Fig. 5: The GOE can be triggered by a decline in the influx of iron(II) and is sudden if b < c(a − 1).
From: The Great Oxygenation Event as a consequence of ecological dynamics modulated by planetary change
Equilibrium E2 (cyanobacteria dominate) gains stability and Equilibrium E1 (APB dominate) loses stability when f1 drops below \(f_1^{\prime}\) and \({f}_{1}^{*}\), respectively. We set f2 = 80, c = 10, a = 10, b = 80, and u1 = u2 = 10−3. a We simulate Eqs. (8) from Supplementary Note 1 with α1 = α2 = β1 = β2 = 1, and we set f1 = 100 − 40(t/105). t* denotes the time at which Equilibrium E1 loses stability. b Bifurcation plots reveal bistability for \({f}_{1}^{* }\,<\,{f}_{1}\,<\,{f}_{1}^{\prime}\).
