Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology => Topic started by: thedoc on 16/11/2010 16:16:55

Title: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: thedoc on 16/11/2010 16:16:55
Analysis of ancient rocks in the far north of Scotland has provided strong evidence for a rise in oxygen levels 400 million years earlier than geologists first thought.

Read the whole story on our  website by clicking here (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/news/news/2101/)

  
Title: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: thedoc on 16/11/2010 16:16:55
Title: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: The Penguin on 19/10/2011 03:22:34
NASA claims about 2.5 billion years ago.

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_07215_Timeline_of_Oxygen_on_Earth.html
Title: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: Geezer on 19/10/2011 06:58:59
Quote
Analysis of ancient rocks in the far north of Scotland has provided strong evidence for a rise in oxygen levels 400 million years earlier than geologists first thought.

Ah yes. That bracing Highland air is great! (as long as you don't get clobbered by a windborne sheep.)
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: AndroidNeox on 12/05/2013 23:53:34
This is MUCH later than current estimates... not earlier. The oxygen level became significant more than 2 billion years ago.
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: JimBob on 13/05/2013 01:28:02
I read the link, too - too muche of ye olde scotchhhh whiskey
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: Bill S on 13/05/2013 03:20:57
Rubbish you can't have too much!  Hic!

What wash I shaying? Hic!
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: AndroidNeox on 24/06/2013 20:10:10
So, has Earth science come up with any sort of consensus on when oxygen level in Earth's atmosphere became significant? So far we have something between 400 million years ago and 2.5 billion years ago.
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: dlorde on 26/06/2013 20:24:46
So far we have something between 400 million years ago and 2.5 billion years ago.

No, the article says "1.2 billion years ago or 400 million years earlier than first thought", not 400 million years ago.

The article is referring to 'The Great Oxidation Event', when oxygen levels soared, enabling oxidative metabolism and the emergence of complex multicellular life. However, the NASA article does say this happened 2.3 to 2.4 billion years ago, so there is still a discrepancy of around 1.2 billion years...
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: Matildasmith on 06/07/2013 05:58:32
If it happens that'd be pretty much great for the mankind i guess..the ozone level is already depleting..this will make it just great for humans..
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: dlorde on 08/07/2013 09:53:23
If it happens that'd be pretty much great for the mankind i guess..the ozone level is already depleting..this will make it just great for humans..
If what happens ??
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: Matildasmith on 08/07/2013 10:38:07
If it happens that'd be pretty much great for the mankind i guess..the ozone level is already depleting..this will make it just great for humans..
If what happens ??
If the oxygen level soars up..that's if what happens..!!!
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: katesisco on 28/07/2013 23:47:53
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2013/07/oxygen-were-the-building-blocks-of-earths-atmosphere-from-elsewhere-in-the-galaxy.html#comments
Then in 2011, scientists at the New York Center for Astrobiology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute used the oldest minerals on Earth to reconstruct the atmospheric conditions present on Earth very soon after its birth. The findings were the first direct evidence of what the ancient atmosphere of the planet was like soon after its formation and directly challenge years of research on the type of atmosphere out of which life arose on the planet.

The scientists showed that the atmosphere of Earth just 500 million years after its creation was not a methane-filled wasteland as previously proposed, but instead was much closer to the conditions of our current atmosphere. The findings, in a paper titled "The oxidation state of Hadean magmas and implications for early Earth's atmosphere," have implications for our understanding of how and when life began on this planet and could begin elsewhere in the universe. The research was funded by NASA.
Since 'typical atmosphere' implies clouds and clouds imply water, you might infer that water was extent from 500 my after Earth's creation. 
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: AndroidNeox on 19/11/2013 17:30:42
So far we have something between 400 million years ago and 2.5 billion years ago.

No, the article says "1.2 billion years ago or 400 million years earlier than first thought", not 400 million years ago.

The article is referring to 'The Great Oxidation Event', when oxygen levels soared, enabling oxidative metabolism and the emergence of complex multicellular life. However, the NASA article does say this happened 2.3 to 2.4 billion years ago, so there is still a discrepancy of around 1.2 billion years...

I must have been the one drinking too much whiskey. Thanks for the correction.
Title: Re: When did oxygen appear in large amounts in the atmosphere?
Post by: Ophiolite on 20/11/2013 11:37:04
I think the problem here is that there are two significant events in terms of oxygen levels. The first is when oxygen appears in significant quantities in the atmosphere. This level would have been in the low single figure percent range. Then the level rises again to where it can support multi-cellular life, possibly high single figure percentage.