Late-Neoproterozoic Deep-Ocean Oxygenation and the Rise of Animal Life

Because animals require oxygen, an increase in late-Neoproterozoic oxygen concentrations has been suggested as a stimulus for their evolution. The iron content of deep-sea sediments shows that the deep ocean was anoxic and ferruginous before and during the Gaskiers glaciation 580 million years ago a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2007-01, Vol.315 (5808), p.92-95
Main Authors: Canfield, Don E, Poulton, Simon W, Narbonne, Guy M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Atmosphere
Biological Evolution
Biota
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ediacara
Evolution
Exact sciences and technology
Fossils
Geologic Sediments - chemistry
Geological time
Glaciation
Ice Cover
Invertebrate paleontology
Iron - analysis
Iron oxides
Newfoundland and Labrador
Oceans
Oxidation-Reduction
Oxygen
Oxygen - analysis
Paleontology
Sea water
Seawater - chemistry
Sediment deposition
Sediments
Stratigraphy
Sulfates
Sulfates - analysis
Time
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Summary:Because animals require oxygen, an increase in late-Neoproterozoic oxygen concentrations has been suggested as a stimulus for their evolution. The iron content of deep-sea sediments shows that the deep ocean was anoxic and ferruginous before and during the Gaskiers glaciation 580 million years ago and that it became oxic afterward. The first known members of the Ediacara biota arose shortly after the Gaskiers glaciation, suggesting a causal link between their evolution and this oxygenation event. A prolonged stable oxic environment may have permitted the emergence of bilateral motile animals some 25 million years later.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1135013