Based on the following passage, in what order did the cause-and-effect relationships occur that led to the mass extinction of anaerobic organisms, starting with the earliest cause?
Approximately 2.4 billion years ago, a group of microscopic organisms known as cyanobacteria evolved a novel method of generating energy: oxygenic photosynthesis. Using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide, these bacteria produced energy along with a new byproduct—molecular oxygen. At the time, Earth's atmosphere was almost entirely devoid of free oxygen, and the oceans were rich in dissolved iron. Initially, the oxygen produced by cyanobacteria reacted immediately with the iron in the water, precipitating out of solution as iron oxide. This process created massive, striped rock formations known as banded iron formations. Eventually, however, the dissolved iron was completely depleted. With no iron left to capture the gas, oxygen began to accumulate in the oceans and subsequently escape into the atmosphere. This sudden rise in atmospheric oxygen, known as the Great Oxidation Event, proved toxic to the dominant anaerobic organisms of the era, leading to one of the Earth's first mass extinctions while simultaneously paving the way for the evolution of complex, oxygen-breathing life.
- 1Cyanobacteria begin producing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis.
- 2Produced oxygen reacts with dissolved iron in the oceans to form banded iron formations.
- 3Dissolved iron in the oceans is completely consumed.
- 4Oxygen accumulates in the atmosphere, poisoning anaerobic organisms.