Enhanced phosphorus regeneration linked to Ediacaran ocean oxygenation

Dongtao Xu; Xinqiang Wang; Eva E. Stüeken; Weiming Xu; Zheng Qin; Jihua Hao; Xiaoying Shi; Dongjie Tang

doi:10.1038/s43247-025-02463-2

Enhanced phosphorus regeneration linked to Ediacaran ocean oxygenation

Dongtao Xu, Xinqiang Wang^*, Eva E. Stüeken, Weiming Xu, Zheng Qin, Jihua Hao, Xiaoying Shi, Dongjie Tang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Several pulses of ocean oxygenation events were recognized in the Ediacaran period. However, the intrinsic triggers behind them remain ambiguous. Here we report phosphorus speciation data from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, South China, to elucidate the role of recycled phosphorus in driving ocean oxygenation. High ratios of organic carbon to organic phosphorus in all samples relative to the Redfield ratio generally imply preferential release of phosphorus during the remineralization of organic matter. Notably, ratios of organic carbon to reactive phosphorus exceed the Redfield ratio during purported oxygenation intervals, but fall mostly below or close to the Redfield ratio in the rest of the section. Quantitative calculations suggest that enhanced benthic and water-column recycling created a phosphorus influx into the ocean that was comparable to or outpaced that of weathering input. Our study provides empirical evidence for untangling the mechanisms of the Ediacaran oxygenation.

Original language	English
Article number	486
Number of pages	7
Journal	Communications Earth & Environment
Volume	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02463-2
Publication status	Published - 20 Jun 2025

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title = "Enhanced phosphorus regeneration linked to Ediacaran ocean oxygenation",

abstract = "Several pulses of ocean oxygenation events were recognized in the Ediacaran period. However, the intrinsic triggers behind them remain ambiguous. Here we report phosphorus speciation data from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, South China, to elucidate the role of recycled phosphorus in driving ocean oxygenation. High ratios of organic carbon to organic phosphorus in all samples relative to the Redfield ratio generally imply preferential release of phosphorus during the remineralization of organic matter. Notably, ratios of organic carbon to reactive phosphorus exceed the Redfield ratio during purported oxygenation intervals, but fall mostly below or close to the Redfield ratio in the rest of the section. Quantitative calculations suggest that enhanced benthic and water-column recycling created a phosphorus influx into the ocean that was comparable to or outpaced that of weathering input. Our study provides empirical evidence for untangling the mechanisms of the Ediacaran oxygenation.",

author = "Dongtao Xu and Xinqiang Wang and St{\"u}eken, {Eva E.} and Weiming Xu and Zheng Qin and Jihua Hao and Xiaoying Shi and Dongjie Tang",

note = "Funding: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41930320), the Chinese 111 project (B20011), the Deep-time Digital Earth Science and Technology Leading Talents Team Funds for the Central Universities for the Frontiers Science Center for Deep-time Digital Earth, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (2652023001).",

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doi = "10.1038/s43247-025-02463-2",

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T1 - Enhanced phosphorus regeneration linked to Ediacaran ocean oxygenation

AU - Xu, Dongtao

AU - Wang, Xinqiang

AU - Stüeken, Eva E.

AU - Xu, Weiming

AU - Qin, Zheng

AU - Hao, Jihua

AU - Shi, Xiaoying

AU - Tang, Dongjie

N1 - Funding: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41930320), the Chinese 111 project (B20011), the Deep-time Digital Earth Science and Technology Leading Talents Team Funds for the Central Universities for the Frontiers Science Center for Deep-time Digital Earth, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (2652023001).

PY - 2025/6/20

Y1 - 2025/6/20

N2 - Several pulses of ocean oxygenation events were recognized in the Ediacaran period. However, the intrinsic triggers behind them remain ambiguous. Here we report phosphorus speciation data from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, South China, to elucidate the role of recycled phosphorus in driving ocean oxygenation. High ratios of organic carbon to organic phosphorus in all samples relative to the Redfield ratio generally imply preferential release of phosphorus during the remineralization of organic matter. Notably, ratios of organic carbon to reactive phosphorus exceed the Redfield ratio during purported oxygenation intervals, but fall mostly below or close to the Redfield ratio in the rest of the section. Quantitative calculations suggest that enhanced benthic and water-column recycling created a phosphorus influx into the ocean that was comparable to or outpaced that of weathering input. Our study provides empirical evidence for untangling the mechanisms of the Ediacaran oxygenation.

AB - Several pulses of ocean oxygenation events were recognized in the Ediacaran period. However, the intrinsic triggers behind them remain ambiguous. Here we report phosphorus speciation data from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, South China, to elucidate the role of recycled phosphorus in driving ocean oxygenation. High ratios of organic carbon to organic phosphorus in all samples relative to the Redfield ratio generally imply preferential release of phosphorus during the remineralization of organic matter. Notably, ratios of organic carbon to reactive phosphorus exceed the Redfield ratio during purported oxygenation intervals, but fall mostly below or close to the Redfield ratio in the rest of the section. Quantitative calculations suggest that enhanced benthic and water-column recycling created a phosphorus influx into the ocean that was comparable to or outpaced that of weathering input. Our study provides empirical evidence for untangling the mechanisms of the Ediacaran oxygenation.

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DO - 10.1038/s43247-025-02463-2

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SN - 2662-4435

VL - 6

JO - Communications Earth & Environment

JF - Communications Earth & Environment

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ER -

Enhanced phosphorus regeneration linked to Ediacaran ocean oxygenation

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