Earth's future: Drastic oxygen drop may end most life
Scientists predict that in a billion years, the oxygen level on Earth will drastically decrease, according to "Nature Geoscience." Researchers believe this will mean the end of most life on our planet.
The researchers claim that, in the future, Earth's atmosphere will undergo significant changes. According to their forecasts, in about a billion years, the oxygen level will drastically drop, which may pose a threat to life on our planet. This discovery gives humanity time to develop technologies that would enable the colonisation of other planets.
Changes in Earth's atmosphere
Scientists anticipate that, in a billion years, the composition of the atmosphere will resemble that from 2.4 billion years ago, before the so-called Great Oxidation Event. These changes are the result of advanced simulations of Earth's biosphere, which indicate an increase in the Sun's temperature and a decrease in carbon dioxide concentration.
Experts explain that, over time, the Sun becomes hotter, leading to increased energy release. This, in turn, causes the breakdown of carbon dioxide, making it impossible for photosynthesising organisms, such as plants that produce oxygen, to survive.
Consequences for life on Earth
The research results published in "Nature Geoscience" indicate that, in a billion years, the oxygen concentration could decrease by a million-fold, while the methane content could increase by as much as 10,000 times. Chris Reinhard from the Georgia Institute of Technology emphasises that these changes could lead to the extinction of life on Earth.
Scientists previously predicted that intensified solar radiation would lead to the disappearance of oceans within 2 billion years. However, new models suggest that life on Earth will vanish earlier due to the decrease in oxygen levels. This research is part of the NASA NExSS project, which seeks to find habitable planets.
