Research
Evolution of the molybdenum and vanadium cycles through time and their impact on ancient nitrogen fixation
Nature · By Weiduo Hao ·
The Brief
- Partitioning experiments and Fe-rich sediments indicate vanadium was removed from Archean–Paleoproterozoic seawater more efficiently than molybdenum.
- This left seawater relatively enriched in molybdenum compared with vanadium.
- The study links this Mo/V imbalance to ancient nitrogen fixation, though the source excerpt does not state the full conclusion.
Why it matters
The study ties past ocean chemistry to the availability of nutrients for early nitrogen-fixing microbes, which helps reconstruct how the early biosphere and ocean redox evolved.
Who’s affected
- geochemists and paleoclimate researchers
- researchers studying early Earth ocean chemistry and the nitrogen cycle
- #geochemistry
- #molybdenum
- #vanadium
- #nitrogen fixation
- #archean
- #paleoproterozoic
Nature Communications, Published online: 12 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-79171-8 Partitioning experiments and Fe-rich sediments show V was removed from Archean– Paleoproterozoic seawater more efficiently than Mo, enriching seawater in Mo relative to V and helping explain…
Timeline
Published online in Nature Communications (doi:10.1038/s41467-026-79171-8)
nature.com
Evolution of the molybdenum and vanadium cycles through time and their impact on ancient nitrogen fixation