Gaia's evil twin: Is life its own worst enemy?

[GhostOfCaptSpaulding]

The Earth is not the nurturing mother of life of James Lovelock's famous theory – instead it is far more like murderous Medea, argues biologist Peter Ward

[offsite:1vqeea3j]Gaia's evil twin: Is life its own worst enemy?

THE twin Viking landers that defied the odds to land on Mars in 1976 and 1977 had one primary goal: to find life. To the disappointment of nearly all concerned, the data they sent back was a sharp dash of cold water. The Martian surface was harsh and antibiotic and there was no sign of life.

To two NASA scientists, James Lovelock and Dian Hitchcock, this came as no surprise - in fact, they would have been amazed to see any evidence of life on Mars. A decade before Viking, Lovelock and Hitchcock, both atmospheric scientists, had used observations of the Martian atmosphere to deduce that there could be no life on the planet.

From their research arose one of the most influential, ground-breaking scientific ideas of the 20th century - the Gaia hypothesis, named after the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth, a nurturing "mother" of life. But is it correct? New scientific findings suggest that the nature of life on Earth is not at all like Gaia. If we were to choose a mythical mother figure to characterise the biosphere, it would more accurately be Medea, the murderous wife of Jason of the Argonauts. She was a sorceress, a princess - and a killer of her own children.

New Scientist | Article: Gaia's evil twin: Is life its own worst enemy? (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227131.400-gaias-evil-twin-is-life-its-own-worst-enemy.html?full=true)

Interactive Movie | Gaia's evil twin: Is life its own worst enemy? (http://www.newscientist.com/movie/mg20227131400-gaias-evil-twin-is-life-its-own-worst-enemy)[/offsite:1vqeea3j]

Fascinating article and theory: Throughout its history, life on Earth has been beset by mass extinctions - and almost all of them were triggered by life itself.

[Cogburn]

Smite.

Brilliant fucking article.

[GhostOfCaptSpaulding]

Agreed!

Fuck asteroids!

We've got a lot smaller things to worry about!

[KIWI]

Around 2.3 billion years ago, for example, Earth endured a gigantic episode of glaciation that lasted 100 million years. It was so intense that the oceans froze completely, creating a "snowball Earth". The cause was life itself. Around 200 million years earlier, evolution had come up with a novel way to make a living: photosynthesis, the process that uses the energy in sunlight to convert inorganic CO2 into sugars. Photosynthetic microbes sucked so much heat-trapping CO2 out of the atmosphere that the planet was plunged into the freezer.


what a load of shit....impossible

[Cogburn]

I'd lean more towards "unsupported" than "impossible", but yeah... their story of creation is a bit nonsensical, but the theory itself is pretty sound.

Life struggles against the universe for it's right to exist amongst the chaos.

[lala]

Interesting goo . . . cheers

[GhostOfCaptSpaulding]

what a load of shit....impossible

In conjunction with a lull in volcanic activity...why not?.

[offsite:3mx4pqbp]Volcanic shutdown may have led to 'snowball Earth'

A 250-million-year shutdown of volcanic activity which is thought to have occurred early in Earth's history may be what turned the planet into a glacier-covered snowball. It could also have helped give rise to our oxygen-rich atmosphere.

Previous studies have noted that very little volcanic material has been dated to between 2.45 and 2.2 billion years ago, but it was widely assumed the gap would vanish as more samples were dated. Now an analysis of thousands of zircon minerals collected from all seven continents indicates that the gap may be real after all. Zircons provide a record of past volcanic activity, as the date they were formed can be calculated from the radioactive isotopes they contain.

The failure of so many samples from all over the world to fill the gap suggests there was a major slowdown in the planet's volcanic activity during this period, says Kent Condie of New Mexico Tech in Socorro, who led the study (Earth and Planetary Science Letters, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2009.03.033). "Volcanism didn't shut off, but it became much, much less widespread during this time."

The lull could be tied to a pause in the motion of tectonic plates, which drives much of Earth's volcanic activity, Condie says. Computer simulations suggest this motion, which now takes place continuously, would have been intermittent early in Earth's history, when the planet's interior was hotter and less viscous, so less able to drag the plates.

The lull may in turn be a major factor behind a suspected "snowball Earth" event between 2.4 and 2.3 billion years ago, when much of the planet is thought to have been covered with ice (New Scientist, 2 December 2006, p 14). With no new carbon dioxide being spewed from volcanoes, its concentration in the atmosphere would have declined, leading to global cooling.

The lull could also be behind the rise in atmospheric oxygen that is known to have taken place around 2.4 billion years ago (New Scientist, 17 January, p 10). Prior to the lull, any oxygen produced by marine microorganisms was consumed in reactions with iron in the ocean. With no fresh volcanic material to replenish the iron, oxygen would have been free to build up in the atmosphere.

This in turn could have further cooled the Earth by removing another powerful greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. Methane is thought by some to have been relatively abundant in Earth's early history, helping to keep the planet warm at a time when the sun was much dimmer than it is now. But it would have been scrubbed away by the oxygen that was building up in the atmosphere.

Volcanic shutdown may have led to 'snowball Earth' (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227073.800-volcanic-shutdown-may-have-led-to-snowball-earth.html)[/offsite:3mx4pqbp]

[KIWI]

The lull could be tied to a pause in the motion of tectonic plates, which drives much of Earth's volcanic activity, Condie says. Computer simulations suggest this motion, which now takes place continuously, would have been intermittent early in Earth's history, when the planet's interior was hotter and less viscous, so less able to drag the plates.

The lull may in turn be a major factor behind a suspected "snowball Earth" event between 2.4 and 2.3 billion years ago, when much of the planet is thought to have been covered with ice (New Scientist, 2 December 2006, p 14). With no new carbon dioxide being spewed from volcanoes, its concentration in the atmosphere would have declined, leading to global cooling.



a lot of could of's......continental drift , IMO, is no way proven,.....suggesting intermittent plate movement ? (considering plate movement to be a fact for the sake of this proposal) why would any one consider the forces inside the earth to be "less" in its early days?....hotter? so therefore less viscous? isnt the opposite true?....the ability to heat earth is achieved through the absorbtion of the oceans, if the earth was a frozen ball, how did it thaw?.....oh yeah,...the intermittent plate movement sped up, would have thought it should have stalled completely after freezing?....all food for thought Cap s.....great OP..... :) dont consider this over by a long shot, and I dont consider that I have proven any of your points disproven,....I shall go away and root out some more data

[GhostOfCaptSpaulding]

Barring a hollow Earth scenario, it's my understanding that plate tectonics is a pretty well established and generally accepted theory. :wink:

Not to oversimplify, but it's also my understanding that the surface environment, once the planet cooled enough to allow the formation of the crust, is to a great extent determined by the ratio of gasses present in the atmosphere interacting with the radiation emitted by the sun.

Only the surface was frozen during the "snowball" effect, the core raged on driven by radioactive decay and the magnetic forces inherent to a spinning ball of molten metal.

During the ensuing 100 million years of glaciation is it not possible the mantle (http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/interior.html) could have cooled just enough to become sufficiently viscous to once again begin dragging the surface and prompt a resurgent rise in volcanic activity?

To blame the mass extinctions that occurred as a result of the "snowball" period entirely on "life itself" is perhaps a bit of a stretch; the emerging and overspecialized life forms having been instead a major contributing factor among others.

The op article makes a great deal of sense to anyone who's observed the stages of growth and decay in a closed system, such as a sealed bottle of half-finished pop left in the hot sun for several months.

We are, after all, living in and entirely dependent upon this essentially closed system we call home.

It's quite apparent and forgive me for stating the obvious, but the key to survival of life in general is in diversity.

And, according to the theory set forth in the op article the meek, as in the lowly and patient, shall indeed, in time - once again - inherit the Earth.

So pack your bags muthahfuckahs, if you want your species to survive you're gonna have to find a new home 'cause you sure can't stay here forever...not the way you been fucking it up! http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/21b45o13x25c54o34d45e/icons%20pngs/evil_laught.png

[Cogburn]

Actually.... The earth need not be hollow.

Ever heard of Neal Adams and his the growing earth theory?

http://www.continuitystudios.net/pangea.html

http://www.continuitystudios.net/clip12.html

http://www.nealadams.com/EarthProject/toon1.html

[GhostOfCaptSpaulding]

Sweet!

I wonder if Hoberman ever made one of those? http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/21b45o13x25c54o34d45e/icons%20pngs/crying_laughter.png

s]xRL0tMaNgjQs]

[KIWI]

Barring a hollow Earth scenario, it's my understanding that plate tectonics is a pretty well established and generally accepted theory.

Not to oversimplify, but it's also my understanding that the surface environment, once the planet cooled enough to allow the formation of the crust, is to a great extent determined by the ratio of gasses present in the atmosphere interacting with the radiation emitted by the sun.



you are right it is accepted Cap, but info I have read gives a fair call for it not being so,.....have not managed to find it yet, but I will

and that isnt oversimplified, its put perfect ,and allows lay-men like myself have an understanding of it., what is of importance are the quantities and ratios, and the varying techniques used by science to arrive at their end figures...

pity we cant all sit around a big bonfire and have these chats......

[GeneralStriker]

well- i don't know if this is germane or not since i haven't got the time to wade through that huge pile a crap Kiwi laid down in this thread- but- it's the case that a virus destroys its host in order to survive thereby ensuring its own failure. ring a bell? ouroboros for lunch anyone?

[KIWI]

well- i don't know if this is germane or not since i haven't got the time to wade through that huge pile a crap Kiwi laid down in this thread- but- it's the case that a virus destroys its host in order to survive thereby ensuring its own failure. ring a bell? ouroboros for lunch anyone?

the virus does destroy the host, so if I was Boycott-Everything I would be keeping a weather eye on General Stryker :thegeneral:

[WarlordZeroOne]

When it comes to anything Volcanic,we should think of L. Ron. Hubbard, he knows all about volcano's and Aliens, in fact Tom Cruise would help us out there,or even John Trav. :lol:

[KIWI]

have you read Capt (ret) Bruce Cathies theories on volcano's WZ0? :shock:

[WarlordZeroOne]

No KIWI,and by the way your research gets my Top Marks, i like the way you give good answers and take no shit,you are a credit to AmKon, and i am not brown tonging,thats a real compliment,Fuck me you don't get many of those on the AmKon site.

[KIWI]

ha ha , cheers mate, Im surprised no-one has ever bothered to point out that the definition of a Kiwi, is a bird so full of shit it cant fly :lol:

[WarlordZeroOne]

iv'e also noticed they, the members don't FUCKABOUT with your feathers,they also know how hard they would get Pecked. :lol:

[KIWI]

iv'e also noticed they, the members don't FUCKABOUT with your feathers,they also know how hard they would get Pecked. :lol:

thats more often than not due to the fact they think a lot of its a load of unsubstantiated tripe,......but if you dont try and shove it to hard down everyones throats, and dont get to bolshi, they show you the courtesy of just ignoring the post, as opposed to climbing all over you, I still consider myself a new-fish, this site is the first time Ive been on the intertoobz net-thing, coming up to a year now, if you have a look around you will find this place is unique amongst the "industry"sites, Im a nosy fucker and had my head in books since a young kid, so the opportunity to drag it all out and hear what others from all over the planet think, is the pinnicle of a lifes nosey-ness :w00t:

[WarlordZeroOne]

Thats exactly how i look at life KIWI, this site is unique i agree,but there is also some strange people as well that we talk to,sometimes i try to imagine what makes certain people Tick with the answers they give and the things they say,my father used to say,there nobody stranger than folk.