Neoproterozoic Earth-life system

Abstract The Earth-life system witnessed dramatic changes over the Neoproterozoic (1000–541 Ma). It saw supercontinent reconfigurations from the breakup of Rodinia to the assembly of Gondwana; climatically, the deepest global freeze in Earth history; geochemically, some of the most extreme perturbations on record; and biologically, the prominent rise of complex multicellular eukaryotes. However, the potential mechanisms that lie behind the convergence of such geological and biological revolutions remain elusive. The 27 articles in this special issue represent frontiers in disentangling the potential links between geological and biological changes in the Neoproterozoic and will inspire future interdisciplinary studies toward a better understanding of the Neoproterozoic Earth-life system.