Scientists Just Analyzed 1.4-Billion-Year-Old Air, and What They Found Could Change Everything
Scientists have opened a pristine time capsule from 1.4 billion years ago, and its contents are challenging long-held assumptions about the evolution of life on Earth. By analyzing microscopic air bubbles trapped in ancient salt crystals from Canada, a research team has discovered that our planet's atmosphere contained surprisingly high levels of oxygen during an era previously thought to be stagnant and "boring."
The groundbreaking study, published just this week in the journal *PNAS*, provides the first direct measurement of the atmosphere from the Mesoproterozoic Era. This period, often dubbed the "boring billion," was believed to have low oxygen levels and stable conditions that resulted in slow evolutionary progress. These new findings suggest a more dynamic environment than previously imagined.
A Direct Sample of Prehistoric Air
The team, led by researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), studied halite (rock salt) crystals that formed when an ancient lake in Ontario evaporated. As the crystals grew, they trapped tiny pockets of water and air, preserving a perfect snapshot of the atmospheric composition at that exact moment in geological time. "We were able to spy inside that era of Earth's history with such a degree of precision," said Morgan Schaller, a co-author of the study, in a statement released January 6, 2026. "These are really samples of ancient air!"
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