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The Rise of Oxygen and the Hydrogen HourglassOxygenic photosynthesis appears to be necessary for an oxygen-rich atmosphere like Earth's. But available geological and geochemical evidence suggest that at least 200 Myr, and possibly more than 700 Myr, elapsed between the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis and the establishment of an oxygen atmosphere. The interregnum implies that at least one other necessary condition for O2 needed to be met. Here we argue that the second condition was the oxidation of the surface and crust to the point where O2 became more stable than competing reduced gases such as CH4. The cause of Earth's surface oxidation would be the same cause as it is for other planets with oxidized surfaces: hydrogen escape to space. The duration of the interregnum would have been determined by the rate of hydrogen escape and by the size of the reduced reservoir that needed to be oxidized before O2 became favored. We suggest that continental growth has been influenced by hydrogen escape, and we speculate that, if there must be an external bias to biological evolution, hydrogen escape can be that bias.
Document ID
20140010682
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Zahnle, Kevin (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Catling, David C. (Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Claire, Mark W. (Queens Coll. Scotland, United Kingdom)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2014
Publication Date
August 20, 2013
Publication Information
Publisher: Elsevier
Subject Category
Geosciences (General)
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN11382
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX10AQ90G
WBS: WBS 811073.02.12.03.33.02
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
atmospheric evolution
hydrogen escape
oxygenation

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