BIOGEOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF EVOLUTION OF SAPROPELITES ACCORDING
TO DATA OF MOLECULAR PALAEONTOLOGY
| I. KLESMENT |
| The earliest organisms living on the Earth appeared under the conditions of oxygen-free atmosphere. Oxygen appeared later, due to the ability for photosynthesis acquired by living organisms. We support the opinion of L. Berkner and L. Marshall that the Earth's atmosphere began to convert into an oxidizing one with traces of oxygen appearing about 2-3 Gyr ago, and that in the Silurian it became aerobic (with the oxygen content similar to the present level) [1]. Procaryotic organisms formed the Earth's atmosphere, whose composition, in its turn, exerted an active influence on the composition, productivity and evolution of living matter. Thus, development of life proceeded in the system: organisms - water - atmosphere - mineral matter. |