Read the following passage regarding the Great Oxidation Event (GOE).
The Great Oxidation Event (GOE), occurring approximately 2.4 billion years ago, marks one of the most profound environmental transformations in Earth's history. Triggered by the proliferation of cyanobacteria, the first organisms capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, the GOE fundamentally altered the planet's atmospheric chemistry. Prior to this event, Earth's atmosphere was largely anoxic, dominated by methane, ammonia, and other reduced gases. The initial production of free oxygen did not immediately result in atmospheric accumulation; rather, the oxygen was rapidly consumed by chemical sinks, primarily through the oxidation of dissolved iron in the oceans, leading to the deposition of massive banded iron formations (BIFs). Only after these terrestrial and oceanic sinks were exhausted did free oxygen begin to accumulate in the atmosphere. This atmospheric shift had catastrophic consequences for the dominant anaerobic biosphere, causing a mass extinction of obligate anaerobes that could not tolerate the reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, the reaction of atmospheric methane—a potent greenhouse gas—with the newly abundant oxygen led to a severe reduction in the greenhouse effect, plunging the Earth into the Huronian glaciation, one of the longest and most severe ice ages in the planet's history.
Based on the causal sequence presented in the passage, is it true or false that the 'atmospheric shift' characterized by the accumulation of free oxygen was responsible for the mass extinction of obligate anaerobes and the reduction in the greenhouse effect, but NOT for the deposition of massive banded iron formations?
Answer: Answer