Overview
- The peer-reviewed study, published Oct. 27–28, 2025 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, comes from teams at the University of Sydney and the University of Adelaide.
- Modeling indicates that Nuna’s fragmentation around 1.46 billion years ago more than doubled the length of shallow continental shelves to about 130,000 kilometers.
- The reconstructions point to decreased volcanic CO2 outgassing and greater carbon storage in altered ocean crust as mid‑ocean ridge flanks expanded.
- The resulting cooler climate and more oxygenated shallow seas coincide with the first fossil eukaryotes around 1.05 billion years ago.
- The authors released workflow data and code, reported no competing interests, and argue the quantified links between plate motion and carbon cycling revise the ‘Boring Billion’ narrative.