Earth Regulation

8/14/2019 Earth Regulation

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Regulation of the Global Environment:A powerful Perspective

AnimationcreditNASA

A

sy

nthesisbyAntonio

DonatoNobre,MCT

INPA

Brazil

Spon

soredbytheGlobalCanopyPrograman

dthe

ForeignandCommonwea

lthOffice,UnitedKingdom

Presentation copyright 2005 by MCT INPA/AntonioDonato Nobre


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Image credit NASAHuble Space Telescope

In a small region in the outskirts

Billions of years and cosmic processes

of unimaginable grandeur were required sincethe beginning of the Universe for the formation of our Galaxy

a finger-like

structure ofgigantic

proportions

harbors a heavenly cradle wherenewborn baby-stars shine through

clouds of dust

A baby star ejects a revolving disk of dust from

which planets will form


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Image credit NASA

planets in relative scale

billions of years later voil, our solar system

Why is there such a variety of planets?

Why are rotations so different?

Could other planets sustain life?

Sun

JupiterSaturn

E

arth

M

ars

V

enus

NeptuneUranus


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Venus

Searing 400O C sauna

Clouds and rain of sulfuric acid

243 Days rotation

Weak magnetic field

Image credit NASA

Diversity of Planets


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Magnetic field almost null

Mars

Frigid Temperatures

Image credit NASA


Rarefied and un-breathable atmosphere


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JupiterMoons

Image credit NASA



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Image credit NASA

Io

Europa Ganimedes

Calisto

These bodies have metallic nucleousThese bodies have water and ice


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Io, where geology

is the weather

Image credit NASAThermal Image showing Active Volcanos


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What about other heavenly objects?

An enormous swarm of moving

boulders and comets, remnantsfrom the formation of thesolar system, lay floating inouter orbitssome of which can, from time to time, destabilize

and plunge in our direction

What protects Earth froma continuous bombardment of meteorites?


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Jupiter and the other giant planets in outer orbits functionasgravitational umbrellas, protecting Earth from comets and

other wayward cosmic boulders

Comet Shoemaker-Levy impact 16-22 July/1994Image credit NASA

Huble Space Telescope


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Earth Moon System

Mass, distance and orbit of our Moonguarantees the long term stability for the

oblique angle of Earth rotational axis

Image credit NASA

This dynamic rotationstability has vital importancefor the long term stability of

climate

Thus, are the evolution of the rightplanet, in the rightdistance and orbit

from the sun, with the rightset of

neighboring planets attending necessaryand sufficientconditions for Earth toharbor life?

Not quite yet


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As a result of the solar wind blasting its unprotectedsurface, Io loses matter to space

Now the planet should be the rightand stablebody that will bear an atmosphereconducive to

the appearance and evolution of life

But there is still a caveat

How is Earth protectedfrom the erosive forces of the solar wind?


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Li f E th ti fi ld


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like an electric motor,the differential spinning

in the nucleus generates abig magnetic field thatencompasses the whole

planet

Lines of Earth magnetic field,computer simulation


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... So, Earths magnetic field is very effectivein protecting against the harshness of thesolar wind...

Animation credit NASA; ilustrates solar wind ejecting from the sun and being deflected by Earth magnetic field; ends with a view of Mars weak magnetic field

Click mouse here =>


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If one were to calculate the numeric probability that all ofthese celestial factors would come together exactly right,as they did, the probability of Earth existence resulting

from blind chance, multiplied by the probability of itsactual characteristics, would very likely produce aninfinitesimaly small number!


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Greenhouse Earth95% CO2

Billions of years ago thesuns output was weaker so

the greenhouse Earth keptthe oceans from freezing

In the beginning only geological andgeochemical forces determined theaccumulation and modification of gases in

the atmosphere.

Venting from the Earth interior andaccretion from meteorites were the

sources for the slow buildup of gases on

the planets surface

As happened in Venus and Mars, these

passive physical and chemical processesled to the accumulation of a reductiveatmosphere, composed mostly of Carbon

Dioxide.


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Present day Earth0.037% CO2

But Earth has evolved an oxidativeatmosphere, where carbon dioxide has been

removed and reduced to traces. This courseof evolution was radically different from theones in Venus and Mars, which kept theirreducive atmospheres unaltered to the

present.

the transparent atmospherekeeps the oceans fromboiling as a result of a

stronger sun


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Had Earth kept the CO2 atmosphere ofthe beginning to the present, it would now

resemble Venus, with extreme heat onthe surface

Had Earth had the low CO2 atmosphere ofthe present back in the beginning, itwould now resemble Jupiters moon

Europa, completely frozen

THE EARTH PARADOX


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Purely passive production of O2 in the

atmosphere does not explain themagnitude of reduction in CO2

concentration and the volume of molecularoxygen produced


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MOLECULAR OXIGEN FORMATION BY WATER AND CO2 PHOTOLYSIS

Photochemical generation of molecular oxygen inthe atmosphere could explain an amountequivalent to less than 1% of the present

atmospheric concentration (21%)


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Internet material

However, most Oxygenproduced over the ages(96%) was consumed inthe oxidation of Iron

and Sulfur on the Earthcrust. Oxygen only

started to buildup inthe atmosphere when

the crust wassufficiently rusted.


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Therefore, passive photochemicalproduction of O2 would have had no

chance of producing an oxidativeatmosphere.

By estechiometric analogy, the

photochemical removal of CO2 could notexplain the great reduction of this gas

from 95% to 0.037%


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Some geologists believe that weathering

of continental rocks in a CO2 richatmosphere with the ensuing formation oflimestone would explain the removal of

CO2 from the atmosphere


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this geological hypothesis is based in theaccounting of huge volumes of limestone found

on the ocean floors and also on previouslyflooded continental areas


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How life would promote and control gas concentrations in the


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PHOTOSYNTHESISGreenhouse Earth

95% CO2

Present day Earth

0.037% CO2

30% output increase

How life would promote and control gas concentrations in theatmosphere?


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The emergence of photosynthesis in the

biosphere explains the progressiveconsumption of atmospheric CO2 and

symmetrical release of vast amounts of

molecular oxygen


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BLUEGREEN ALGI was the first organism to tap sunlightthrough photosynthesis


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Internet material

Over the ages theoxygen buildup inthe atmosphere is

consistent andsynchronized withthe evolution oforganisms in the

biosphere


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What is Photosynthesis?

How does it tap light energy?

Why Carbon and Oxygen are different

sides of the same coin?


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Origin of All Organic Matter

inert gas [CO2] is transformed into sugar

...using for that nothing more than light and water

CO2 + H2O = CH2O + O2

Simple Explanation

Chlorophyl:Li ht


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Chlorophyl:chemical solar panel

Light hitting thechlorophyl produces

electricity in its

other extremity,where water is thendissociated intoHydrogen and

Oxygen

Light

H2O

H2

O

ATPADP

Atmosphere

Hydrogen isremitted to the nextphase where it willbe used to reduceCO2 and producesugar; Oxygen is

released into theatmosphere;

Finally, extra

energy from lightis packed into

ATP that will beremitted toenergize the

sugar productionphase


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Rubisco: assembly line

Internet material

CO2

Using energy andHydrogen produced in thechlorophyl light phase, 6CO2 molecules will now beglued together by therubisco enzyme to form

one molecule of Glucose

Mg

Rubiscopr

otein


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Biochemistry: builds live complexity with simplebuilding blocks

Internet material

The most fantastic LEGO!

Further on, glucose moleculesare glued together bybiochemical processes,

producing celulose, lignin,wood... and then, with the

addition of other ingredients,also proteins, lipids, vitamins...

and a great variety of organicsubstances from which allorganisms are made...


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Against disorder

Acumulates information

Manipulates flows of matter and energy

Self regulated

Always seeks equilibrium


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There is overwhelming evidence that

Earth is stable because it has life.Blind geological or geochemicalforces alone cannot explain the

exquisite regulation veryfiable in ourplanets history.

Runaway climates on all other knownplanets are powerful corroborations

of the uniqueness of Earths selfregulation capacity!

In hindsight, these inherent properties of life arevery similar to what can be seen in our planet as a

whole: many geological records point to a long lastingstability of the Earth temperature, within very

narrow limits of variation.

This temperature stability has maintained liquidwater on the surface, an essential condition for lifeitself.

In many ways, the regulation of climate and theenvironment, as demonstrated by Earth history, is

very similar to the complex and efficient regulationof an organism own internal environment...


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Aknowledgements

This synthesis work was funded by the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office of UK, under a grant to theGlobal Canopy Prgram (www.globalcanopy.org/), and co-

sponsored by the National Institute for AmazonianResearch in Brazil. Stimuli, support and a critical reviewfrom Andrew Mitchell from the Global Canopy Program

was keenly appreciated.Most original material used in building of the slidescame from public domain sites like www.nasa.gov and

others. This synthesis could not have developed withoutinspiration by Robert Harriss (National Center of

Atmospheric Research), Lynn Margulis (many of herbooks), Jim Lovelock (the Gaya Theory), Victor

Gorshkov and Anastasia Makaraieva (Biotic Regulationof the Environment) and a number of authors in the

scientific earth system and planetary science

literature. This work was also spurred by 20 years ofresearch in the magnificient Amazon rainforest, where

environmental regulation is self evident.

Socrates, thousands of years ago, first captured thenotion that humankind only could properly evaluate thecomplexity of Earth if able to leave the planet and see

it from the outside.
http://www.globalcanopy.org/http://www.globalcanopy.org/http://www.nasa.gov/http://www.nasa.gov/http://www.globalcanopy.org/http://www.globalcanopy.org/

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