Phosphorus Prepared Earth For Complex Life And Could Be A Valuable Biosignature

When organisms evolved to use photosynthesis, it led to the Great Oxygenation Event, where free oxygen accumulated in Earth's atmosphere. The oxygen allowed complex life to evolve, but without pulses of phosphorus into Earth's oceans, there would've been no GOE and no complex life. Image Credit: ESA

A new study has revealed how phosphorus, a nutrient essential for photosynthesis, surged into ancient oceans and started Earth’s first major rise in atmospheric oxygen more than 2 billion years ago.

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