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Palaeobiology

Sea change in sediments

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Earth's oxygen levels increased slowly over a long and ill-defined transitional period around two billion years ago. A microbial ‘footprint’ from this era provides biological evidence to complement existing geological data.

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Figure 1: Life on Earth through the ages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exobiology Branch and the NASA Astrobiology Institute, MS 239-4, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, 94035-1000, California, USA

    David J. Des Marais

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  1. David J. Des Marais
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Marais, D. Sea change in sediments. Nature 437, 826–827 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/437826b

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