Date: 10/05/2016 15:11:03
From: CrazyNeutrino
ID: 887647
Subject: Micobes and Ancient Earth's Atmosphere
This Might Be the Weirdest Thing That’s Ever Happened to Earth’s Atmosphere
Life has been transforming Earth’s atmosphere since the first single-celled organisms evolved. But few instances of atmospheric terraforming compare with what went down 2.7 billion years ago, when air pressure seems to have plummeted to less than half of its current value. What could have caused the worldwide depressurization? According to a new hypothesis, the culprit was nitrogen-hungry microbes.
more…
Date: 10/05/2016 20:59:26
From: mollwollfumble
ID: 887797
Subject: re: Micobes and Ancient Earth's Atmosphere
…
Writing in Nature Geoscience, Som and his colleagues describe the results of an analysis of trapped air bubbles found inside a 2.7 billion year old lava flow at the Beasley River in western Australia. Using high-precision X-ray scans, the team was able to measure a decrease in the size of air bubbles between the top and bottom of the lava layer. This size change corresponds to the pressure exerted by Earth’s ancient atmosphere as the lava was cooling.
Nice work.
Date: 10/05/2016 23:18:12
From: dv
ID: 887850
Subject: re: Micobes and Ancient Earth's Atmosphere
CrazyNeutrino said:
This Might Be the Weirdest Thing That’s Ever Happened to Earth’s Atmosphere
Life has been transforming Earth’s atmosphere since the first single-celled organisms evolved. But few instances of atmospheric terraforming compare with what went down 2.7 billion years ago, when air pressure seems to have plummeted to less than half of its current value. What could have caused the worldwide depressurization? According to a new hypothesis, the culprit was nitrogen-hungry microbes.
more…
Very interesting