Development of Free Oxygen in Earth's Atmosphere

2018 ◽  
pp. 99-109
1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 1243-1255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence B. Aspler ◽  
Jeffrey R. Chiarenzelli

Recent detailed mapping has resulted in a possible solution to a long-standing stratigraphic controversy as to whether the contact between the Montgomery Lake Group (age uncertain) and the Hurwitz Group (Paleoproterozoic) is an unconformity. In its type area, the Montgomery Lake Group consists of mainly immature litharenite and lithic wacke, and is separated from underlying Archean greenstones and the overlying Hurwitz Group by angular unconformities. In the Padlei belt, a unit previously referred to as "Montgomery Lake sedimentary rocks," "Montgomery Lake Group," or "map unit X" consists of mainly submature to mature subarkose to quartz arenite, with interbeds of pyritic (auriferous) and nonpyritic (locally red) quartz pebble conglomerate. These rocks differ from the Montgomery Lake Group in its type area, but bear strong lithologic and stratigraphic resemblence to rocks in the lower Hurwitz Group. Furthermore, interfingering between map unit X and Hurwitz Group lithotypes suggests that map unit X is an integral part of the Herwitz Group and that its upper contact is transitional. We formally propose that map unit X be called the "Noomut Formation," a new unit at the base of the Hurwitz Group. In the absence of an unconformity in its lower part, the lower Hurwitz Group provides a continous record of the time during which free oxygen was sustained in Earth's atmosphere, and of paleoclimatic changes that may be related to the breakup of an earliest Paleoproterozoic supercontinent.


Author(s):  
Michael I. Budyko ◽  
Alexander B. Ronov ◽  
Alexander L. Yanshin

Author(s):  
A. NIKOLAYEV ◽  
◽  
A. M. Mebel ◽  
V. N. Azyazov ◽  
◽  
...  

This research is devoted to the problem of environmental pollution. The study of various pathways that reduce emissions of fuel combustion products into the Earth's atmosphere is still applicable today.


Author(s):  
E. L. Wolf

This is a physics textbook describing, at a college level, the physics and technology needed to provide sustainable long-term energy, past the era of fossil fuels. A summary is given of global power generation and consumption, with estimates of times until conventional fuels will deplete. Sustainable power sources, largely those coming from the Sun directly or indirectly, are described. As sustainable energy must preserve the Earth’s atmosphere and climate, key elements of these topics are included. Key energy technologies in this book include photovoltaics, wind turbines and the electric power grid, for which the underlying physics is developed. Nuclear fusion is described in the context of the Sun’s energy generation, in a brief description of tokamak fusion reactors, and also to introduce ideas of quantum physics needed for adequate treatment of photovoltaic devices. Energy flow in and out of the Earth’s atmosphere is discussed, including the role of greenhouse gas impurities arising from fossil fuel burning as trapping heat and raising the Earth’s temperature. Discussion is included of the Earth’s climatic history and future. Exercises are included for each chapter.


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