Combining 25 years of space-based data with ocean sampling, scientists have uncovered a change in the microscopic organisms that underpin the Southern Ocean’s food chain and carbon storage.
biosphere
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Diversity Of Exoplanetary Environments And The Search For Signs Of Life Beyond Earth
Thousands of exoplanets orbit nearby stars, showcasing a remarkable diversity in mass, size and orbits.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Wavelength Requirements For Life Detection Via Reflected Light Spectroscopy Of Rocky Exoplanets
Searching for signs of life is a primary goal of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). However, merely detecting oxygen, methane, or other widely discussed biosignatures is insufficient evidence for a […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Habitable Planet Orbital Assay: Biomass Mission Views Our Home World
Today, at the Living Planet Symposium, ESA revealed the first stunning images from its groundbreaking Biomass satellite mission – marking a major leap forward in our ability to understand how […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Does Life Rebound From Mass Extinctions?
If you’re an animal living through a mass extinction, it’s best to be one that’s found a unique way to make a living.
![Odds ratio of the hypotheses that abiogenesis is a fast vs slow process. Each curve represents the odds ratio, computed using Equation 1, as a function of the biosphere’s ultimate lifespan, T - although we have subtracted off the modern epoch to yield remaining time on the x-axis. Previous estimates [1, 8] for the earliest evidence of life yield the dotted and dashed lines, but the new LUCA date of 4.2 Gya [10] greatly improves the odds factor. Indeed, the three solid lines show how the odds are always above 10:1 irrespective of how one chooses T or indeed fairly extreme choices (Carboniferious and Cambrian period) for the earliest civilization on Earth, t ′ I - evident by the circles which denote the minima. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Strong-Evidence-That-Abiogenesis.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Strong Evidence That Abiogenesis Is a Rapid Process on Earth Analogs
The early start to life naively suggests that abiogenesis is a rapid process on Earth-like planets. However, if evolution typically takes ~4Gyr to produce intelligent life-forms like us, then the […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Titan Could Harbor Life, But Only A Tiny Amount, Study Finds
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is a strange, alien world. Covered in rivers and lakes of liquid methane, icy boulders and dunes of soot-like “sand,” its topography has long fascinated scientists […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Archean Methane Cycling and Life’s Co-Evolution: Intertwining Early Biogeochemical Processes and Ancient Microbial Metabolism
This chapter explores the key carbon compounds that shaped the Archean biogeochemical cycle, delineating their substantial impact on Earth’s primordial atmospheric and biospheric evolution.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release
600 Million Years Of Stress Guide Planet Evolution on Earth
Without plants on land, humans could not live on Earth. From mosses to ferns to grasses to trees, plants are our food, fodder and timber. All this diversity emerged from […]
![Comparison of Venus and Earth atmospheric profiles (left) and depth-equivalent Earth altitude versus Venus altitude (right). Data of Venus atmosphere taken from [21]; Earth atmosphere represented with Linsley’s model [17, 22]. The vertical green dashed lines at the left panel indicate the extremes of the “Habitable Zone” (HZ) of reference [23] (venusian altitudes in the range 42.8 km to 62.2 km). -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/The-Venusian-Chronicles.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Venus
The Venusian Chronicles
Venus’ atmosphere — specifically its clouds buoyed up 40 to 60 km above the surface — has long been suspected to encompass a biosphere where Earth-like living organisms could grow […]