"This research shows that there was enough oxygen in the environment to have allowed complex cells to have evolved, and to have become ecologically important, before there was fossil evidence." He added, "That doesn't mean that they did -- but they could have." (Science Daily: Conditions right for complex life may have come and gone in Earth's distant past)
This is a 1.9-billion-year-old stromatolite -- or mound made by microbes that lived in shallow water -- called the Gunflint Formation in northern Minnesota. The environment of the oxygen "overshoot" described in research by Michael Kipp, Eva Stüeken and Roger Buick may have included this sort of oxygen-rich setting that is suitable for complex life.
Credit: Eva Stüeken
- SD
The researchers' purpose was to discover whether there was sufficient oxygen to support such life in those unknown times.
The oxygen's persistence over a long stretch of time is an important factor, Kipp stressed: "Whereas before and after maybe there were transient environments that could have occasionally supported these organisms, to get them to evolve and be a substantial part of the ecosystem, you need oxygen to persist for a long time."
Stüeken said such an oxygen increase has been guessed at previously, but it was unclear how widespread it was. This research creates a clearer picture of what this oxygen "overshoot" looked like: "That it was moderately significant in the atmosphere and surface ocean -- but not at all in the deep ocean."
- SD
There is extended basis for the research due to the interest in finding intelligent life anywhere.
"The recognition of an interval in Earth's distant past that may have had near-modern oxygen levels, but far different biological inhabitants, could mean that the remote detection of an oxygen-rich world is not necessarily proof of a complex biosphere," Kipp said.
Buick concluded, "This is a new way of measuring oxygen in a planet's historical past, to see whether complex life could have evolved there and persisted long enough to evolve into intelligent beings."
- SD
How about we take a look for the potential for intelligent life on Wolf 181? (Science Daily: Astronomer searches for signs of life on Wolf 1061 exoplanet)
As one of the world's leading "planet hunters," Kane focuses on finding "habitable zones," areas where water could exist in a liquid state on a planet's surface if there's sufficient atmospheric pressure. Kane and his team, including former undergraduate student Miranda Waters, examined the habitable zone on a planetary system 14 light years away. Their findings will appear in the next issue of Astrophysical Journal in a paper titled "Characterization of the Wolf 1061 Planetary System."
- SD
Ed: you think you're so damn smart?
About the same smart as you, Brother Man, since you're reading it. Ha!
You better think (think)
Think about what you're trying to do to me
Yeah, think (think, think)
Let your mind go, let yourself be free
Oh, freedom (freedom), freedom (freedom)
Oh, freedom, yeah, freedom
Freedom (freedom), freedom (freedom)
Freedom, oh freedom
- Aretha
This is a 1.9-billion-year-old stromatolite -- or mound made by microbes that lived in shallow water -- called the Gunflint Formation in northern Minnesota. The environment of the oxygen "overshoot" described in research by Michael Kipp, Eva Stüeken and Roger Buick may have included this sort of oxygen-rich setting that is suitable for complex life.
Credit: Eva Stüeken
- SD
The researchers' purpose was to discover whether there was sufficient oxygen to support such life in those unknown times.
The oxygen's persistence over a long stretch of time is an important factor, Kipp stressed: "Whereas before and after maybe there were transient environments that could have occasionally supported these organisms, to get them to evolve and be a substantial part of the ecosystem, you need oxygen to persist for a long time."
Stüeken said such an oxygen increase has been guessed at previously, but it was unclear how widespread it was. This research creates a clearer picture of what this oxygen "overshoot" looked like: "That it was moderately significant in the atmosphere and surface ocean -- but not at all in the deep ocean."
- SD
There is extended basis for the research due to the interest in finding intelligent life anywhere.
"The recognition of an interval in Earth's distant past that may have had near-modern oxygen levels, but far different biological inhabitants, could mean that the remote detection of an oxygen-rich world is not necessarily proof of a complex biosphere," Kipp said.
Buick concluded, "This is a new way of measuring oxygen in a planet's historical past, to see whether complex life could have evolved there and persisted long enough to evolve into intelligent beings."
- SD
How about we take a look for the potential for intelligent life on Wolf 181? (Science Daily: Astronomer searches for signs of life on Wolf 1061 exoplanet)
As one of the world's leading "planet hunters," Kane focuses on finding "habitable zones," areas where water could exist in a liquid state on a planet's surface if there's sufficient atmospheric pressure. Kane and his team, including former undergraduate student Miranda Waters, examined the habitable zone on a planetary system 14 light years away. Their findings will appear in the next issue of Astrophysical Journal in a paper titled "Characterization of the Wolf 1061 Planetary System."
- SD
Ed: you think you're so damn smart?
About the same smart as you, Brother Man, since you're reading it. Ha!
You better think (think)
Think about what you're trying to do to me
Yeah, think (think, think)
Let your mind go, let yourself be free
Oh, freedom (freedom), freedom (freedom)
Oh, freedom, yeah, freedom
Freedom (freedom), freedom (freedom)
Freedom, oh freedom
- Aretha
4 comments:
I may not be so smart. The researcher discovered that a real long time ago, Earth had enough oxygen to support life.
But there was very little oxygen in deep ocean.
Werent researchers astonished to find how much life there is in the deep ocean considering how little oxygen can be found at those depths.
So the oxygen was there it could have supported the development of life but doesnt mean it did.
I must not be smart enough for this particular revelation
Those cracks in the article were to say I do not believe I'm smarter than people who read the crap but that seems to have backfired!
I do think I'm smarter than a lot of other people but not the ones who read this noble (i.e. looney) forum.
Sometimes I wonder of the intelligence of these researchers or how they get funding
Hopefully you have seen the cover on some of these articles where I was highly questioning of the value of the research. There's a great deal more high value science so I'm not feeling ripped off by anyone; some of them just don't appear all that worthwhile.
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