Researches on the Past and Present History of the Earth's Atmosphere, Including the Latest Discoveries and Their Practical Applications

Nuclear interactions of cosmic rays produce a number of stable and radioactive isotopes on the earth (Lai and Peters 1967). Two of these, 14C and 10Be, find applications as tracers in a wide variety of earth science problems by virtue of their special combination of attributes: 1) their source functions, 2) their half-lives, and 3) their chemical properties. The radioisotope, 14C (half-life = 5730 yr) produced in the earth's atmosphere was the first to be discovered (Anderson et al. 1947; Libby 1952). The next longer-lived isotope, also produced in the earth's atmosphere, 10Be (half-life = 1.5 myr) was discovered independently by two groups within a decade (Arnold 1956; Goel et al. 1957; Lal 1991a). Both the isotopes are produced efficiently in the earth's atmosphere, and also in solids on the earth's surface. Independently and jointly they serve as useful tracers for characterizing the evolutionary history of a wide range of materials and artifacts. Here, we specifically focus on the production of 14C in terrestrial solids, designated as in-situ-produced 14C (to differentiate it from atmospheric 14C, initially produced in the atmosphere). We also illustrate the application to several earth science problems. This is a relatively new area of investigations, using 14C as a tracer, which was made possible by the development of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The availability of the in-situ 14C variety has enormously enhanced the overall scope of 14C as a tracer (singly or together with in-situ-produced 10Be), which eminently qualifies it as a unique tracer for studying earth sciences.

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Earth’s Atmosphere, History of the Origins

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1872-3 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1-2

Author(s):

Stéphane Le Gars

Keyword(s):

Earth’S Atmosphere ◽

History Of ◽

Earth's Atmosphere

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N.A.S. Symposium on the Evolution of the Earth's Atmosphere: THE HISTORY OF OCEAN WATER AND ITS EFFECT ON THE CHEMISTRY OF THE ATMOSPHERE

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.53.6.1173 ◽

1965 ◽

Vol 53 (6) ◽

pp. 1173-1183 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

H. D. Holland

Keyword(s):

Ocean Water ◽

Earth’S Atmosphere ◽

History Of ◽

Earth's Atmosphere

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History of the Earth's Atmosphere

Eos ◽

10.1029/88eo01127 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 69 (38) ◽

pp. 869 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Robert A. Berner

Keyword(s):

Earth’S Atmosphere ◽

History Of ◽

Earth's Atmosphere

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Oxygen

10.23943/princeton/9780691145020.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Donald Eugene Canfield

Keyword(s):

Scientific Evidence ◽

Earth’S Atmosphere ◽

The Earth ◽

Evolution Of Life ◽

History Of ◽

Earth's Atmosphere ◽

Book Covers ◽

Over Time ◽

The Way

The air we breathe is 21 percent oxygen, an amount higher than on any other known world. While we may take our air for granted, Earth was not always an oxygenated planet. How did it become this way? This book covers this vast history, emphasizing its relationship to the evolution of life and the evolving chemistry of the Earth. The book guides readers through the various lines of scientific evidence, considers some of the wrong turns and dead ends along the way, and highlights the scientists and researchers who have made key discoveries in the field. Showing how Earth's atmosphere developed over time, the book takes readers on a remarkable journey through the history of the oxygenation of our planet.

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4. Atmospheric composition

The Atmosphere: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780198722038.003.0004 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 65-92

Author(s):

Paul I. Palmer

Keyword(s):

Ultraviolet Radiation ◽

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Stratospheric Ozone ◽

Ultraviolet B ◽

Atmospheric Composition ◽

Earth’S Atmosphere ◽

Stratospheric Ozone Layer ◽

History Of ◽

Earth's Atmosphere ◽

The Impact

Nitrogen, oxygen, and argon represent more than 99.9% of the air we breathe. But Earth’s atmosphere hasn’t always had that composition—it is on at least its third distinctive atmosphere. ‘Atmospheric composition’ provides a brief history of Earth’s atmosphere, before considering the two most important regions of the atmosphere for human survival—the stratosphere and troposphere. The stratospheric ozone layer shields harmful ultraviolet-B light penetrating to the surface, thereby protecting humans and ecosystems from harmful ultraviolet radiation. The troposphere is where billions of people live and breathe. It is also where air pollutants are emitted, wildfires burn, vegetation grows, and where the oceans exchange gases. The impact of atmospheric aerosols and greenhouse gases is also discussed.

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Reconciling proxy records and models of Earth's oxygenation during the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic

Interface Focus ◽

10.1098/rsfs.2019.0137 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 20190137 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rosalie Tostevin ◽

Benjamin J. W. Mills

Keyword(s):

Continuous Model ◽

Biogeochemical Model ◽

Animal Life ◽

Oxygen Levels ◽

Earth’S Atmosphere ◽

The Past ◽

Proxy Records ◽

Late Palaeozoic ◽

Earth's Atmosphere ◽

Early Palaeozoic

A hypothesized rise in oxygen levels in the Neoproterozoic, dubbed the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event, has been repeatedly linked to the origin and rise of animal life. However, a new body of work has emerged over the past decade that questions this narrative. We explore available proxy records of atmospheric and marine oxygenation and, considering the unique systematics of each geochemical system, attempt to reconcile the data. We also present new results from a comprehensive COPSE biogeochemical model that combines several recent additions, to create a continuous model record from 850 to 250 Ma. We conclude that oxygen levels were intermediate across the Ediacaran and early Palaeozoic, and highly dynamic. Stable, modern-like conditions were not reached until the Late Palaeozoic. We therefore propose that the terms Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Window and Palaeozoic Oxygenation Event are more appropriate descriptors of the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere and oceans.

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Phylogeny and Evolutionary History of Respiratory Complex I Proteins in Melainabacteria

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes12060929 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 929

Author(s):

Christen Grettenberger ◽

Dawn Y. Sumner ◽

Jonathan A. Eisen ◽

Anne D. Jungblut ◽

Tyler J. Mackey

Keyword(s):

Complex I ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Oxygenic Photosynthesis ◽

Aerobic Respiration ◽

Respiratory Complex ◽

Earth’S Atmosphere ◽

History Of ◽

Respiratory Chains ◽

Respiratory Complex I ◽

Earth's Atmosphere

The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis was one of the most transformative evolutionary events in Earth’s history, leading eventually to the oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere and, consequently, the evolution of aerobic respiration. Previous work has shown that the terminal electron acceptors (complex IV) of aerobic respiration likely evolved after the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. However, complex I of the respiratory complex chain can be involved in anaerobic processes and, therefore, may have pre-dated the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. If so, aerobic respiration may have built upon respiratory chains that pre-date the rise of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere. The Melainabacteria provide a unique opportunity to examine this hypothesis because they contain genes for aerobic respiration but likely diverged from the Cyanobacteria before the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. Here, we examine the phylogenies of translated complex I sequences from 44 recently published Melainabacteria metagenome assembled genomes and genomes from other Melainabacteria, Cyanobacteria, and other bacterial groups to examine the evolutionary history of complex I. We find that complex I appears to have been present in the common ancestor of Melainabacteria and Cyanobacteria, supporting the idea that aerobic respiration built upon respiratory chains that pre-date the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis and the rise of oxygen.

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