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Zhang S, Wang H, Wang X, Zheng W, Hao J, Pogge von Strandmann PAE, Ye Y, Shi M, Liu Y, Lyu Y. Subaerial volcanism broke mid-Proterozoic environmental stasis. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk5991. [PMID: 38552019 PMCID: PMC10980267 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk5991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
The mid-Proterozoic, spanning 1.8 to 0.8 billion years ago, is recognized as a phase of marine anoxia, low marine primary productivity (MPP), and constrained eukaryotic biodiversity. However, emerging evidence suggesting intermittent environmental disturbances and concurrent eukaryotic evolution challenges the notion of a stagnant Earth during this era. We present a study detailing volcanic activity and its consequential impact on terrestrial weathering and MPP, elucidated through the examination of 1.4-billion-year-old tropical offshore sediments. Our investigation, leveraging precise mercury (Hg) and lithium (Li) isotopic analyses, reveals the introduction of fresh rock substrates by local volcanism. This geological event initiated a transformative process, shifting the initial regolith-dominated condition in tropical lowland to a regime of enhanced chemical weathering and denudation efficiency. Notably, the heightened influx of nutrient-rich volcanic derivatives, especially phosphorus, spurred MPP rates and heightened organic carbon burial. These factors emerge as potential drivers in breaking the long-term static state of the mid-Proterozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuichang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, China National Petroleum Corporation, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Huajian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, China National Petroleum Corporation, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xiaomei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, China National Petroleum Corporation, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Wang Zheng
- School of Earth System Science, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Jihua Hao
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory/CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Philip A. E. Pogge von Strandmann
- LOGIC, Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University College London and Birkbeck, University of London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- MIGHTY, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55122 Mainz, Germany
| | - Yuntao Ye
- Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, China National Petroleum Corporation, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Miao Shi
- School of Earth System Science, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yuke Liu
- Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, China National Petroleum Corporation, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yitong Lyu
- Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, China National Petroleum Corporation, Beijing 100083, China
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