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Recurrent photic zone euxinia limited ocean oxygenation and animal evolution during the Ediacaran

Author

Listed:
  • Wang Zheng

    (Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University)

  • Anwen Zhou

    (Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University
    Florida State University)

  • Swapan K. Sahoo

    (Equinor US)

  • Morrison R. Nolan

    (Virginia Tech)

  • Chadlin M. Ostrander

    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    University of Utah)

  • Ruoyu Sun

    (Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University)

  • Ariel D. Anbar

    (Arizona State University
    Arizona State University)

  • Shuhai Xiao

    (Virginia Tech)

  • Jiubin Chen

    (Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University)

Abstract

The Ediacaran Period (~635–539 Ma) is marked by the emergence and diversification of complex metazoans linked to ocean redox changes, but the processes and mechanism of the redox evolution in the Ediacaran ocean are intensely debated. Here we use mercury isotope compositions from multiple black shale sections of the Doushantuo Formation in South China to reconstruct Ediacaran oceanic redox conditions. Mercury isotopes show compelling evidence for recurrent and spatially dynamic photic zone euxinia (PZE) on the continental margin of South China during time intervals coincident with previously identified ocean oxygenation events. We suggest that PZE was driven by increased availability of sulfate and nutrients from a transiently oxygenated ocean, but PZE may have also initiated negative feedbacks that inhibited oxygen production by promoting anoxygenic photosynthesis and limiting the habitable space for eukaryotes, hence abating the long-term rise of oxygen and restricting the Ediacaran expansion of macroscopic oxygen-demanding animals.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang Zheng & Anwen Zhou & Swapan K. Sahoo & Morrison R. Nolan & Chadlin M. Ostrander & Ruoyu Sun & Ariel D. Anbar & Shuhai Xiao & Jiubin Chen, 2023. "Recurrent photic zone euxinia limited ocean oxygenation and animal evolution during the Ediacaran," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39427-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39427-z
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