Fig. 5: Mo isotope records in shales and abundance distributions of banded iron formations and sedimentary Mn deposits through geological time.

a Marine sedimentary records of Mo isotopes throughout geological time. b Temporal changes in distributions of banded iron formations and sedimentary Mn deposits. In a the dashed line in represents the δ⁹⁸Mo values of modern seawater and average rivers¹⁰. Red arrows denote the increased occurrence of positive and negative δ⁹⁸Mo signatures following the enhanced marine Mn cycle. The δ⁹⁸Mo data of shales are modified from ref. ¹⁴. The distributions of banded iron formations and sedimentary Mn deposits are modified from refs. ^45,46.