[Q] The Great Oxidation event

[paigetheoracle]

Reading a snippet of an account from Nature, about an event 2.7 billion years ago, which reduced the amount of nickel in the oceans, depleting methane breathing organisms and allowing for the development of oxygen production - I wondered what kind of organisms were there in existence before this time and did any survive and adapt?

[freeztar]

The wiki on oxygen catastrophe is educational as an overview. Here's an interesting article on the subject that goes into more detail.

 

If the large carbon marine sequestration episode does not coincide with the increase of oxygen, what does? Cyanobacteria -- marine organisms that are photosynthetic - produced oxygen during these early pre-oxygen atmosphere years. However, because the atmosphere was heavily reducing, the oxygen was quickly removed from the atmosphere.

 

The shift from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing one occurred when volcanic activity gradually switched from volcanoes that outgas hydrogen and carbon monoxide to those that produce water vapor and carbon dioxide, according to Kump. These mantle plume volcanoes bring molten rock up from deep within the earth.

 

With larger amounts of water and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, hydrogen and carbon monoxide were no longer using up all the oxygen produced by the Cyanobacteria and the amounts of oxygen increased. In a few million years, the oxygen levels reach those of Earth's atmosphere today.

The Breathable Earth :: Astrobiology Magazine - earth science - evolution distribution Origin of life universe - life beyond :: Astrobiology is study of earth science evolution distribution Origin of life in universe terrestrial

 

The pre-great oxidation lifeforms played a key role in creating the "great oxidation". As the article above outlines, it was a mix of geology, the atmosphere (and subsequent climate), and anaerobic organisms that triggered the O2 rich atmosphere we see today.

 

Here's a link to a NOVA video that matches this subject.

 

Teachers' Domain: Life Before Oxygen

[Moontanman]

I wondered what kind of organisms were there in existence before this time and did any survive and adapt?

 

At that point, bacteria types only paige. Not even protozoa

[paigetheoracle]

At that point, bacteria types only paige. Not even protozoa

 

So that's really far back then. Gee!

[Boerseun]

Well, if you lift your arm and smell your pits, you're smelling bacteria that survived from those days and today will die in an oxygen-rich environment.

[paigetheoracle]

Well, if you lift your arm and smell your pits, you're smelling bacteria that survived from those days and today will die in an oxygen-rich environment.

 

Have you any idea how much that idea stinks?:ud: