Abstract: The biosphere plays an important role in the global carbon cycle during Earth's evolution starting from the Archaean to the far future. In particular it has a significant influence on the silicate rock weathering by amplifying the processes. Furthermore relatively inert organic carbon is built up from the decay of organic matter, which contributes 10–20% to the present surface reservoirs of carbon. The buildup of this storage of reduced carbon is complemented by the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere. The Cambrian explosion, that is, the occurrence of complex life 0.54 Gyr ago, can be explained by interactions between the geosphere and biosphere. The Cambrian explosion was so rapid because of a positive feedback between the spread of biosphere, increased silicate weathering, and a consequent cooling of the climate. After the Cambrian explosion the environment itself has been actively changed by the biosphere maintaining the temperature conditions for its existence. The ultimate life span of the biosphere is defined by the extinction of prokaryotes in about 1.6 Gyr because of CO2 starvation.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 2
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