Nitrogen fixation sustained productivity in the wake of the Palaeoproterozoic Great Oxygenation Event
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Author(s)
Junium, Christopher K.
Beukes, Nicolas J.
Algeo, Thomas J.
Cui, Ying
Xie, Shucheng
Luo, Genming
Izon, Gareth
Ono, Shuhei
Summons, Roger E
Date Issued
March 2018
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Luo, Genming et al. “Nitrogen Fixation Sustained Productivity in the Wake of the Palaeoproterozoic Great Oxygenation Event.” Nature Communications 9, 1 (March 2018): 978 © 2018 The Authors
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The marine nitrogen cycle is dominated by redox-controlled biogeochemical processes and, therefore, is likely to have been revolutionised in response to Earth-surface oxygenation. The details, timing, and trajectory of nitrogen cycle evolution, however, remain elusive. Here we couple nitrogen and carbon isotope records from multiple drillcores through the Rooihoogte-Timeball Hill Formations from across the Carletonville area of the Kaapvaal Craton where the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) and its aftermath are recorded. Our data reveal that aerobic nitrogen cycling, featuring metabolisms involving nitrogen oxyanions, was well established prior to the GOE and that ammonium may have dominated the dissolved nitrogen inventory. Pronounced signals of diazotrophy imply a stepwise evolution, with a temporary intermediate stage where both ammonium and nitrate may have been scarce. We suggest that the emergence of the modern nitrogen cycle, with metabolic processes that approximate their contemporary balance, was retarded by low environmental oxygen availability.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03361-2
