Origin of sulfate in post-snowball-Earth oceans: river inputs vs. shelf-derived H 2 S.

A synthesis of global barite sulfate isotope data from approximately 635 million years ago, at the end of a global glaciation, undermines the hypothesis that river sulfate was the primary carrier of the distinctive 17O-depleted atmospheric O2 signature of the time. Instead, an aqueous H2S oxidation model on the shelf emerges as a compelling alternative, though it demands extensive validation across multiple fronts by the scientific community.
(© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd.)