# Collaborative Research: "GOE-ing DEEP" into the Paleoproterozoic of Gabon to elucidate the causes and effects of Earth's Great Oxidation

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · Tufts University (MA) · $709,830

## Abstract

Oxygen is crucial for macroscopic life, yet the causes and repercussions of its accumulation in the atmosphere are poorly understood.  A key question for resolving the trajectory of planetary habitability is if chemical shifts recorded in ~2.4-2.0 billion-year-old rocks reflect global-scale oxygen changes or regional-local conditions. To answer this question, rock cores from Gabon, which hosts the best-preserved sedimentary archive across this interval, will be analyzed for possible chemical imprints of oxygenation. This project serves the national interest by promoting the progress of fundamental science that identifies how Earth became habitable. Synergistic outreach objectives include initiatives such as community tables at farmers’ markets from Northeast-Midwest USA to enhance public scientific literacy and undergraduate curriculum development to support an American STEM workforce that is globally competitive through improved education. 

This interdisciplinary project applies stratigraphy, paleomagnetism, geochemistry, and geochronology to assess whether extreme geochemical shifts in the wake of the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) reflect global, regional, or local-diagenetic conditions. Laterally correlative drill cores across shallow-to-deep paleoenvironments in the Francevillian sub-basins of Gabon will be applied to test the hypothesis that, in the Paleoproterozoic, there was a prolonged overshoot in O₂ coeval with a widespread perturbation of the carbon cycle. The obj

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2530314
- **Awardee organization:** Tufts University (MA)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** WL9FLBRVPJJ7
- **PI:** Athena Eyster
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** —
- **Estimated total:** $709,830
- **Funds obligated:** $709,830
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2530314

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2530314, Collaborative Research: "GOE-ing DEEP" into the Paleoproterozoic of Gabon to elucidate the causes and effects of Earth's Great Oxidation. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2530314. Licensed CC0.

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