Have you ever thought about what will happen when the content of oxygen suddenly doubles? A plant that towers into the clouds? A huge insect? An endless fire? By then, perhaps breathing would be suicide for humans.
The "past and present life" of Earth's oxygen
There is no doubt that oxygen is one of the essential conditions for the survival of basically all living organisms on the earth. Without oxygen, most species will die. Now we all know clearly that the oxygen content in the air is about 21%, but the oxygen content in the air is not static, and changes in oxygen content have also led to the rise and extinction of many species.
As early as 3.8 billion years ago, the oxygen content on the earth was far from being compared with the present, when the oxygen content in the air was only 0.02%. At that time, the dominant earth was also the anaerobic organism that did not require oxygen. However, no one expected that a "traitor" appeared in the anaerobic organisms - cyanobacteria.
cyanobacteria will perform photosynthesis and release oxygen to the outside world. For many anaerobic organisms, this is undoubtedly a poison. With the continuous efforts of a large number of cyanobacteria, the large amount of released oxygen element combined with minerals was released after more than one billion years of polishing. The oxygen content in the earth's air increased from 0.02% to 4%. Although doesn't seem to be much, it is 200 times the original oxygen content. A large number of anaerobic organisms have become extinct because they cannot adapt to the environment, and the era of aerobic organisms is coming.
Although there is "996" of cyanobacteria, the increase in oxygen is not endless. According to research by scientists today, the peak of the earth's oxygen content is in the Carboniferous 300 million years ago, with an oxygen concentration of 35%. Many people call this era the "Giant Worm Era". As the name suggests, the owners of that era were huge insects, dragonflies with wings spreading their meter long, centipedes with 2 meters long, spiders with halves with meter-high height... It makes people feel chilled when they think about it.
After this, the oxygen content in the air began to gradually decline, and continued to drop to the current 21% , which is also the most comfortable oxygen concentration for us humans.
As the oxygen content in the air continues to change, the creatures dominated by the earth are also constantly changing. So, what will happen if the oxygen content on the earth suddenly doubles? Can we humans still guarantee our dominance on the earth?
disaster? Gift? ——Double the oxygen content
Whenever the environment changes greatly, what will happen to us first? Yes, species are extinct. Different natural environments chose different masters of that era. Take the dinosaurs we hear most often as an example. What is the reason why the dinosaur extinction of ? Meteorite impact? Climate change? Volcanic eruption? Despite the debate, the only thing we can be sure of is that drastic changes in the environment have led to the extinction of dinosaurs.
When the oxygen content doubles, from 21% to 42%, even exceeding the peak of the earth's oxygen content, species extinction will inevitably occur. At that time, countless creatures would die and die because they could not adapt to the changes in the oxygen content in the air, and the same is true for us humans.
Although oxygen is an indispensable condition for our survival, the concentration of oxygen that humans can adapt to is limited. We often hear about "altitude sickness", which is a symptom of discomfort caused by the low pressure and low oxygen environment when our human body suddenly enters the plateau at an altitude of 3,000 meters.
The opposite is "hypoprotoreaction", also known as "intoxicated oxygen" or " oxygen poisoning ". This is an adverse reaction caused by the body's discomfort after the body suddenly returns to the hyperoxygen environment from a hypoxic environment, such as fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness, etc., and the whole person is like being drunk, so it is called "drunk oxygen".
Therefore, doubling the oxygen content is by no means a good thing for humans, and may even cause the demise of humans. Although we may be able to maintain our own survival through technological means, in order to achieve the self-evolution of organisms that can adapt to this oxygen-rich environment, it is undoubtedly a gamble that races against time.
Although the oxygen-rich environment will put many creatures on the verge of extinction, there are also some creatures that can benefit from it. The most typical one is the "Giant Worm Age" 300 million years ago. may double the oxygen content, which will once again allow dragonflies, centipedes and other species to become the master of the earth with their huge size, and humans may turn from hunters into prey.
At this time, some people may feel puzzled. They are all living things, insects can adapt to oxygen-rich environments and become huge. So as higher humans, won’t we become bigger or even giants?
There are actually many debates about this. What is most recognized by is that after experiments, insects are covered with trachea that can directly absorb oxygen, which means that their rate of oxygen is much higher than that of vertebrates such as humans. Humans need blood circulation to absorb oxygen. Therefore, when the oxygen content doubles, insects can adapt quickly and become larger, while humans cannot. But perhaps the reason why insects grow bigger in the "Giant Worm Era" is not only oxygen, but also other conditions such as air pressure, but we have never discovered it.
In addition to animals, plants will also undergo unimaginable changes. Any plant that can adapt to this environment will change its "old appearance" from grass to towering trees. The roots of these plants will also go deep into the ground, causing the roads and other facilities we paved to be destroyed, and the skyscrapers will gradually collapse, allowing the city to gradually return to its original state. The increase in oxygen concentration of
will also cause the damage of ozone layer to be repaired, which will make the ozone layer thicker. Once this happens, the ability of the ozone layer to isolate ultraviolet rays will increase, and many bacteria in will resuscitate , causing major harm to humans. Not only that, the high concentration of oxygen in the air also means that the probability of fires is greatly increased. It is possible that a little bit of , Mars can ignite a long-lasting fire. Such a terrifying and unextinguishable fire can even cause serious greenhouse effect .
The human body's own inconvenience, huge insects, cities destroyed by developed plant roots, bacterial proliferation, greenhouse effect... Once the oxygen content doubles, what awaits us may not be human evolution, but a disaster that is enough to perish.
Since ancient times, what we humans are most proud of is our ability to transform the environment. All living things survive in accordance with the environment of nature, and only humans can transform nature into an environment suitable for us to live in. But despite this, humans may be the overlord of all living things, but not the overlord of nature. When the natural environment changes suddenly, judging by the current strength of human beings, we are not superior, and we can even survive.
No matter how powerful human beings are, our relationship with nature is interdependent. Even if one day we can fly away from the earth as a whole, no one will hope that we will leave a devastated home. Protecting the environment is also protecting ourselves.
Author: September Suiyi Proofreading: Chuanchuan
Reference
Zhang Weicheng; Looking back at the ancient "Giant Insect Era"; Science 24 hours ; 2021.04.01
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