When did complex life begin on Earth? Recent study finds new information

Complex life on Earth, understood as the transition from simple unicellular organisms to more complex microorganisms that later gave rise to animals and plants, there would be started 1.5 billion years earlier than previously thought, according to an analysis of fossil remains found in an underwater volcanic pit in Gabon.

His geochemical study, whose conclusions are included in the magazine Precambrian Research, indicates that in la TThere were complex life forms on Earth 2.1 billion years ago, compared to the 635 million years that science had until now established for its beginning.

(See: Research confirms the benefits of classical music against depression).

The turning point in the dating has been given by the analysis of the complex microorganisms contained in large fossil stones (around 17 centimeters) found in an underwater volcanic pit near the city of Franceville (Gabon), on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa.

Origin

Its existence is the result, according to researchers, of a unique episode of underwater volcanic activity, occurred after the collision of two continents, which gave rise to an unusual wealth of nutrients in that area.

This collision of continents would have led to an increase in the concentrations of marine oxygen and phosphorus, two optimal ‘ingredients’ for the evolution of life, “especially in the transition from simple unicellular organisms to complex organisms such as animals and plants”, underlines one of the authors, Cardiff University Earth Sciences researcher Ernest Chi Fru.

(See: The discoveries that indigenous people made centuries before science).

“We believe that submarine volcanoes, which followed the collision, cut this section of water from the global ocean to create a shallow, nutrient-rich inland sea.“, the researcher said in a statement from Cardiff University.

“In this inland sea, an environment was created in which cyanobacterial photosynthesis was abundant for a long period of time, which led to the oxygenation of local seawater and the generation of food resources to increase the size of primitive life.“, he points out.

(See: NASA reveals a new energy source that Thomas Edison would have predicted years ago).

Evolution in two stages

Scientists believe that the ‘closed’ nature of this body of water, Coupled with the hostile conditions that existed beyond the boundaries of this environment for billions of years afterwards, these enigmatic life forms were prevented from spreading and establishing themselves globally.

Along those lines, The study suggests a two-stage evolution of complex life on Earth: a first episode that occurred in this specific space 2.1 billion years ago, and a second, following an increase in atmospheric oxygen levels, some 1.5 billion years later.

(See: The story of the physicist who, after 75 years of work, finally received her doctorate.)

While the first attempt failed to spread, The second gave rise to the animal biodiversity we know today.

EFE