LAUSR

Significance Scientists have been working on the dating of atmospheric oxygenation in Earth’s history for decades. However, most previous studies relied on evidence from sedimentary rocks. Here, we show that igneous rocks can also be linked with surface oxidation by a key geological process: plate subduction. We here make an attempt to apply the Th/U of worldwide arc igneous rocks as an indicator for the timing of atmospheric oxygenation over the Earth’s history. The results are coincident with the previously defined Great Oxidation Event and Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event. Atmospheric oxygen has evolved from negligible levels in the Archean to the current level of about 21% through 2 major step rises: The Great Oxidation Event (GOE) in the early Proterozoic and the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event (NOE) during the late Proterozoic. However, most previous methods for constraining the time of atmospheric oxygenation have relied on evidence from sedimentary rocks. Here, we investigate the temporal variations of the Th/U of arc igneous rocks since 3.0 billion y ago (Ga) and show that 2 major Th/U decreases are recorded at ca. 2.35 Ga and ca. 0.75 Ga, coincident with the beginning of the GOE and NOE. The decoupling of U from Th is predominantly caused by the significant rise of atmospheric oxygen. Under an increasingly oxidized atmosphere condition, more uranium in the surface environment became oxidized from the water-insoluble U4+ to the water-soluble U6+ valance and incorporated in the sea water and altered oceanic crust. Eventually, the subduction of this altered oceanic crust produced the low-Th/U signature of arc igneous rocks. Therefore, the sharp decrease of Th/U in global arc igneous rocks may provide strong evidence for the rise of atmospheric oxygen. We suggest that the secular Th/U evolution of arc igneous rocks could be an effective geochemical indicator recording the global-scale atmospheric oxygen variation.