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January 27, 2026Geophysical Research Letters0 citationsOpen Access

Mid‐Proterozoic Transient Oxygenation Events Linked to Enhanced Continental Chemical Weathering: Evidence From Carbonate Lithium Isotopes

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LXLei XuXSXiaoying ShiPSPhilip A. E. Pogge von Strandmann

Key Points

  • The research aims to explore the relationship between continental chemical weathering and mid-Proterozoic ocean oxygenation events.
  • Examined lithium isotopes in carbonates from the Tieling Formation, North China
  • Identified seawater δ7Li patterns indicating weathering effects
  • Utilized a dynamic box model to assess changes in riverine Li influx and isotopic composition
  • Observed two negative excursions in seawater δ7Li values linked to increased continental chemical weathering
  • Calculated a 2.5-fold rise in riverine lithium influx and a decrease in riverine δ7Li by 6‰ as key drivers
  • Proposed that enhanced weathering provided nutrients that boosted primary productivity, contributing to oxygenation.

Abstract

Abstract Potential drivers disrupting mid‐Proterozoic (∼1.8–0.8 Ga) environmental stasis remain poorly constrained. Here we examined carbonate Li isotopes from the ∼1.44 Ga Tieling Formation, North China, to evaluate the effects of continental chemical weathering on coeval oxygenation. Our results identify two negative excursions in seawater δ 7 Li values, suggesting enhanced continental chemical weathering. Applying a dynamic box model, we demonstrate that 2.5‐fold increase in riverine Li influx coupled with decrease in riverine δ 7 Li by 6‰ can generate the observed data pattern. Intermittently enhanced continental chemical weathering could have delivered elevated nutrients to the ocean, stimulating primary productivity and thus organic carbon burial, favoring the ∼1.44 Ga oxygenation event.

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Cite This Study

Xu et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/697854bcccb046adae516ea9https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl119617
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