Hidden store of manganese may have helped Earth get its oxygen

 

Image courtesy of Claus Lunau/Science Photo Library.

Joel Kontinen

Computer simulations have uncovered a new manganese compound that could exist deep in Earth’s mantle and may be connected to the process that gave our atmosphere oxygen.

When did the Earth get its oxygen? According to a new study, it may have got it from manganese that may have been present deep before in the Earth’s mantle.  Some evolutionists believe that manganese was present in the early stages of the Earth’s history.

Deep below our feet, manganese may exist in a form we have never seen before, and this underground source of the metal could have played a role in the story of how Earth got its oxygen.

Until about 2 billion years ago, Earth’s atmosphere barely contained any oxygen. Then came the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) when oxygen produced by photosynthesizing microbes started to accumulate, spurring development of more diverse forms of life and changing the planet.

Manganese is thought to have been a crucial component in an early version of photosynthesis, before the evolution of the oxygen-producing pathway that is widespread today. In Earth’s crust, manganese is commonly found in oxygen-containing ores, which started to accumulate at around the same time as the GOE.

Source:

 Karmela Padavic-Callaghan 2026 Hidden store of manganese may have helped Earth get its oxygen | New Scientist 2 June