Breathe because it is time for oxygen to run out on Earth, but a study by the Japanese University of Toho and NASA has set the date for the removal of a key chemical element for the development of life on the planet.
According to the Argentine newspaper Clarín, a study published by Nature Geoscience concludes that atmospheric oxygen is not permanent on the planets and, in the case of Earth, it causes deoxygenation, which would turn the Blue Planet into a similar scene. experienced before the Great Oxidation Event, an environmental change that occurred about 2.4 billion years ago that later allowed life to develop on Earth.
Biosignals of life based on atmospheric oxygen, those that indicate the possibility of developing life on a planet, are uncertain in an atmosphere like Earth’s, especially in the distant future, but the researchers dare to say “likely to persist for another six hundred years.”
Atmospheric oxygen is present in the Earth’s atmosphere. It is a vital gas for life on our planet and is found at a concentration of approximately 21% by volume. This means that for every 100 molecules in the atmosphere, about 21 are oxygen.
Oxygen is essential for the respiration of most living things, because it participates in the processes of obtaining energy through cellular respiration. Aerobic organisms, like humans, use oxygen to break down nutrients and release energy stored in them.
In addition to being crucial for respiration, oxygen also plays an important role in various atmospheric and ecological processes. It contributes to the formation of ozone in the stratosphere, which protects us from ultraviolet rays from the sun. It also needs materials for combustion and oxidation.
