Phosphorus (P) is critical to modern biochemical functions and can control ecosystem
growth. It was presumably important as a reagent in prebiotic chemistry. However, on the …

The Earth is the only known planet where plate tectonics is active, and different studies have
concluded that plate tectonics commenced at times from the early Hadean to 700 Ma. Many …

The lower plate is the dominant agent in modern convergent margins characterized by
active subduction, as negatively buoyant oceanic lithosphere sinks into the asthenosphere …

The secular trend of seawater strontium isotope ratio (87 Sr/86 Sr) reflects changes in the
relative contributions of continental versus mantle reservoirs to ocean composition, and …

The record of the continental lithosphere is patchy and incomplete; no known rock is older
than 4.02 Ga, and less than 5% of the rocks preserved are older than 3 Ga. In addition, there …

Earth exhibits a dichotomy in elevation and chemical composition between the continents
and ocean floor. Reconstructing when this dichotomy arose is important for understanding …

Paleogeographic reconstructions are important to understand Earth's tectonic evolution, past
eustatic and regional sea level change, paleoclimate and ocean circulation, deep Earth …

The Great Oxidation Event (GOE) is currently viewed as a protracted process during which
atmospheric oxygen increased above∼ 10− 5 times the present atmospheric level (PAL) …

The colonization of emergent continental landmass by microbial life was an evolutionary
step of paramount importance in Earth history. Here we report direct fossil evidence for life …

Fungi have recently been found to comprise a significant part of the deep biosphere in
oceanic sediments and crustal rocks. Fossils occupying fractures and pores in Phanerozoic …