Nature: Groundbreaking discovery changes Earth's early oxygen record

A recent study published in Nature by EOAS Assistant Professor Sean Crowe with colleagues at the University of Copenhagen says that Oxygen appeared in Earth's atmosphere 3 billion years ago, which is 700 million years earlier than previously thought. Crowe and colleagues found evidence for low concentrations of oxygen in 3 billion year old soils found in South Africa. These soils are among the oldest on Earth. Crowe's work suggests that photosynthesis, which led to the oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere and the eventual evolution of aerobic life, began much earlier than previously believed.