Knowledge on transport and regulation of free calcium in the living cell is used in support of the theory (Kaźmierczak et al. 1985) linking the onset of biocalcification at about the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary to a rise in Ca²⁺ concentrations in the shelf seas to levels toxic to biota. Following this event, fluctuating Ca²⁺ levels in the Phanerozoic seas are supposed to have challenged a variety of protists and invertebrates to respond by depositing no, thin, or thick skeletons respectively. Changes in type and extent of calcification, as observed in the stratigraphical record, are interpreted to reflect the pulsating flow of Ca²⁺ ions through crust, sea, and biota. Some implications of that theory to (i) the history of sea water, (ii) the global carbon cycle, (iii) stable carbon isotope geochemistry, and (iv) sedimentation of suspended clays, are briefly discussed.
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