 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Tree World Pumps Up The Oxygen
New Haven - March 7, 2000 - Yale researchers have attributed ancient high levels of oxygen in the atmosphere to the rise of trees and large plants. A new method of calculating oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere suggests that an increase more than 300 million years ago was caused by the rise and spread of trees and other vascular land plants, a Yale study finds. The new plant life produced dead organic matter resistant to decomposition by bacteria that was buried in sediments, and, as a result, extra oxygen was added to the atmosphere by increased global photosynthesis, according to Robert A. Berner, the Alan M. Bateman Professor of Geology and Geophysics at Yale. "The rise of large vascular land plants had a significant effect on atmospheric composition, both oxygen and carbon dioxide," said Berner. The higher concentrations of oxygen lasted for 100 million years and were significantly higher than the Earth's current oxygen content of 21 percent. Published in the March 3 issue of Science, the study shows that the calculated high oxygen levels during this period verify earlier independent estimates and that this high oxygen may have been an important factor in affecting the evolution of giant insects. The study's theoretical calculations rest partly on experimental work on land plant growth at the University of Sheffield in England by David Beerling and his associates and on marine plankton growth at the University of Hawaii by a team led by Edward Laws and Brian Popp. "As a result of these experiments, we were better able to calculate realistic changes in atmospheric oxygen over geologic time," Berner said. In addition to Berner, Beerling, Laws and Popp, the study's team included former Yale graduate student, Steven T. Petsch, and J. A. Lake, W.P. Quick, and F.I. Woodward from the University of Sheffield in England; and R.S. Lane, M.B. Westley and N. Cassar from the University of Hawaii.
Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Space
Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
