Evolutionary dynamics of redox-sensitive minerals reveal details and possible regulatory mechanisms of Earth's oxygenation events

Understanding the co-evolution of redox-sensitive minerals is crucial for unraveling Earth's oxygenation history. In this study, we used a global-scale mineralogical dataset encompassing 12,141 samples of both the primary and secondary minerals containing manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr) and cerium (Ce), and 18,777 samples of primary phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) minerals. By developing mathematical models of evolutionary dynamics, we quantified the time lag between changes in the atmospheric oxygen level (pO(2)) and the corresponding response in the evolution of these minerals. The analysis revealed that the evolutionary time lag sequence of high-valent Mn, Ce, Mo and Cr minerals after 2.4 Ga, aligns with the thermodynamic sequence of oxidation reactions, with Mn and Ce minerals displaying the most rapid dynamic response, followed by Mo and Cr minerals (denoted as Mn-IV>Ce-IV>Mo-VI>Cr-VI). All minerals maintained active and continuous evolution throughout the period of orogenic quiescence from 1.8 to 0.8 Ga, but have two depositional discontinuities during the Great Oxidation Event (the GOE) and the Neoproterozoic Oxidation Event (the NOE) (C, P minerals had a depositional slowdown at around the NOE). The collective missing of mineralogical records pointed to the rapid evolution of the Earth's internal and external environment, and is possibly caused by a sharp decrease in material input (such as the tectono-magmatic lull or slowdown) or strong secondary alterations at around the GOE and the NOE. The quantitative analysis on the evolutionary dynamics of redox-sensitive minerals may contribute to refining proxies that constrain the evolving redox state of deep-time Earth.