The evolution of the marine carbonate factory

Calcium carbonate formation is the primary pathway by which carbon is returned from the ocean–atmosphere system to the solid Earth1,2. The removal of dissolved inorganic carbon from seawater by precipitation of carbonate minerals—the marine carbonate factory—plays a critical role in shaping marine biogeochemical cycling1,2. A paucity of empirical constraints has led to widely divergent views on how the marine carbonate factory has changed over time3–5. Here we use geochemical insights from stable strontium isotopes to provide a new perspective on the evolution of the marine carbonate factory and carbonate mineral saturation states. Although the production of carbonates in the surface ocean and in shallow seafloor settings have been widely considered the predominant carbonate sinks for most of the history of the Earth6, we propose that alternative processes—such as porewater production of authigenic carbonates—may have represented a major carbonate sink throughout the Precambrian. Our results also suggest that the rise of the skeletal carbonate factory decreased seawater carbonate saturation states.