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Redox-sensitive elements figure prominently in studies of the evolution of Earth’s surface redox state, including the first major rise in atmospheric O₂, the Paleoproterozoic Great Oxidation Event. Most Precambrian rocks endured multistage tectonothermal histories, however, adding ambiguity to interpretation of their chemistry. Here, we apply U-Th-Pb isotope geochronology to the highly oxidized ~2.06 Ga Kuetsjärvi Volcanic Formation, Pechenga Greenstone Belt, Russia, to constrain the age and extent of U oxidation. By contrasting the relative mobility of U and Th using Pb isotopes, we find that complete to near-complete oxidation and removal of U occurred shortly after eruption. We argue that this likely indicates relatively high atmospheric O₂, where oxidative weathering and alteration produced a global pulse of U to the oceans. Such a pulse could explain widespread shifts in the U-Th-Pb isotope character of mantle reservoirs at ~2 Ga, including a decrease in the²³²Th/²³⁸U ratio of the mid-ocean ridge basalt source and inception of the high-²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb (HIMU) source to ocean island basalts, underscoring the connections between the redox character of the Paleoproterozoic surface and deep Earth. Using²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb,²³⁸U-²⁰⁶Pb,²³⁵U-²⁰⁷Pb, and²³²Th-²⁰⁸Pb geochronology, ~2.06 Ga oxidative loss of U may be distinguished from reintroduction of U at ~1.8 Ga during regional metamorphism, as well as Pb loss during a Phanerozoic tectonothermal event. Our results therefore establish the complex history of redox-sensitive element behavior in the rocks, highlighting the fact that elemental abundances, by themselves, are unlikely to capture straightforward proxy information in rocks that have seen multistage geologic histories. 

Rising oceanic and atmospheric oxygen levels through time have been crucial to enhanced habitability of surface Earth environments. Few redox proxies can track secular variations in dissolved oxygen concentrations ([O2]) around threshold levels for metazoan survival in the upper ocean. We present an extensive compilation of iodine to calcium ratios (I/Ca) in marine carbonates. Our record supports a major rise in atmospheric pO2 at ~400 million years ago (Ma), and reveals a step-change in the oxygenation of the upper ocean to relatively sustainable near-modern conditions at ~200 Ma. An Earth system model demonstrates that a shift in organic matter remineralization to greater depths, which may have been due to increasing size and biomineralization of eukaryotic plankton, likely drove the I/Ca signals at ~200 Ma