Data and materials for “Volcano-hydrothermal phosphorus pulses fostered ocean oxidation during Ediacaran phosphogenesis in South China”

——Data and materials for “Volcano-hydrothermal phosphorus pulses fostered ocean oxidation during Ediacaran phosphogenesis in South China”
——As a fundamental limiting nutrient, phosphorus regulates marine productivity and ocean oxygenation, exerting a profound influence on the course of biospheric evolution through Earth’s history. How marine phosphorus originated and became enriched during the Ediacaran—and how this process related to ocean redox evolution—remains key to understanding early Earth system transitions. Here, we integrate petrographic and geochemical evidence from the Longxi section to investigate their origin and significance. Three distinct phosphorite types were identified, each reflecting unique depositional and diagenetic histories. Geochemical proxies, including elevated U/Th ratios and positive Eu anomalies, alongside the direct presence of volcanic glass, indicate that volcanic-hydrothermal activity was the dominant phosphorus source, rather than continental weathering. The stratigraphic succession captures three depositional stages: (I) hydrothermal phosphorus input and reductive phosphorite precipitation; (II) dolomitization-controlled apatite precipitation; and (III) microbially mediated phosphogenesis associated with oceanic oxidation and phosphorus re-enrichment. Coupled lithological and geochemical variations indicate that hydrothermal phosphorus inputs stimulated marine primary productivity and promoted water-column oxygenation. These findings provide critical evidence for the role of volcanism and hydrothermal activity in modulating phosphorus cycling and ocean redox state, with implications for understanding the co-evolution of life and environment during the Ediacaran.