Earth's Early Atmosphere and Surface Environment

Oxygen, iron, and sulfur geochemical cycles on early Earth: Paradigms and contradictions
-
Published:May 01, 2014
-
CiteCitation
Hiroshi Ohmoto, Yumiko Watanabe, Antonio C. Lasaga, Hiroshi Naraoka, Ian Johnson, Jamie Brainard, Andrew Chorney, 2014. "Oxygen, iron, and sulfur geochemical cycles on early Earth: Paradigms and contradictions", Earth's Early Atmosphere and Surface Environment, George H. Shaw
Download citation file:
- Share
-
Tools
The current understanding of the evolution of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere on early Earth has been strongly influenced by the following six major paradigms for the geochemical cycles of oxygen, iron, and sulfur: (1) a dramatic change from a reducing to an oxidizing atmosphere at ca. 2.4–2.2 Ga, termed the “Great Oxidation Event” (GOE); (2) Fe-rich oceans until ca. 1.85 Ga; (3) a hydrothermal origin for the global oceanic Fe; (4) SO4 2−-poor oceans before the GOE; (5) an atmospheric origin for the oceanic sulfur species; and (6) the existence of sulfidic Proterozoic oceans.
Each of the...
- Archean
- atmosphere
- banded iron formations
- black shale
- carbon dioxide
- carbonates
- chemically precipitated rocks
- clastic rocks
- crust
- diagenesis
- Eh
- geochemical cycle
- geochemistry
- geothermal systems
- Great Oxidation Event
- greenhouse effect
- hydrothermal vents
- iron
- iron formations
- isotope fractionation
- isotope ratios
- isotopes
- laterites
- mantle
- metals
- O-18/O-16
- oxidation
- oxygen
- paleo-oceanography
- paleoatmosphere
- paleosols
- pedogenesis
- pisolites
- Precambrian
- pyrite
- red beds
- reduction
- sea water
- sedimentary rocks
- sedimentation
- siderite
- soils
- stable isotopes
- sulfides
- sulfur
- sulfur cycle
- world ocean