Timing and tempo of the Great Oxidation Event

The first significant buildup in atmospheric oxygen, the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), began in the early Paleoproterozoic in association with global glaciations and continued until the end of the Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion ca. 2,060 Ma. The exact timing of and relationships among these events are debated because of poor age constraints and contradictory stratigraphic correlations. Here, we show that the first Paleoproterozoic global glaciation and the onset of the GOE occurred between ca. 2,460 and 2,426 Ma, ∼100 My earlier than previously estimated, based on an age of 2,426 ± 3 Ma for Ongeluk Formation magmatism from the Kaapvaal Craton of southern Africa. This age helps define a key paleomagnetic…

• NR
  National Research Foundation
• DO
  Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
• V
  Vetenskapsrådet

  Award: 621-2012-1860
• KF
  Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapet i Lund
• DC
  DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis