Earth's early atmosphere
@article{Kasting1993EarthsEA, title={Earth's early atmosphere}, author={James F. Kasting}, journal={Science}, year={1993}, volume={259}, pages={920 - 926} }
Ideas about atmospheric composition and climate on the early Earth have evolved considerably over the last 30 years, but many uncertainties still remain. It is generally agreed that the atmosphere contained little or no free oxygen initially and that oxygen concentrations increased markedly near 2.0 billion years ago, but the precise timing of and reasons for its rise remain unexplained. Likewise, it is usually conceded that the atmospheric greenhouse effect must have been higher in the past to…
935 Citations
6.4 – Geologic and Geochemical Constraints on Earth's Early Atmosphere
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Evolution of the atmosphere.
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Carbon dioxide warming of the early Earth.
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Svante Arrhenius' research in atmospheric physics extended beyond the recent past and the near future states of the Earth, which today are at the center of sociopolitical attention, and his two-volume textbook on cosmic physics is a comprehensive synopsis of the field.
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Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations before 2.2 billion years ago
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The results suggest that either the Earth's early climate was much more sensitive to increases in pco2 than has been thought, or that one or more greenhouse gases other than CO2 contributed significantly to the atmosphere's radiative balance during the late Archaean and early Proterozoic eons.
A Hydrogen-Rich Early Earth Atmosphere
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The organic soup in the oceans and ponds on early Earth would have been a more favorable place for the origin of life than previously thought.
The Faint Young Sun Problem
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Geologic evidence for liquid oceans on the Earth nearly 4.5 billion years ago and astrophysical evidence for an early Sun 25% less luminous than present constitute the “Faint Young Sun” paradox. It…
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