Tais will present isotope evidence for a brief oxygenation episode during the Cambrian explosion of animal life 520 Myr. The event reflects a reorganization of Earth’s global biogeochemical cycles driven by faster biological pump.
One explanation is that animals themselves accelerated the transport of organic matter out of the oceans and into the sediments; for example as a result of creating larger faecal pellets, due to the evolution of larger body size amongst animals in the pelagic zone of the ocean.
The presentation is given in session 12b Monday 11.15-11:30.