Tag Archives: oceans

Ocean Acidification Changes Nitrogen Cycling in World Seas

*New results indicate potential to reduce certain greenhouse gas emissions from oceans to atmosphere*  

Increasing acidity in the sea’s waters may fundamentally change how nitrogen is cycled in them, say marine scientists who published their findings in this week’s issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).  

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in the oceans. All organisms, from tiny microbes to blue whales, use nitrogen to make proteins and other important compounds.  (more…)

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New Evidence Supports Snowball Earth as Trigger for Early Animal Evolution

Geologist Noah Plavansky examines rocks deposited after a "Snowball Earth" glacial event. Image credit: Lyons Lab, UC-Riverside

*Spike in ancient marine phosphorus concentrations linked to emergence of complex life*

Biogeochemists have found new evidence linking “Snowball Earth” glacial events to the rise of early animals. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Study results appear in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

The controversial Snowball Earth hypothesis posits that, on several occasions, the Earth was covered from pole to pole by a thick sheet of ice lasting for millions of years.

These glaciations, the most severe in Earth history, occurred from 750 to 580 million years ago. (more…)

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