[ad_1]
The process of evolution of the first animals to appear on Earth has already caused global warming more than 500 million years ago, according to a study published today in the journal Nature.
Research indicates that early life forms of animals were developed in the oceans between 520 and 540 million years ago, where their decomposition action on the organic matter of the seabed caused an increase carbon dioxide (CO2) and a reduction of oxygen in the atmosphere.
At the same time that oxygen levels in the water were falling, the increase in CO2 raised the temperature and caused global warming, which complicated the survival of these animals during the 100 million in the following years, stresses the study, developed by the universities of Exeter and Leeds, with the Belgians of Antwerp and the University Vrije of Brussels.
"Like worms in a garden, the tiny creatures of the seabed have removed, mixed and recycled dead organic matter, a process known as bioturbation," says one of the authors Tim Lenton, from the University of Exeter.
However, bottom layer badysis found that the bioturbation process impaired these sediments very little, although the decrease in oxygen was significant.
"This means that the marine animals of the time were not very active and that they moved very deeply on the seabed. two observations did not fit, "said Simon Poulton, of the University of Leeds.
According to the principal author of the study, Sebastiaan van de Velde, from the University of Vrije, the explanation came up that is, a- he stressed, that the first bioturbation process "had a huge impact". With the last piece of this puzzle in place, scientists were able to Then, he devised a mathematical model of the Earth there are more than 500 million years to examine the climate changes that caused these primitive life forms .
"The evolution of these small animals reduces oxygen in the oceans and the atmosphere. It also increased the two atmospheric levels of CO2 that caused global warming. We knew this had happened during this historic period, but not that it had been driven by animals, "added Benjamin Mills of the University of Leeds
Investigators warned that, now, human action was recreating similar circumstances to the ocean anoxia 500 million years ago, which could then cause mbadive extinctions of species. [19659010]
[ad_2]
Source link
