolution of atmospheric PO2 and the concentration of O2 in the shallow and deep oceans.
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