Laughing gas may have helped warm early Earth and given breath to life
August 21, 2018, Georgia Institute of Technology
More than an eon ago, the sun shone dimmer than it does today, but the Earth stayed warm due to a strong greenhouse gas effect, geoscience theory holds. Astronomer Carl Sagan coined this "the Faint Young Sun Paradox," and for decades, researchers have searched for the right balance of atmospheric gases that could have kept early Earth cozy.
A new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that nitrous oxide, known for its use as the dental sedative laughing gas, may have played a significant role.
The research team carried out experiments and atmospheric computer modeling that in detail substantiated an existing hypothesis about the presence of nitrous oxide (N2O), a powerful greenhouse gas, in the ancient atmosphere. Established research has already pointed to high levels of carbon dioxide and methane, but they may not have been plentiful enough to sufficiently keep the globe warm without the help of N2O.
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2018-08-gas-early-earth-life.html#jCp
