LIFESCI 2H03 Lecture Notes - Paleosol, Chloroplast, Oxygen Minimum Zone

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Life Sciences
• Course: LIFESCI 2H03
• Professor: Luc Bernier

Document Summary

The stromatolites have bubbles of oxygen coming out of them and the oxygen moving up through the water into the atmosphere. Possible that early stromatolites did not produce o2. Carried out today by higher plants and algae. Light/energy is required for this process to occur: example: Photosynthetic bacteria and blue green algae are capable of undergoing this pathway. Notice that it requires h2s (hydrogen sulphide) Since it needs light it must occur on the surface of the earth. Co2 + h2s (ch2o) + 2s0 + h2o. Many early microfossils related to microbes currently found near hydrothermal vents. From the materials rising from the cores of the earth: doesn"t require light, perhaps not even o2. Co2 + 4h2s + o2 (ch2o) + 4s0 + 3h2o. Primitive methanogens would have survived in h2 rich atmosphere of early earth: organisms that are capable of this are found in the kingdom archaea, methane was really abundant in the early atmosphere.