Global marine redox changes drove the rise and fall of the Ediacara biota.

ABSTRACT: The role of O₂ in the evolution of early animals, as represented by some members of the Ediacara biota, has been heavily debated because current geochemical evidence paints a conflicting picture regarding global marine O₂ levels during key intervals of the rise and fall of the Ediacara biota. Fossil evidence indicates that the diversification the Ediacara biota occurred during or shortly after the Ediacaran Shuram negative C-isotope Excursion (SE), which is often interpreted to reflect ocean oxygenation. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding ocean oxygen levels during the SE and the middle Ediacaran Period. To help resolve this debate, we examined U isotope variations (δ²³⁸ U) in three carbonate sections from South China, Siberia, and USA that re

SUBMITTER: Zhang F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6899691 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature