Previously, scientists had shown that oxygen had been in Earth’s atmosphere for around 2.3 billion years. New research has shown that the dating of the "Great Oxygenation Event" needs a 700- million-year backwards recalibration. The new research is based upon the chemical composition of three-billion-year-old soils from South Africa, which showed evidence for low concentrations of atmospheric oxygen. This oxygen production would create the foundation for photosynthesis, and allow oxygen breathing organisms to evolve and inhabit the planet. Read more: bit.ly/1959RoQ Illustration by Peter Sawyer, Smithsonian Institution
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 13:00:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015