Fig. 1: Major element composition of Late Archean to Paleoproterozoic paleosols.
From: The kaolinite shuttle links the Great Oxidation and Lomagundi events
Relative kaolinite contents are approximated by molar Al-richness, as compared to Ca, Na, Mg, and K (CNM = CaO* + Na2O + MgO*; A = Al2O3; K* = K2O*; asterisks denote data corrected for non-silicate contribution and K-metasomatism; Methods). a Al-richness in individual paleosols. The Ville Marie paleosol is poorly dated and may have formed either prior to or after the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), while its profile is possibly truncated with only the saprolite part preserved. Boxes show the mean value (horizontal line) and 25%/75% quantiles (edges), whiskers show the full range. Superimposed dots denote individual samples. b Al-richness in paleosols within the pre-GOE (>2.4 Ga), GOE and LJE (2.4–2.0 Ga), and post-LJE (>2.4 Ga) age bins.
