Questions tagged [geobiology]
The geobiology tag has no usage guidance, but it has a tag wiki.
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Pre-Phanerozoic CO2 levels and pluricell life influence in C Earth's cycle
This graph presents an estimate of Phanerozoic CO2 levels on Earth.
From the onset of the graph, it appears that CO2 levels are rising. However, I've come across papers, such as this one, suggesting ...
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Are any New Guinea snakes invasive?
Papua New Guinea has many species of snakes, some of which are dangerous:
https://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/png-snakes.htm
Are any of these species invasive, or are they all indigenous?
Or, since that ...
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What kind of fossil or creature is this from? Found in the ocean
I found this in the waters of the Dominican Republic -- any idea of what it belongs to/how old it might be? I thought it might be a tooth, but I tried matching to existing marine life in the area but ...
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When did mosquitoes reach Australia?
When and how did mosquitoes reach Australia?
It's east of the Wallace line, so 'they got there from Asia' is not an obviously unproblematic conclusion.
In general, when and how mosquitoes reached ...
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Specific cases of 528 Hz harmonics that appear in nature that are not wideband radiation or noise? [closed]
I was looking up something about the 528 Hz frequency that people like to talk about, and some of the evidence used to support the idea seemed a little irrelevant. Like, of course the sun emits 528 Hz ...
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As the number of ocean dead zones increases, is the world's primary source of atmospheric oxygen (phytoplankton) at risk?
Disclaimer: I am not a scientist.
I was wondering if there is a concern that the world will run out of breathable atmospheric oxygen as the number of dead zones in the ocean increases with global ...
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Phosphate in the oceans, does it tend to bond with sodium?
Phosphate has a major role in biology and the biosphere. In its "abiotic" form, floating around in the oceans, lets say marine oceans to be specific, does it tend to be in the Na3PO4 form? ...
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What is the connection (if any) between jarosite and subsoil biological activity near Spain's Río Tinto?
In the short BBC video Spain's otherworldly red river, Ricardo Amils, a researcher in Spain's Astrobiology Center says the following (amateur transcription):
Río Tinto is a peculiar place in our ...
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Why are there places where trees don't grow?
I can understand places like a desert where it's too dry or tundra where it's too cold, but why are there places like meadows or fields in the middle of the forest where trees don't grow? Or even ...
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How can half a degree of average temperature result in such devastating impact on coral reefs?
Yesterday I read a number of news stories about the new IPCC's (International Panel on Climate Change) report regarding the current state of global warming. It reported that we are on track for ...
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Does crustal thickness have anything to do with how life existed and sustained on Earth? [closed]
The original question that was put on hold "If the crust were the thickest layer of Earth, what effect would its thickness have on organisms?" was actually one of those 'counterfactual question' ...
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How quickly can coral fossilize?
On a trip to Honduras a few years ago I visited one of the islands off its north coast with a friend and went to a section of it mostly with nothing but residences which looked far less visited by ...
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Is it true that "All life on earth gets its energy from the sun"? How much biomass is not derived from photosynthesis?
In helping my son with his college biology I ran across some statements that I think are wrong according to updated data. The copyright is 2017 so it is supposed to reflect the most current knowledge....
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Saharian calima dust, apart of Fe2O3 does contain FeO?
It is repeated often that Saharan calimas are fertilizing often Atlantic ocean. But I suppose that most of Saharan dust contains Fe2O3 and not FeO. Am I right?
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Can the sealed bottle garden be called a perpetual motion machine? [closed]
I was not sure just where to ask this question, but I was wondering if the sealed bottle garden be really called a perpetual motion machine.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2267504/The-...
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What makes pollen varieties useful index fossils?
What makes pollen varieties useful index fossils? Should pollen not be a poor index fossil?
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Why haven't weeds overtaken the entire planet?
Given how rapidly weed plants spread and grow, choking out all other plant life, how come after millions of years we haven't ended with forests full of thistle or pokeweed, as opposed to pines or oak ...
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The free oxygen (O$_2$) in the atmosphere is largely a result of what process?
Does it come from
a)atmospheric lightning and ozone dissociation.
b)meteorite impacts early in the earth's geological history.
c)Paleozoic volcanic activity.
d)photosynthetic processes.
e)...
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Why One Side of Mountain Range is Lush
I'm new to this site and certainly not someone with any real background in atmospheric science, so please forgive me if this question is a little stupid.
I recall learning in High School about ...
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Why does Earth have abundant oxygen in the atmosphere?
Because of photosynthesis, obviously. But then it's not actually that obvious after all, because photosynthesis is mostly balanced by respiration.
We can summarise the processes of photosynthesis ...
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Average Aragonite:Calcite ratio in biogenic CaCO3 in the oceans
I wonder what the average ratio between aragonite and calcite is during the precipitation of biogenic calcium carbonate in seawater. I know some species are aragonite-favouring and some perfer using ...
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How can the 'abiogenic oil' hypothesis be disproven?
We do know that complex hydrocarbons (e.g., tholins) exist in the outer Solar System. Some geologists maintain that at least some oil on Earth is of non-biological origin. The mainstream, though, ...
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Peak phosphorus - what are the sinks?
The minable phosphorus reserves are limited. Where is the mined phosphoprus landing, what are the global phosphorus sinks?
I would assume that most phosphorus is used for fertilizer and ultimately ...
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How are the banded-iron-formation iron-ores formed?
Many of the richest and purest iron ores are found in so called banded iron formations, cm thick magnetite or hematite layers intermixed with iron poor rock layers. Since these are usually of pre-...
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What are the ramifications to life on Earth when the Earth's magnetic poles switch?
This question is related to this question about the cause of the Earth's magnetic field switching polarity.
My question is: How does this switch in the polarity of the magnetic field affect life on ...
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