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Discovery of 3,775-year-old preserved log supports ‘wood vaulting’ as a climate solution

A University of Maryland-led study found that burying wood in the right environmental conditions can stop its decomposition and help curb carbon dioxide emissions. The researchers analyzed a 3,775-year-old log and surrounding soil, revealing that it had lost less than 5% carbon dioxide thanks to the low-permeability clay soil.

SourceUniversity of Maryland·JournalScience·TypeExperimental study·DateSep 27, 2024

Sleeping giant could end deep ocean life

A new study by researchers at University of California - Riverside found that the position of continents can have a devastating effect on deep ocean creatures. Continental movement can cause a sudden collapse in global water circulation, leading to a stark separation between oxygen levels in the upper and lower depths.

SourceUniversity of California - Riverside·JournalNature·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateAug 17, 2022

Massive carbon emission caused marine anoxia and biodiversity loss 304 million years ago

A recent study reveals that massive carbon emission during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age led to anoxic areal extent equivalent to 20% of the seafloor and significant biodiversity loss. The research team used geochemical signals, sedimentology, and climate modeling to simulate the effects of a 300,000-year warming event.

SourceChinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateMay 5, 2022

Carbon, climate change and ocean anoxia in an ancient icehouse world

A new study describes a period of rapid global warming in an ice-capped world 304 million years ago, resulting in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels doubling and oceans becoming anoxic. Biodiversity dropped on land and at sea, with about 23% of the seafloor worldwide becoming anoxic dead zones.

SourceUniversity of California - Davis·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·TypeExperimental study·DateMay 2, 2022

Origin of complex cells started without oxygen

Eukaryotes emerged in an anoxic environment in the ocean, and their mitochondria-bearing cells likely resulted from a merger between archaea and bacteria. This finding contradicts the long-held view that oxygenation of Earth's surface environment led to eukaryogenesis.

SourceUniversity of Exeter·JournalNature Ecology & Evolution·TypeLiterature review·DateApr 27, 2022

Why extinctions ran amok in ancient oceans, and why they slowed down

A new Stanford University study suggests that rising oxygen levels may have slowed down ancient ocean extinctions. The research found that oxygen levels beyond 40% of present atmospheric levels expanded viable ocean habitat and reduced extinction rates. This discovery has implications for understanding the fate of ocean creatures in to...

SourceStanford University·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateOct 4, 2021

Changing resilience of oceans to climate change

A recent study found that ancient oceans were more resilient to climate change than previously thought, with limited expansion of seafloor anoxia during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum. However, current human activities are expected to drive more rapid and expansive oxygen loss due to higher carbon emissions and nutrient pollution.

SourceUniversity of Exeter·JournalNature Communications·DateJan 15, 2021

Oceans without oxygen

Researchers have discovered that ocean anoxic zones, which lack dissolved oxygen, are teeming with life and play a crucial role in the Earth's carbon cycle. The study found that microbes can still eat organic carbon but respiring sulfate, known as cryptic sulfur cycling, leading to more organic carbon deposits in sediments.

UNM scientists find widespread ocean anoxia as cause for past mass extinction

A team of researchers led by Maya Elrick found that a global marine anoxic event occurred during the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction, which lasted for at least 1 million years and coincided with the extinction of 85% of marine life. The study suggests that low oxygen concentrations in the ocean were a major driver of the mass extinction.

SourceUniversity of New Mexico·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateMay 21, 2018

Jurassic drop in ocean oxygen lasted a million years

Scientists from the University of Exeter found that a 183 million-year-old oceanic oxygen depletion event ended after one million years due to increased atmospheric oxygen and rising fire activity. This study highlights the critical need to limit carbon emissions to prevent future anoxic events in the modern ocean.

SourceUniversity of Exeter·JournalNature Communications·DateMay 12, 2017

Conundrum of missing iron in oxygen minimum zones solved

A international research team has discovered a new biogeochemical process that explains the removal of dissolved iron from seawater in oxygen minimum zones. This process, which involves the reaction of iron with nitrate instead of oxygen, is essential for understanding nutrient availability and carbon fixation in the oceans.

SourceHelmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)·JournalEarth and Planetary Science Letters·DateOct 28, 2016

Maternal instincts

A study on Caenorhabditis elegans reveals that mothers who experienced normoxic conditions early on tend to provision their young with more glycogen, equipping the embryos with tools to survive oxygen deprivation. This adaptation leads to improved hatchability and survival rates in offspring.

Peat soils as gigantic batteries

Researchers discovered that peat soils can act like gigantic batteries, using humic substances to accept electrons under anoxic conditions. When oxygen enters, these substances release electrons to oxygen, thereby regenerating their capacity to accept electrons and suppressing methane formation.

SourceETH Zurich·JournalNature Geoscience·DateFeb 28, 2014

New technique unlocks secrets of ancient ocean

Researchers from Arizona State University developed a new geochemical technique to study the Earth's largest mass extinction event. The study found that the period of oceanic anoxia was much shorter than previously estimated, occurring at most tens of thousands of years before the extinction event.

SourceArizona State University·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateOct 10, 2011

Oxygen's challenge to early life

Researchers found evidence of oxygen-poor ocean conditions lasting 2-4 million years after the first appearance of animals, suggesting fluctuating oxygen levels may have driven rapid evolutionary turnover during the Cambrian Period. This study provides new insights into how early life evolved and flourished on Earth.

Small fish exploits forbidding environment

A new species of small fish, the bearded goby, has been found to eat jellyfish and thrive in an oxygen-depleted zone off the coast of southwest Africa. This unexpected predator-prey relationship puts jellyfish back into the food cycle.

SourcePenn State·JournalScience·DateJul 15, 2010

First animals to live without oxygen discovered

Researchers have discovered small animals in the Mediterranean Sea that live their entire lives without oxygen and reproduce despite a complete absence of oxygen. These multicellular organisms possess organelles resembling hydrogenosomes found in anaerobic environments, challenging our current understanding of life on Earth.

SourceBMC (BioMed Central)·JournalBMC Biology·DateApr 7, 2010

April 2010 Geology and GSA Today highlights

Recent studies have shed new light on explosive volcanic eruptions in the ocean, a 300-million-year-old forest from the Andes, and innovative methods for dating sedimentary rocks. Researchers have discovered a unique eruption style dubbed 'Poseidic,' characterized by uninterrupted magma ascent, while fossil evidence supports an ecologi...

SourceGeological Society of America·JournalGeology·DateMar 25, 2010

The carbon cycle before humans

Researchers studied organic carbon-rich sediments from an ancient seabed to learn about a devastating event when oxygen levels in the oceans dropped so low that one-third of marine life died. The studies found that volcanic activity triggered a biogeochemical cascade, leading to a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

SourceNorthwestern University·JournalNature Geoscience·DateFeb 16, 2010