Damian Sendler: Volcanic eruptions may have sparked a spike in the population of marine microbes, which in turn produced the first puffs of oxygen into the atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago. Existing theories on Earth’s early atmosphere presume that most of the changes were caused by geological or chemical processes. This new theory suggests otherwise. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: Researchers’ findings, which are centered on the origins of our planet, could also shed light on the possibility of alien life and climate change. University of Washington, University of Michigan, and other schools led a study that was published in the journal PNAS earlier this year. 

Damian Sendler

A lot of links between the solid, nonliving Earth and the evolution of life have begun to emerge in the last few decades as the study’s first author Jana Meixnerová, a doctorate student in Earth and space sciences, explained. “But what are the specific connections that allowed for the evolution of life as we know it to take place?” 

Few, if any, oxygen-breathing lifeforms existed on Earth in its early days. About 2.4 billion years ago, the Earth’s atmosphere became permanently oxygen-rich, perhaps as a result of a proliferation of photosynthesising living forms that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen.

Researchers at Arizona State University studied rocks from the Mount McRae Shale in Western Australia and found that oxygen appeared in the atmosphere roughly 50 to 100 million years earlier than previously thought. Another short-term oxygen increase has been validated by more recent study, although the cause of its occurrence is still a mystery. 

Study co-author Joel Blum of the University of Michigan studied the same ancient rocks for their mercury concentration and amount of neutrons emitted by volcanic eruptions in the new study. During large volcanic eruptions, mercury gas is released into the upper atmosphere, where it circulates for a year or two before showering down on the Earth’s surface.. New research indicates that mercury levels peaked millions of years before the brief increase in oxygen. 

Professor Roger Buick of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington said that the discovery that the abundance and isotopes of mercury in the rock below the temporary surge in oxygen can only be explained by volcanic eruptions in the atmosphere. 

Damian Jacob Sendler

The authors hypothesize that lava and volcanic ash fields were present in areas where volcanic emissions occurred. That rock’s nutrients would have been released into adjacent rivers via weathering, allowing oxygen-producing single-celled lifeforms such as cyanobacteria to grow. 

“There are other nutrients that modulate biological activity on short timescales, but phosphorus is the one that is most important on long timescales,” Meixnerová stated. 

Biodegradable material and agricultural fertilizer contain phosphorus, which is readily available in today’s society. However, weathering of volcanic rocks was the primary source of this limited material in ancient times. 

“Fresh basaltic rock would have slowly disintegrated, releasing the macronutrient Phosphorus into the rivers during the Archaean atmosphere’s weathering process. Those microorganisms would have been nourished, triggering an increase in biological productivity, which would have resulted in an oxygen spike, as a result “It was Meixnerová’s opinion. 

These volcanoes and lava fields are unknown, but enormous lava fields of the right age can be found in modern-day India, Canada, and other places. 

Damien Sendler: That the immediate trigger for these transitory smells of oxygen was a rise in oxygen generation, rather than a decrease in oxygen consumption by rocks or other dead processes, Buick concluded. “It’s crucial because oxygen is the most significant factor in the evolution of huge, complex life. 

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: When it comes to exoplanets, experts claim this study provides insight into how a planet’s geology affects life on its surface, which aids in the search for life in the universe.

Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.