Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.b43e..01f&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #B43E-01
Mathematics
Logic
0300 Atmospheric Composition And Structure, 0315 Biosphere/Atmosphere Interactions (0426, 1610), 0463 Microbe/Mineral Interactions, 0471 Oxidation/Reduction Reactions (4851), 1041 Stable Isotope Geochemistry (0454, 4870)
Scientific paper
Earth's history can be roughly divided into two equal parts. The first half was a period of biological innovation, which led to the evolution and selection of a core set of metabolic processes exclusive to microbes. Although we are rapidly learning about how these core reactions are related to each other biochemically and from a structural standpoint, one of main mysteries is the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis; the most complex energy transduction reaction in nature. The process catalyzes the photobiological oxidation of water, leading to the formation of free oxygen. In conjunction, the long term sequestration of reducing equivalents allowed free molecular oxygen ultimately to become the second most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere. Thus, oxygen is an emergent property of the planet and its evolution has been a signature biomarker of life for the past ca. 2.2 billion years. Although Earth is unique in our present solar system, a search for life on terrestrial planets outside of this solar system should logically look for gases that are far from thermodynamic equilibrium. In this lecture, I will examine the complexity of the evolution of such gases on Earth and explore the potential for observing them on distant planets to address the fundamental question: "Are we alone"?
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