Fig. 4: Compilation of models and estimates of the evolution of the partial pressure of dinitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere.

For the Archean, available data suggest that the pN₂ was on the same order of magnitude as or lower than the modern value. However, all models predict fluctuations of more than 50% over Earth’s history. Dramatic changes in the pN₂ could have occurred after the Great Oxidation Event⁷⁵, but the lack of data does not allow one to reliably test this hypothesis^{22,68,70,71,72,73,74,75,77,114,115}.