The three-fold diversification of marine life during the Ordovician (485–444 million years ago) appears to have been fueled by a major increase in atmospheric oxygen. A new study by Assistant Professor Dr. Cole Edwards published in Nature Geoscience this month and showcased in Science Daily (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171120111329.htm) shows that the timing of an explosion of biodiversification coincided with a nearly doubling of atmospheric oxygen levels (read the full study in Nature Geoscience at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-017-0006-3).
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