The Great Oxygenation Event as a consequence of ecological dynamics modulated by planetary change

The Great Oxygenation Event (GOE), ca. 2.4 billion years ago, transformed life and environments on Earth. Its causes, however, are debated. We mathematically analyze the GOE in terms of ecological dynamics coupled with a changing Earth. Anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria initially dominate over cyanobacteria, but their success depends on the availability of suitable electron donors that are vulnerable to oxidation. The GOE is triggered when the difference between the influxes of relevant reductants and phosphate falls below a critical value that is an increasing function of the reproductive rate of cyanobacteria. The transition can be either gradual and reversible or sudden and irreversible, depending on sources and sinks of oxygen. Increasing sources and decreasing sinks of oxygen can also trigger the GOE, but this possibility depends strongly on migration of cyanobacteria from privileged sites. Our model links ecological dynamics to planetary change, with geophysical evolution determining the relevant time scales.

Jason Olejarz, Yoh Iwasa, Andrew H. Knoll, Martin A. Nowak