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Biogeochemistry

Oxygenating the atmosphere

Nature volume 410, pages 317–318 (2001)Cite this article

Photosynthesis is the main source of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. But it may have been geological activity that first allowed an oxygen-rich atmosphere to develop.

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Figure 1: Events near the end of the Archaean, around 2,500 million years ago, which led from an oxygen-depleted to an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

References

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  1. Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Norman H. Sleep

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  1. Norman H. Sleep
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Correspondence to Norman H. Sleep.

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Sleep, N. Oxygenating the atmosphere. Nature 410, 317–318 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35066664

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