Biogeochemical Transformations in the History of the Ocean

The ocean has undergone several profound biogeochemical transformations in its 4-billion-year history, and these were an integral part of the coevolution of life and the planet. This review focuses on changes in ocean redox state as controlled by changes in biological activity, nutrient concentrations, and atmospheric O2. Motivated by disparate interpretations of available geochemical data, we aim to show how quantitative modeling—spanning microbial mats, shelf seas, and the open ocean—can help constrain past ocean biogeochemical redox states and show what caused transformations between them. We outline key controls on ocean redox structure and review pertinent proxies and their interpretation. We then apply this quantitative framework to three key questions: How did the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis transform ocean biogeochemistry? How did the Great Oxidation transform ocean biogeochemistry? And how was ocean biogeochemistry transformed in the Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic?