Ancient 'great leap forward' for life in the open ocean: Cyanobacteria sheds light on how complex life evolved on earth
Friday, February 28, 2014 - 07:01
in Earth & Climate
Plankton in the Earth's oceans received a huge boost when microorganisms capable of creating soluble nitrogen 'fertilizer' directly from the atmosphere diversified and spread throughout the open ocean. This event occurred at around 800 million years ago and it changed forever how carbon was cycled in the ocean.