Re: Is there more photosynthesis in the oceans than on dry land?
- From: "Peter Jason" <PJ@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 09:13:02 +1000
All the publicity about the "wicked CO2" levels in the atmosphere may be
redundant if most photosynthesis occures in the oceans, because as the CO2
level increases then so should the phytoplankton levels to compensate for
it. The "lungs' of the earth then are not the Amazon and other forests but
the oceans of the world. Also, the large quantities of CO2 will be locked
up by sea ceatures as carbonate.
"Cereus-validus....." <fashizzle.yourself@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:CQTue.4663$Y75.4149@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> My, oh my.
>
> Didn't you wander off-topic into outer space?!!!
>
> If they know how to use spell checking on other planets, why don't you?
>
> Photosynthetic bacteria are still bacteria even though they were once
> mistakenly called blue-green algae.
>
> Since the oceans cover more than 70 percent of the earth's surface, the
> answer to the original question is still YES.
>
>
> "Ivan Kobrinsky" <kobrin@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1119617254.174168.76730@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Cereus-validus:
>>
>>> Yes. Only as deep as the light reaches.
>>
>> In the context it is important to consider that sunlight
>> only can penetrate about 100 to 200 meters deeply into the
>> sea. In deeper levels (like in more about 2 400 meters sea
>> depth) photosynthesis is also manufactured. There are living
>> bacteria, that - like plants - the light for power production
>> use completely without daylight.
>>
>> For this feat they are using completely special light.
>> Instead of the sun the green sulfur bacteria use the weak
>> jets of hot sources of the deep sea for their photosynthesis.
>>
>> The bacteria are thereby the first well-known organisms,
>> which are capable of photosynthesis without sunlight.
>>
>> The special at the fact is very now that these bacteria can
>> live at other athmposphere than ours too.
>>
>>
>>
>> So our current big question becomes whether photosynthesis also
>> exists on other planets... do exist on other planets in our
>> sunsystem, under the most adverse conditions photosynthesis
>> is possible.
>>
>> Well, on fact the tiny microbes pointed out that the
>> "photosynthesis is not limited by any means only to the
>> surface of our planet"[*]
>>
>> It is conceivable for example that appropriate bacteria on
>> the Jupitermond Europe are at the soil under a thick ice
>> cover assumed liquid seas. The researchers filtered the
>> bacteria from water tests, which took her in the proximity
>> of the hydrothermalen sources. As you know certainly, the
>> majority of the well-known representatives of the Archaea
>> under most extreme local conditions can exist, e.g. at low
>> pH or in satisfied salt solutions - or like this way the
>> microbes live in very high temperatures of approximately
>> 350 degrees Celsius in a "breath-thin gap" between that
>> cooking hot spring waters and the ice-cold (2 degrees C.)
>> sea depth.
>>
>> Their ability to use this extremely weak light of the hot
>> sources to photosynthesis and thus for power production
>> they owe to a singular antenna system.
>>
>> This consists of an extremely sensitive chlorosom-complex,
>> which catches even the smallest reachable light and it for
>> the reaction cente of the organism transfers, where then
>> actual photosynthesis takes place, as Robert Blankenship
>> of the University of Arizona described.
>>
>>
>>
>> [*] Have a look at online-before-print version that presents
>> now the international researcher team in PNAS:
>> "An obligately photosynthetic bacterial anaerobe from a
>> deep-sea hydrothermal vent";
>> http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0503674102v1
>>
>
>
.
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