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Late Proterozoic Transitions in Climate, Oxygen, and Tectonics, and the Rise of Complex Life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2017

Noah J. Planavsky
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
Lidya G. Tarhan
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
Eric J. Bellefroid
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
David A. D. Evans
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
Christopher T. Reinhard
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
Gordon D. Love
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521 USA
Timothy W. Lyons
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521 USA
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Abstract

The transition to the diverse and complex biosphere of the Ediacaran and early Paleozoic is the culmination of a complex history of tectonic, climate, and geochemical development. Although much of this rise occurred in the middle and late intervals of the Neoproterozoic Era (1000–541 million years ago [Ma]), the foundation for many of these developments was laid much earlier, during the latest Mesoproterozic Stenian Period (1200–1000 Ma) and early Neoproterozoic Tonian Period (1000–720 Ma). Concurrent with the development of complex ecosystems, changes in the composition, configuration, and tectonic interaction between continental plates have been proposed as major shapers of both climate and biogeochemical cycling, but there is little support in the geologic record for overriding tectonic controls. Biogeochemical evidence, however, suggests that an expansion of marine oxygen concentrations may have stabilized nutrient cycles and created more stable environmental conditions under which complex, eukaryotic life could gain a foothold and flourish. The interaction of tectonic, biogeochemical, and climate processes, as described in this paper, resulted in the establishment of habitable environments that fostered the Ediacaran and early Phanerozoic radiations of animal life and the emergence of complex, modern-style ecosystems.

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Research Article
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Copyright © 2015 by The Paleontological Society 

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