A team of astrobiologists supported in part by the NASA Exobiology program have uncovered new information about Earth’s early oceans during a period of time that was critical to the evolution of complex life. Their work is helping scientists determine the conditions present in the ocean after oxygen first accumulated in the Earth’s atmosphere, and how these conditions relate to the rise of eukaryotes.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under lead author Christopher T. Reinhard.