OXYGEN: The Extraordinary Journey of the Molecule That Shaped Earth

The Definitive History of Atmospheric Oxygen, Life, and Planetary Geochemistry.

Join renowned authority Donald E. Canfield—a leading expert in geochemistry, Earth history, and primitive oceans—on an extraordinary journey tracing the evolution of atmospheric oxygen. Earth’s air is currently 21% oxygen, a concentration higher than any other known world. But our planet was not always an oxygenated one. This podcast is the most up-to-date narration of oxygen’s complex history.

Canfield draws on a multitude of scientific disciplines, including geology, paleontology, biochemistry, animal physiology, and microbiology, to explain how Earth became the ideal place for life.

Key Concepts Covered:

• Cyanobacteria: The Great Liberators The pivotal role of cyanobacteria in pioneering oxygenic photosynthesis and fundamentally reshaping the planet’s chemistry.
• The Great Oxidation Event (GOE): Explore the inflection point 2.3 billion years ago when Earth's oxygen content drastically increased, creating an environment favorable for the evolution of animals.
• Planetary Controls: Understand the fascinating interaction between biological and geological processes (including plate tectonics and the global carbon cycle) that control and stabilize atmospheric oxygen levels.
• Deep Time Exploration: Learn about the early stages of life before oxygen, the rise of animals in the Proterozoic, and the dramatic fluctuations in oxygen concentrations throughout the Phanerozoic Eon.

This accessible and colorful first-person narrative guides listeners through the diverse lines of scientific evidence, key discoveries, and enduring scientific uncertainties. Discover how tectonics and deep Earth processes influence surface chemistry and the persistence of liquid water in the habitable zone.

#Earth Science, #Geochemistry, #Paleontology, #Evolutionary Biology, #Oxygen History, #Great Oxidation Event, #Cyanobacteria, #Plate Tectonics, #Donald Canfield, #Life on Earth.