Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sufficient Oxygen For Animal Respiration 1,400 Million Years Ago
Sufficient Oxygen For Animal Respiration 1,400 Million Years Ago
Contributed by Donald E. Canfield, November 27, 2015 (sent for review November 2, 2015; reviewed by Lee Kump and Jennifer Morford)
The Mesoproterozoic Eon [1,6001,000 million years ago (Ma)] is (14, 15). Pre-Xiamaling sediments were deposited on a passive
emerging as a key interval in Earth history, with a unique geo- margin, but occasional ash layers in the Xiamaling Formation have
chemical history that might have influenced the course of biological led to suggestions of a back-arc setting (15). Sediments of the
evolution on Earth. Indeed, although this time interval is rather Xiamaling Formation, however, are highly laminated with no
poorly understood, recent chromium isotope results suggest that evidence for mass flows or turbidites, and volcanoclastics are
atmospheric oxygen levels were <0.1% of present levels, suffi- rare. Therefore, deposition in a tectonically quiet environment
ciently low to have inhibited the evolution of animal life. In contrast, is indicated, consistent with continued deposition on a passive
using a different approach, we explore the distribution and enrich- margin. There is also no evidence for storm wave interaction
ments of redox-sensitive trace metals in the 1,400 Ma sediments of with the sediment, so a water depth of >100 m is likely. The
Unit 3 of the Xiamaling Formation, North China Block. Patterns of sediment package was never heated to above 90 C, thus pre-
trace metal enrichments reveal oxygenated bottom waters during serving organic biomarkers (16). High-precision zircon data yield
deposition of the sediments, and biomarker results demonstrate the an age of 1,384.4 1.4 Ma for a tuff layer 210 m below the top of
presence of green sulfur bacteria in the water column. Thus, we the formation and 1,392.2 1.0 Ma for a bentonite layer 52 m
document an ancient oxygen minimum zone. We develop a simple,
below the tuff layer (16).
yet comprehensive, model of marine carbonoxygen cycle dynam-
As one of our objectives was to study biomarker distribu-
ics to show that our geochemical results are consistent with atmo-
tions within the Xiamaling sediments, most of our data come
spheric oxygen levels >4% of present-day levels. Therefore, in
from cores obtained with fresh water as drilling fluid. In some
contrast to previous suggestions, we show that there was sufficient
cases, we compared our inorganic geochemical results to
oxygen to fuel animal respiration long before the evolution of
animals themselves.
results obtained from outcrop samples, where the outer
weathered layer was first removed. Details of our sediment
sampling procedures and analytical methods are described in
atmosphere | Mesoproterozoic | oxygen minimum zone | trace metals | Supporting Information.
biomarkers
S S
S S
240
S
Si Si
2
Si Si
Si Si
260 Si Si
1392.2 1.0 Ma
Si Si
Si Si
Si Si
280 Si Si
3
Si Si
Si Si
Sii Si
300
Sii Si
4
Outcrop C18-TMAI
Core C19-TMAI
320
S
Green sandy mudstone Dark sandy mudstone Red sandy mudstone Brown marlstone K-Bentonite
Fig. 1. Geochemistry, biomarker, and C of kerogen for the Xiamaling Formation from the top of unit 4 to the bottom of unit 2. TOC, from both the core
13
and outcrop samples are presented. Data include both black shales and other sediment types like cherts. Vertical dotted lines represent concentration ratios
relative to crustal average (see Supporting Information and Tables S1 and S2).
Evidence for Bottom Water Oxygenation zones (OMZs) where anoxic waters overlay sediments, and in
In a zone from 260 to 300 m depth, shales with high total organic euxinic basins, V is enriched together with Mo and U (17, 21
carbon (TOC) alternate with low-TOC cherts (Fig. 1 and Fig. S2). 23). In summary, coenrichments of V, Mo, and U occur under
These sediments are distinct from the low-TOC sediments de- anoxic water column conditions, whereas V release from sedi-
posited below this interval and the intermediate-TOC sediments ments only occurs under bottom water oxygenation (see Sup-
deposited above. The high-TOC zone is best expressed in out- porting Information for further discussion).
crop samples, due to the low sample recovery of shales during Thus, trace metal patterns demonstrate bottom water oxy-
coring (Fig. 1). The alteration between the high-TOC shales and genation during deposition of unit 3 of the Xiamaling Forma-
low-TOC cherts likely represents orbitally forced changes in tion. Our results complement a previous study from the 1,410 Ma
trade wind intensity, as this influenced the strength of coastal Kaltasy Formation, Volgo-Ural region, Russia, where Fe speci-
upwelling (16). ation and trace metal abundances (these sediments also indicate
The high-TOC shales within the high-TOC zone, and partic- V release relative to crustal average values) indicate bottom
water oxygenation in sediments deposited deeper than storm
ularly in the depth range of 270295 m, are enriched in the redox-
wave base (likely >150 m depth) (24).
sensitive elements molybdenum (Mo) and uranium (U) (Fig. 1
and Fig. S2) but are either depleted or unenriched in vanadium Evidence for an Oxygen Minimum Zone Setting
(V). The gray shales in this interval show small to negligible
The chemical environment of the Xiamaling Formation is fur-
enrichments in Mo and U, but, like the black shales, many also ther constrained by exploring the abundance of 2,3,6-trimethyl
show depletion in V. Our focus, however, will be on the geo- aryl isoprenoids (2,3,6-TMAI). These biomarkers are breakdown
chemical environment surrounding black shale deposition. In products of isorenieratane, whose precursors are isorenieratene
modern environments, V is commonly released from sediments and -isorenieratene, which are themselves carotenoid pigments
depositing under low-oxygen (but still oxygenated) conditions associated with brown strains of green sulfur bacteria (GSB)
(17, 18) and under normal bottom water oxygen levels where (Chlorobiaceae) (25). These organisms are obligate anaerobic
oxygen only penetrates a few millimeters into the sediment. phototrophs that frequent modern and ancient sulfidic (and likely
Vanadate is transported to sediments as the vanadate ion also ferruginous) water columns, using the oxidation of sulfide and
[H2V(VI)O4] adsorbed onto Mn oxides. The vanadate ion is re- ferrous iron to gain energy for building cell biomass (2630). El-
leased as the Mn oxides are reduced to Mn2+ (18), and, where evated abundances of 2,3,6-TMAIs (Fig. 1 and Figs. S3 and S4)
oxygen is limiting, Mn oxides do not readily reform at the suggest that phototrophic low-light-adapted GSB populations oc-
sediment surface (1820), allowing vanadate to escape to the cupied the Xiamaling water column during much of unit 3 de-
overlying water. position. Thus, biomarker evidence, combined with trace metal
Vanadate is also released into anoxic waters following Mn dynamics, suggest that unit 3 of the Xiamaling Formation de-
oxide reduction, but in the absence of oxygen, the vanadate is posited in a true OMZ setting with deep oxygenated water
reduced to the vanadyl form [V(IV)O2+] (18). This form is highly overlain by anoxic water with either H2S or Fe2+ in the photic zone.
surface-reactive and removed to the sediment together with There is some evidence, however, that -isorenieratane can
vanadyl ions formed from vanadate ions transported across the form from the late diagenetic aromatization of partially hydro-
chemocline into the anoxic waters. Thus, in oxygen minimum genated -carotene (31), with the -carotene sourced from algae
EARTH, ATMOSPHERIC,
OMZ is approximated by calculating the so-called water age,
matches the burial flux of organic matter into Xiamaling For-
which is assessed as the volume of water confined within adjacent
mation sediments as constrained from precise sediment chro-
layers of constant density (isopycnal surfaces) ratioed by the flux
nology and sediment TOC content, which varies from 10 wt% to
of water into this volume (34). The shortest water ages give the
20 wt% in the black shales (Fig. 1). The rate of oxygen respira-
lowest estimates for atmospheric oxygen (see below), and these
tion at this depth is then combined with the appropriate water
are found in the South Atlantic, with ages of 56 y in the upper age for the depth to give the total amount of oxygen respired.
100 m of the water column, increasing to about 25 y by 400 m Atmospheric oxygen values are calculated from this amount of
water depth (34). In contrast, water ages in the North Pacific respired oxygen assuming water saturation with the atmosphere at
range from 720 y in the upper 100 m to well over 100 y by 400 m the temperature corresponding to the diagnosed water depth, where
we use the average temperaturedepth distribution as found in the
tropical to subtropical South Atlantic (see Supporting Information).
The Xiamaling Formation formed during a prolonged ice-free pe-
Thermocline oxic
riod of Earth history, and ocean temperatures during this time may
have been higher than those in the modern ocean. Higher tem-
anoxic peratures ultimately yield higher estimates of atmospheric O2, as
T1
explored below, so focusing on present-day temperatures provides a
T2 conservative minimum estimate of atmospheric O2 concentration.
Our estimates of atmospheric O2 are also minimum values, as our
oxic calculation of oxygen levels does not account for excess oxygen in
the water as required by the geochemical data.
An example of model results is shown in Fig. 3 AC. These
results were generated with a Xiamaling Formation TOC con-
tent of 15 wt%, organic reactivity from the combined sediment
Fig. 2. Cartoon representation of our oxygen respiration model. The car-
trap data, and water age and temperature depth distributions for
toon shows the origin of OMZ water at the thermocline, and its transit to the
OMZ along layers of constant density t. The cartoon also shows how both
the South Atlantic (Supporting Information). Within the most
the flux of organic carbon and its respiration rate attenuate with depth in likely Mesoproterozoic ranges of new production and particle
the water column. Finally, the cartoon shows our convergence criteria where settling rates (as shown in the outlined box in Fig. 3 AC), and
depth is determined by matching the TOC flux through the water column for water depths of >100 m (dotted lines in Fig. 3 A and B), as
with the TOC burial flux in Xiamaling Formation sediments. is likely for the Xiamaling Formation depositional environment,
Zhang et al. PNAS | February 16, 2016 | vol. 113 | no. 7 | 1733
A 2 80
D 10090
10
1.8 20
12
1.6
18 20 2
1.4
14
70
16
Atmospheric2 O2 (%PAL)
1.2 15
40
80
1 60
30
10
2
0.8 70
26
5
AOU (M)
50
0.6 60
40
40 50 0
0.4 0 5 10 15
40
100
50 60 0
30
30
0.2 20
8
20
10 10
Low latitude
0.1 0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
( )
B 2
1.8
30
E 100
20
4
1.6
5
1.4 90
6
10 25 15
7
1.2
8
80
Atmospheric O2 (%PAL)
Atmospheric O2 2 (%PAL)
12
1
New production (xPL)
10
atmos. O (% PAL)
70
15
0.8
20
5
0.6 60
0
15
15 50
0.4 0 5 10 15
40
20
10
30
30
50 60
0.2
20
5
10
Combined
0.1 0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
o (yr)
C 2
1.8
0
F 100
600
10
1.6
400
1.2
Atmospheric O2 (%PAL) 80
New production (xPL)
1
5
400
atmos. O2 (% PAL)
0.8 70
0.6 60
600
0
10
50
0 5 10 15
0
0.4
800 40
80
30
60
1000
0.2 20
1200
10
High latitude
0.1 1400 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
(yr)
Settling velocity (x PL) to0 (yr)
Fig. 3. (A) Calculated minimum oxygen utilization (AOU) for water masses circulating to oxygenated waters beneath the anoxic portion of an OMZ. This
calculation is calibrated to a Xiamaling Formation organic carbon burial flux calculated from 15 wt% TOC, with organic matter reactivity as calculated from
the mean of all sediment trap data, and a temperaturedepth distribution as for the present tropical Atlantic Ocean. The black box outlines new production
rates ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 times present values (xPL), with the present value as observed in the equatorial Atlantic (Supporting Information), and particle
settling rates between 1 md1 and 6 md1 (they are presented as a fraction, xPL-present level, of the diagnosed particle settling rates from the sediment trap
data as described in Supporting Information). The dotted line indicates the solutions for the 100 m depth contour. (B) Values of AOU converted to percent
present atmospheric oxygen levels (%PAL) assuming water saturation with air at the temperature for the water depth diagnosed in the calculation. (C) Water
depths diagnosed by matching the particle settling flux with the burial flux of organic matter into Xiamaling Formation sediments. The stippled line rep-
resents water depths of less than 100 m, which we consider unlikely given the deep-water depositional setting of the Xiamaling Formation. (D) Sensitivity
analyses depicting the high and low oxygen estimates for a series of calculations with variable water residence times (o) assuming low organic matter re-
activity as found in modern low latitudes. Calculations with the present-day temperaturedepth distributions are shown in blue shades, and calculations with
this temperature profile +10 C are shown in brown. A large overlap is observed. The darkened area outlines the most likely range of water ages. (E) As in D,
but assuming organic matter reactivity from the combined sediment trap data. (F) As in D, but assuming high organic matter reactivity as found in modern
high latitudes. See Constraining Atmospheric Oxygen Levels and Figs. S5S8 and Tables S3S7 for details.
our calculations show oxygen consumption of between about Information). Higher organic matter reactivity (Fig. 3F) produces
21 M and 40 M, translating into minimum atmospheric oxygen higher oxygen estimates, whereas lower reactivity (Fig. 3D)
levels of 815% PAL. produces lower estimates.
Variations in water age, organic matter reactivity, and tem- With a water age of 10 y, minimum oxygen estimates range
perature will change these results, as shown in a series of sen- from 1.3% PAL (low reactivity, high latitude, Fig. 3D) to 6.2%
sitivity analyses (Fig. 3 DF). Here we document high and low PAL (high reactivity, low latitude, Fig. 3F) with 3.8% PAL for
estimates of atmospheric oxygen with variations in water agedepth the combined data (Fig. 3E). As temperature is considered the
distributions (Supporting Information), temperature (present day prime variable controlling the latitudinal distribution of organic
and +10 C), and organic matter reactivity as revealed in the high, matter reactivities, and because the Xiamaling Formation de-
low, and combined sediment trap data. Higher water tempera- posited in a low-latitude setting, we favor the model results from
tures, as might be expected during this apparently ice-free time the combined or low-latitude reactivities. Therefore, our sensi-
in Earth history, yield higher estimates for minimum atmo- tivity analysis reveals 3.86.2% PAL as a likely minimum atmo-
spheric oxygen levels, whereas lower water ages yield lower es- spheric oxygen level, whereas 1.3% PAL is an unlikely but possible
timates. We view 10 y as a conservative minimum water age; this minimum estimate.
is less than or equal to the water age found in the modern open Our most likely minimum estimate of 3.86.2% PAL is very dif-
ocean at water depths of >100 m, and similar to or less than ferent from the <0.1% PAL oxygen suggested for this time from Cr
those found in modern semienclosed basins (see Supporting isotope results (11). This result arises, ultimately, from a general lack
1. Canfield DE (2014) Oxygen: A Four Billion Year History (Princeton Univ Press, 26. Overmann J (1992) Phylum BXI. Chlorobi phy. nov. Family I. Chlorobiaceae Green
Princeton, NJ). sulfur bacteria. Bergeys Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, eds Boone DR,
2. Pavlov AA, Kasting JF (2002) Mass-independent fractionation of sulfur isotopes in Castenholz RW, Garrity GM (Springer, New York), 2nd Ed, Vol I, pp 601604.
Archean sediments: Strong evidence for an anoxic Archean atmosphere. Astrobiology 27. Repeta DJ (1993) A high-resolution historical record of Holocene anoxygenic primary
2(1):2741. production in the Black Sea. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 57(17):43374342.
3. Berner RA, Canfield DE (1989) A new model for atmospheric oxygen over Phanerozoic 28. Brocks JJ, et al. (2005) Biomarker evidence for green and purple sulphur bacteria in a
time. Am J Sci 289(4):333361. stratified Palaeoproterozoic sea. Nature 437(7060):866870.
4. Berner RA (2006) GEOCARBSULF: A combined model for Phanerozoic atmospheric O2 29. Widdel F, et al. (1993) Ferrous iron oxidation by anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria.
and CO2. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 70(23):56535664. Nature 362:834835.
5. Bergman NM, Lenton TM, Watson AJ (2004) COPSE: A new model of biogeochemical 30. Crowe SA, et al. (2008) Photoferrotrophs thrive in an Archean Ocean analogue. Proc
cycling over Phanerozoic time. Am J Sci 304(5):397437. Natl Acad Sci USA 105(41):1593815943.
6. Erwin DH, Valentine JW (2013) The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal 31. Koopmans MP, Schouten S, Kohnen MEL, Damste JSS (1996) Restricted utility of aryl
Biodiversity (Roberts and Co, Greenwood Village, CO). isoprenoids as indicators for photic zone anoxia. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 60(23):
7. dos Reis M, et al. (2015) Uncertainty in the timing of origin of animals and the limits 48734876.
of precision in molecular timescales. Curr Biol 25(22):29392950. 32. Canfield DE, Kristensen E, Thamdrup B (2005) Aquatic Geomicrobiology (Academic,
8. Nursall JR (1959) Oxygen as a prerequisite to the origin of the metazoa. Nature San Diego).
183(4669):11701172. 33. Luyten JR, Pedlosky J, Stommel H (1983) The ventilated thermocline. J Phys Oceanogr
9. Berkner LV, Marshall LC (1965) On the origin and rise of oxygen concentration in the 13(2):292309.
Earths atmosphere. J Atmos Sci 22(3):225261. 34. Karstensen J, Stramma L, Visbeck M (2008) Oxygen minimum zones in the eastern
10. Mills DB, Canfield DE (2014) Oxygen and animal evolution: Did a rise of atmospheric tropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Prog Oceanogr 77(4):331350.
oxygen trigger the origin of animals? BioEssays 36(12):11451155. 35. Canfield DE (2014) Proterozoic atmospheric oxygen. The AtmosphereHistory,
EARTH, ATMOSPHERIC,
levels and the delayed rise of animals. Science 346(6209):635638. 197216.
12. Mills DB, et al. (2014) Oxygen requirements of the earliest animals. Proc Natl Acad Sci 36. Logan GA, Hayes JM, Hieshima GB, Summons RE (1995) Terminal Proterozoic re-
USA 111(11):41684172. organization of biogeochemical cycles. Nature 376(6535):5356.
13. Sperling EA, et al. (2013) Oxygen, ecology, and the Cambrian radiation of animals. 37. Guidi L, et al. (2009) Effects of phytoplankton community on production, size and export
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110(33):1344613451. of large aggregates: A world-ocean analysis. Limnol Oceanogr 54(6):19511963.
14. Zhang SH, et al. (2012) Pre-Rodinia supercontinent Nuna shaping up: A global syn- 38. Richardson TL, Jackson GA (2007) Small phytoplankton and carbon export from the
thesis with new paleomagnetic results from North China. Earth Planet Sci Lett 353: surface ocean. Science 315(5813):838840.
145155. 39. Marsay CM, et al. (2015) Attenuation of sinking particulate organic carbon flux
15. Meng QR, Wei HH, Qu YQ, Ma SX (2011) Stratigraphic and sedimentary records of the through the mesopelagic ocean. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112(4):10891094.
rift to drift evolution of the northern North China craton at the Paleo- to Meso- 40. Frei R, Gaucher C, Poulton SW, Canfield DE (2009) Fluctuations in Precambrian at-
proterozoic transition. Gondwana Res 20(1):205218. mospheric oxygenation recorded by chromium isotopes. Nature 461(7261):250253.
16. Zhang S, et al. (2015) Orbital forcing of climate 1.4 billion years ago. Proc Natl Acad 41. Crowe SA, et al. (2013) Atmospheric oxygenation three billion years ago. Nature
Sci USA 112(12):E1406E1413. 501(7468):535538.
17. Nameroff TJ, Balistrieri LS, Murray JW (2002) Suboxic trace metal geochemistry in the 42. Butterfield NJ (2011) Animals and the invention of the Phanerozoic Earth system.
eastern tropical North Pacific. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 66(7):11391158. Trends Ecol Evol 26(2):8187.
18. Emerson SR, Huested SS (1991) Ocean anoxia and the concentrations of molybdenum 43. Gao LZ, et al. (2008) Mesoproterozoic age for Xiamaling Formation in North China
and vanadium in seawater. Mar Chem 34(3-4):177196. Plate indicated by zircon SHRIMP dating. Chin Sci Bull 53(17):26652671.
19. Morford JL, Emerson SR, Breckel EJ, Kim SH (2005) Diagenesis of oxyanions (V, U, Re, 44. US Geological Survey (1997) Reference material BCR-2: Basalt Columbia River. Available
and Mo) in pore waters and sediments from a continental margin. Geochim at crustal.usgs.gov/geochemical_reference_standards/basaltbcr2.html. Accessed October
Cosmochim Acta 69(21):50215032. 2015.
20. Morford JL, Emerson S (1999) The geochemistry of redox sensitive trace metals in 45. US Geological Survey (1997) Reference material CLB-1: Coal, Lower Bakerstown. Avail-
sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 63(11-12):17351750. able at crustal.usgs.gov/geochemical_reference_standards/coal.html. Accessed October
21. Scholz F, et al. (2011) Early diagenesis of redox-sensitive trace metals in the Peru 2015.
upwelling areaResponse to ENSO-related oxygen fluctuations in the water column. 46. US Geological Survey (2014) Reference material SGR-1b: Oil shale, Green river shale.
Geochim Cosmochim Acta 75(22):72577276. Available at crustal.usgs.gov/geochemical_reference_standards/shale.html#certinfo. Ac-
22. Brumsack HJ (2006) The trace metal content of recent organic carbon-rich sediments: cessed October 2015.
Implications for Cretaceous black shale formation. Palaeogeogr Palaeocl 232(2-4): 47. National Research Council of Canada (1997) Reference material PACS-2: Harbour
344361. Sediment. Available at www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/advisory/crm/certificates/
23. Piper DZ, Dean WE (2002) Trace-Element Deposition in the Cariaco Basin, Venezuela hiss_1_mess_3_pacs_2.html. Accessed October 2013.
Shelf, Under Sulfate-Reducing ConditionsA History of the Local Hydrography and 48. Lenniger M, Nohr-Hansen H, Hills LV, Bjerrum CJ (2014) Arctic black shale formation
Global Climate, 20 Ka to the Present (US Geol Surv, Washington, DC). during Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. Geology 42(9):799802.
24. Sperling EA, et al. (2014) Redox heterogeneity of subsurface waters in the Meso- 49. Dahl TW, et al. (2013) Tracing euxinia by molybdenum concentrations in sediments
proterozoic ocean. Geobiology 12(5):373386. using handheld X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (HHXRF). Chem Geol 360-361:
25. Brocks JJ, Summons RE (2004) Sedimentary hydrocarbons, biomarkers for early life. 241251.
Biogeochemistry, Treatise on Geochemistry, eds Holland HD, Turekian KK (Elsevier, 50. Rasmussen B, Fletcher IR, Brocks JJ, Kilburn MR (2008) Reassessing the first appear-
Amsterdam), Vol 8, pp 64115. ance of eukaryotes and cyanobacteria. Nature 455(7216):11011104.
Zhang et al. PNAS | February 16, 2016 | vol. 113 | no. 7 | 1735
51. Luo GM, Hallmann C, Xie SC, Ruan XY, Summons RE (2015) Comparative microbial 62. Key RM, et al. (2004) A global ocean carbon climatology: Results from Global Data
diversity and redox environments of black shale and stromatolite facies in the Mes- Analysis Project (GLODAP). Global Biogeochem Cycles 18(4):GB4031.
oproterozoic Xiamaling Formation. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 151:150167. 63. Lschen H (2004) Vergleichende anorganisch-geochemische Untersuchungen an
52. Boning P, et al. (2004) Geochemistry of Peruvian near-surface sediments. Geochim phanerozoischen Corg-reichen Sedimenten: Ein Beitrag zur Charakterisierung ihrer
Cosmochim Acta 68(21):44294451. Fazies. PhD dissertation (Univ Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany).
53. Lamborg CH, et al. (2008) The flux of bio- and lithogenic material associated with 64. Calvert SE, Pedersen TF, Karlin RE (2001) Geochemical and isotopic evidence for post-
sinking particles in the mesopelagic twilight zone of the northwest and North glacial palaeoceanographic changes in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia. Mar Geol
Central Pacific Ocean. Deep Sea Res Part II Top Stud Oceanogr 55(14-15):15401563. 174(1-4):287305.
54. Middelburg JJ (1989) A simple rate model for organic-matter decomposition in ma- 65. Dunne JP, Sarmiento JL, Gnanadesikan A (2007) A synthesis of global particle export
rine-sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 53(7):15771581. from the surface ocean and cycling through the ocean interior and on the seafloor.
55. Boudreau BP, Ruddick BR (1991) On a reactive continuum representation of organic Global Biogeochem Cycles 21(4):GB4006.
matter diagenesis. Am J Sci 291(5):507538. 66. Takahata N, Sano Y, Horigucut K, ShiraOand K, Ganio T (2008) Helium isotopes of
56. Arndt S, Regnier P, Godderis Y, Donnadieu Y (2011) GEOCLIM reloaded (v 1.0): A new seawater in the Japan Sea. J Oceanogr 64(2):293301.
coupled Earth system model for past climate change. Geosci. Model Dev. 4(2):451481. 67. Lee BS, Bullister JL, Murray JW, Sonnerup RE (2002) Anthropogenic chlorofluorocar-
57. Arndt S, et al. (2013) Quantifying the degradation of organic matter in marine sed- bons in the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Deep Sea Res Part I Oceanogr Res Pap
iments: A review and synthesis. Earth Sci Rev 123:5386. 49(5):895913.
58. Buesseler KO, et al. (2009) Thorium-234 as a tracer of spatial, temporal and vertical 68. Sarma V (2002) An evaluation of physical and biogeochemical processes regulating
variability in particle flux in the North Pacific. Deep Sea Res Part I Oceanogr Res Pap perennial suboxic conditions in the water column of the Arabian Sea. Global
56(7):11431167. Biogeochem Cyles 16(4):1082.
59. DeVries T, Deutsch C (2014) Large-scale variations in the stoichiometry of marine 69. Olson DB, Hitchcock GL, Fine RA, Warren BA (1993) Maintenance of the low-oxygen
organic matter respiration. Nat Geosci 7(12):890894. layer in the central Arabian Sea. Deep Sea Res Part II Top Stud Oceanogr 40(3):
60. Gamo T, et al. (2014) The Sea of Japan and its unique chemistry revealed by time- 673685.
series observations over the last 30 years. Monogr Environ. Earth Planets 2(1):122. 70. Sarma VVSS (2002) An evaluation of physical and biogeochemical processes regulat-
61. Rudnick RL (2004) Composition of the continental crust. The Crust, Treatise on ing the oxygen minimum zone in the water column of the Bay of Bengal. Global
Geochemistry, ed Rudnick RL (Elsevier, Amsterdam), Vol 3, pp 164. Biogeochem Cycles 16(4):1099.