Photo Agency - Astronomy - Space - Nature

> Eoarchean Earth

Eoarchean Earth

author: Walter B. Myers/Novapix

reference: t-glb91-01100

Image Size 300 DPI: 33 * 25 cm

770 million years after the formation of the Earth--3.8 billion years ago--the first life may have appeared in the form of simple, single-celled organisms. Bacteria and archaea may have even found a way to populate the otherwise sterile and inhospitable surface. The atmosphere would likely have consisted solely of gases vented by volcanoes: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen, methane, hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and water vapor. There was probably no oxygen in the air at all. In this image, a variety of single-celled organisms have ventured out of the ocean and onto the rocky remains of two volcanic calderas, adding color to an otherwise bleak and monochromatic landscape. While the lack of breathable oxygen would be anathema to complex life forms like ourselves, this primitive atmosphere was a rich source of sustenance for these terrestrial vanguards.

Keywords for this photo:

ARCHEAN - EARTH - EOARCHEAN - HISTORY OF EARTH - ILLUSTRATION - MICROORGANISM - PRECAMBRIAN - WATER -