Re-inventing the planet: the Neoproterozoic revolution in oxygenation, biogeochemistry and biological complexity

重新发明地球：氧合、生物地球化学和生物复杂性的新元古代革命

• 批准号: NE/I005935/1
• 负责人: Rachel Wood
• 金额: $ 2.19万
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2010 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FI005935%2F1
• 关键词: Re; inventing; planet; Neoproterozoic; revolution

The Earth is a truly remarkable planet. In addition to the physical processes driving plate tectonics, climate and ocean-atmospheric exchange, it supports an extraordinary diversity of living organisms, from microbes to mammals and everything in between. Such wasn't always the case, however, and it is clear that both the planet and its biosphere have evolved - indeed, co-evolved - over deep time. In the past two billion years, by far the most fundamental shift in this co-evolutionary process occurred during the Neoproterozoic (1000 to 542 million years ago), a planetary revolution that culminated in the modern Earth system. The Neoproterozoic begins with a biosphere populated almost exclusively by microbes, and ends in the midst of its greatest ever evolutionary radiation - including the diverse macroscopic and biomineralizing organisms that define the modern biosphere. At the same time, it witnessed the greatest climatic and biogeochemical perturbations that the planet has ever experienced, alongside major palaeogeographic reconfigurations and a deep ocean that is becoming oxygenated for the first time. There is no question that these phenomena are broadly interlinked, but the tangle of causes, consequences and co-evolutionary feedbacks has yet to be convincingly teased apart. In order to reconstruct the Neoproterozoic revolution, we propose a multidisciplinary programme of research that will capture its evolving geochemical and biological signatures in unprecedented detail. Most significantly, these collated data will be assessed and modeled in the context of a co-evolving Earth system, whereby developments in one compartment potentially facilitate and escalate those in another, sometimes to the extent of deriving entirely novel phenomena and co-evolutionary opportunities. Our approach will be guided by three general hypotheses, testable against accruing data and theory: H1) that the enhanced weathering associated with land-dwelling eukaryotes was initiated in the early Neoproterozoic leading to major environmental change, including extreme glaciations and stepwise increase(s) in atmospheric oxygen concentration; H2) that major environmental changes in the mid Neoproterozoic triggered the emergence of animals; and H3) that the late Neoproterozoic-Cambrian radiations of animals and biomineralization were themselves responsible for much of the accompanying biogeochemical perturbation. Primary data for this project will be assembled from field studies of key geological sections in the UK and North China, along with contributed sample sets from Namibia, Spitsbergen and various archived collections. Together, these offer close to comprehensive coverage of the Neoproterozoic - not least, spectacular new surfaces of Ediacaran macrofossils from Charnwood Forest. Collected samples will be analysed to assess associated weathering and climate (Sr, C, O and S isotopes), oceanic redox conditions (Fe speciation and trace metals), nutrient dynamics (P speciation and trace metals) and biological constituents (microfossils, macrofossils and biomarker molecules). These data will be integrated and interrogated through the development of heuristic, spatial and evolutionary models. Beyond its integrative approach, the strength of this proposal lies in the diversity of the contributing researchers. Alongside our own expertise in biogeochemistry, palaeobiology and Earth system modelling, we are very pleased to have attracted world-class project partners in Neoproterozoic stratigraphy, geochronology and biomarker analysis. Further insight will come from our contingent of two PDRAs and three PhD students working across the range of topics and linked via a schedule of regular team meetings. Taken together, we anticipate a fundamentally improved understanding of the Neoproterozoic Earth system and the co-evolutionary interplay between the biosphere and planet.

地球是一个非凡的星球。除了驱动板块构造、气候和海洋-大气交换的物理过程外，它还支持着生物的非凡多样性，从微生物到哺乳动物，以及介于两者之间的一切。然而，情况并非总是如此，很明显，地球和它的生物圈在很长的时间里都在进化——实际上是共同进化。在过去的20亿年里，这种共同进化过程中最根本的转变发生在新元古代（1000万至5.42亿年前），这是一场行星革命，在现代地球系统中达到顶峰。新元古代开始于一个几乎完全由微生物组成的生物圈，结束于它有史以来最大的进化辐射——包括定义现代生物圈的各种宏观生物和生物矿化生物。与此同时，它见证了地球有史以来最大的气候和生物地球化学扰动，以及重大的古地理重构和深海首次含氧化。毫无疑问，这些现象广泛地相互关联，但错综复杂的原因、后果和共同进化的反馈尚未得到令人信服的梳理。为了重建新元古代革命，我们提出了一个多学科的研究计划，将以前所未有的细节捕捉其演变的地球化学和生物特征。最重要的是，这些整理的数据将在共同进化的地球系统的背景下进行评估和建模，其中一个隔间的发展可能会促进和升级另一个隔间的发展，有时甚至会产生全新的现象和共同进化的机会。我们的方法将以三个一般假设为指导，根据积累的数据和理论进行验证：H1)与陆地真核生物相关的增强风化始于新元古代早期，导致主要的环境变化，包括极端冰期和大气氧浓度的逐步增加；H2)新元古代中期的重大环境变化引发了动物的出现；H3)新元古代-寒武纪晚期的动物辐射和生物矿化作用本身是伴随的生物地球化学扰动的主要原因。该项目的主要数据将来自对英国和华北地区关键地质剖面的实地研究，以及来自纳米比亚、斯匹次卑尔根岛和各种存档收藏品的贡献样本集。总的来说，这些提供了接近全面的新元古代覆盖范围——尤其是在查恩伍德森林发现的埃迪卡拉纪大化石的壮观新表面。收集到的样品将进行分析，以评估相关的风化和气候（Sr、C、O和S同位素）、海洋氧化还原条件（Fe物种形成和微量金属）、营养动力学（P物种形成和微量金属）和生物成分（微化石、宏观化石和生物标志物分子）。这些数据将通过启发式、空间和进化模型的发展进行整合和查询。除了它的综合方法，这个建议的力量在于贡献研究人员的多样性。除了我们在生物地球化学、古生物学和地球系统建模方面的专业知识外，我们很高兴在新元古代地层学、地质年代学和生物标志物分析方面吸引了世界级的项目合作伙伴。进一步的见解将来自我们的两名pdra和三名博士生组成的团队，他们在一系列主题上工作，并通过定期的团队会议安排进行联系。综上所述，我们期望从根本上提高对新元古代地球系统和生物圈与地球之间共同进化相互作用的理解。

项目成果

Dynamic anoxic ferruginous conditions during the end-Permian mass extinction and recovery.

• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12236
• 发表时间: 2016-07-19
• 期刊: Nature communications
• 影响因子: 16.6
• 作者: Clarkson MO;Wood RA;Poulton SW;Richoz S;Newton RJ;Kasemann SA;Bowyer F;Krystyn L
• 通讯作者: Krystyn L

Multiple branching and attachment structures in cloudinomorphs, Nama Group, Namibia

• DOI: 10.1130/g47447.1
• 发表时间: 2020-09-01
• 期刊: GEOLOGY
• 影响因子: 5.8
• 作者: Shore, Amy;Wood, Rachel;Bowyer, Frederick
• 通讯作者: Bowyer, Frederick

Modelling Ediacaran metazoan-microbial reef growth

模拟埃迪卡拉后生动物-微生物礁的生长

• DOI: 10.1111/sed.12832
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Sedimentology
• 影响因子: 3.5
• 作者: Curtis A

Assessing the utility of Fe/Al and Fe-speciation to record water column redox conditions in carbonate-rich sediments

• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2014.05.031
• 发表时间: 2014-08-29
• 期刊: CHEMICAL GEOLOGY
• 影响因子: 3.9
• 作者: Clarkson, M. O.;Poulton, S. W.;Wood, R. A.
• 通讯作者: Wood, R. A.

Low-oxygen waters limited habitable space for early animals.

• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12818
• 发表时间: 2016-09-23
• 期刊: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
• 影响因子: 16.6
• 作者: Tostevin, R.;Wood, R. A.;Shields, G. A.;Poulton, S. W.;Guilbaud, R.;Bowyer, F.;Penny, A. M.;He, T.;Curtis, A.;Hoffmann, K. H.;Clarkson, M. O.
• 通讯作者: Clarkson, M. O.