Biological regulation of planetary atmospheres: A status report from the early Earth
Biological regulation of planetary atmospheres: A status report from the early Earth
- Event time: 1:30pm
- Event date: 23rd January 2018
- Speaker: Dr Aubrey Zerkle (University of St. Andrews)
- Location: CSEC Seminar Room, James Clerk Maxwell Building (JCMB) James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD GB
Event details
Earth is currently our only known inhabited planet, n=1. Despite this unique (or not!) characteristic, we still lack fundamental knowledge of how Earth’s habitable environments developed, or how microbial life co-evolved alongside these environments. I will discuss new geochemical records of how biology regulated Earth’s early atmosphere, leading to the most dramatic change in Earth surface chemistry, the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). The GOE fundamentally altered the face of our planet, eventually allowing for the habitable biosphere we inhabit today. Notably, understanding how life evolved on this planet will inform our search for habitable planets in other solar systems.
About UK Centre for Astrobiology seminars
The astrobiology seminar series is run by the UK Centre for Astrobiology based in the School of Physics & Astronomy. Astrobiology is a multi-disciplinary subject and the seminar series actively encourages attendance by undergraduates, postgraduates and academic staff from other departments..