Climate - Gaia Hypothesis, Earth System, Biosphere

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class="md-content"> <div class="md-article-container template-desktop infinite-pagination"> <div class="infinite-scroll-container article last"> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="121560"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-meteorology">climate</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/science/climate-meteorology">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref53244"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Solar-radiation-and-temperature">Solar radiation and temperature</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref53245"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Solar-radiation-and-temperature#ref53245">Solar radiation</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53246"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Solar-radiation-and-temperature#ref53246">Distribution of radiant energy from the Sun</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53247"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Effects-of-the-atmosphere">Effects of the atmosphere</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53248"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Effects-of-the-atmosphere#ref53248">Average radiation budgets</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53249"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Effects-of-the-atmosphere#ref53249">Surface-energy budgets</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref53250"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Temperature">Temperature</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53251"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Temperature#ref53251">Global variation of mean temperature</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53252"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Temperature#ref53252">Diurnal, seasonal, and extreme temperatures</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53253"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Temperature#ref53253">Variation with height</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53254"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Circulation-currents-and-ocean-atmosphere-interaction">Circulation, currents, and ocean-atmosphere interaction</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53255"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Circulation-currents-and-ocean-atmosphere-interaction#ref53255">Short-term temperature changes</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref53256"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Atmospheric-humidity-and-precipitation">Atmospheric humidity and precipitation</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref53257"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Atmospheric-humidity-and-precipitation#ref53257">Atmospheric humidity</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53258" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Humidity-indexes">Humidity indexes</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53259"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Humidity-indexes#ref53259">Absolute humidity</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53260"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Humidity-indexes#ref53260">Specific humidity</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53261"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Humidity-indexes#ref53261">Relative humidity</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53262"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Relation-between-temperature-and-humidity">Relation between temperature and humidity</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53263" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Relation-between-temperature-and-humidity#ref53263">Humidity and climate</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53264"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Average-relative-humidity">Average relative humidity</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53265"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Average-relative-humidity#ref53265">Evaporation and humidity</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref53266"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Precipitation">Precipitation</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53267" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Precipitation#ref53267">Origin of precipitation in clouds</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53268"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Precipitation#ref53268">Cloud formation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53269"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Cloud-types">Cloud types</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53270"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Mechanisms-of-precipitation-release">Mechanisms of precipitation release</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53271"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Mechanisms-of-precipitation-release#ref53271">Showers, thunderstorms, and hail</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53272" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Types-of-precipitation">Types of precipitation</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53273"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Types-of-precipitation#ref53273">Drizzle</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53274"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Types-of-precipitation#ref53274">Rain and freezing rain</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53275"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Snow-and-sleet">Snow and sleet</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53276"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Snow-and-sleet#ref53276">Hail</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53277" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/World-distribution-of-precipitation">World distribution of precipitation</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53278"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/World-distribution-of-precipitation#ref53278">Regional and latitudinal distribution</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53279"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Amounts-and-variability">Amounts and variability</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53280" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Amounts-and-variability#ref53280">Effects of precipitation</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53281"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Amounts-and-variability#ref53281">Raindrop impact and soil erosion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53282"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Amounts-and-variability#ref53282">Surface runoff</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref53283"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Atmospheric-pressure-and-wind">Atmospheric pressure and wind</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref53284"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Atmospheric-pressure-and-wind#ref53284">Atmospheric pressure</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref53285"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Wind">Wind</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53286"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Wind#ref53286">Relationship of wind to pressure and governing forces</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53287" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Cyclones-and-anticyclones">Cyclones and anticyclones</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53288"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Extratropical-cyclones">Extratropical cyclones</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53289"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Anticyclones">Anticyclones</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53290"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Anticyclones#ref53290">Cyclone and anticyclone climatology</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53291" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Anticyclones#ref53291">Local winds</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53292"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Scale-classes">Scale classes</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref53293"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Scale-classes#ref53293">Local wind systems</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53294"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Zonal-surface-winds">Zonal surface winds</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref53295"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Monsoons">Monsoons</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref272943"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Monsoons#ref272943">Diurnal variability</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref272944"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Monsoons#ref272944">Intra-annual variability</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref272945"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Monsoons#ref272945">Interannual variability</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref272946"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Upper-level-winds">Upper-level winds</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53301"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Upper-level-winds#ref53301">Characteristics</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53302"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Propagation-and-development-of-waves">Propagation and development of waves</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53303"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Propagation-and-development-of-waves#ref53303">Relationships to surface features</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53304"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Jet-streams">Jet streams</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref53305"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Winds-in-the-stratosphere-and-mesosphere">Winds in the stratosphere and mesosphere</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref301633"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Climate-and-the-oceans">Climate and the oceans</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301634"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Climate-and-the-oceans#ref301634">The ocean surface and climate anomalies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301635"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Formation-of-tropical-cyclones">Formation of tropical cyclones</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301636"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Formation-of-tropical-cyclones#ref301636">Conditions associated with cyclone formation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301637"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Formation-of-tropical-cyclones#ref301637">Effects of tropical cyclones on ocean waters</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301638"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Formation-of-tropical-cyclones#ref301638">Influence on atmospheric circulation and rainfall</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301639"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/science/climate-meteorology/Poleward-transfer-of-heat">Poleward transfer of heat</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li 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Pielke</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins. Author of <em>Mesoscale Meteorological Modeling</em> and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Roger A. Pielke</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Neil-C-Wells/3771" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Neil C. Wells</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Associate Professor in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, University of Southampton, England. Author of <em>The Atmosphere and Ocean.</em></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Neil C. Wells</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-meteorology/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-22T00:00:00CST" >Nov 22, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-meteorology/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Charles-Greeley-Abbot" topicid="579">Charles Greeley Abbot</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Frank-Hall-Knowlton" topicid="1352459">Frank Hall Knowlton</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Ellsworth-Huntington" topicid="277146">Ellsworth Huntington</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Eduard-Bruckner" topicid="81985">Eduard Brückner</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/science/climate-change" topicid="121632">climate change</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/Koppen-climate-classification" topicid="322068">Köppen climate classification</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/urban-climate" topicid="619425">urban climate</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/microclimate" topicid="380278">microclimate</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/highland-climate" topicid="265518">highland climate</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/32/10/jcli-d-18-0472.1.xml" target="_blank">American Meteorological Society - Journal of Climate - Climate Variability and Change of Mediterranean-Type Climates</a> (Nov. 22, 2024)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/climate-meteorology"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/climate-environment-updates" rel="nofollow">Climate and environment updates: Climate leaders call for major overhaul of COP summit</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 15, 2024, 12:28 AM ET (ABC News (U.S.)) </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="2" id="ref53371"> <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The notion that the <span id="ref967164"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biosphere" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">biosphere</a> exerts important controls on the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/atmosphere" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">atmosphere</a> and other parts of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Earth</a> system has increasingly gained acceptance among earth and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ecosystem" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">ecosystem</a> scientists. While this concept has its origins in the work of American oceanographer Alfred C. Redfield in the mid-1950s, it was English scientist and inventor <span id="ref966828"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Lovelock" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">James Lovelock</a> that gave it its modern currency in the late 1970s. Lovelock initially proposed that the biospheric transformations of the atmosphere support the biosphere in an adaptive way through a sort of “genetic group <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/selection" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">selection</a>.” This idea generated extensive <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="criticism" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criticism" data-type="MW">criticism</a> and spawned a steady stream of new research that has enriched the debate and advanced both <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ecology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">ecology</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/environmental-science" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">environmental science</a>. Lovelock called his idea the “<span id="ref966823"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Gaia-hypothesis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gaia Hypothesis</a>” and defined Gaia as</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote><p>a complex entity involving Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/soil" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">soil</a>; the totality <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituting" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituting" data-type="MW">constituting</a> a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/feedback-biology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">feedback</a> of cybernetic systems which seeks an optimal physical and chemical <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/environment" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">environment</a> for life on this <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/planet" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">planet</a>.</p></blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Greek word Gaia, or Gaea, meaning “Mother Earth,” is Lovelock’s name for Earth, which is <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="envisioned" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envisioned" data-type="MW">envisioned</a> as a “superorganism” engaged in planetary biogeophysiology. The goal of this superorganism is to produce a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/homeostasis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">homeostatic</a>, or balanced, Earth system. The scientific process of research and debate will eventually resolve the issue of the reality of the “Gaian homeostatic superorganism,” and Lovelock has since revised his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="hypothesis" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypothesis" data-type="MW">hypothesis</a> to exclude goal-driven genetic <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/group-selection" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">group selection</a>. Nevertheless, it is now an operative norm in contemporary science that the biosphere and the atmosphere interact in such a way that an understanding of one requires an understanding of the other. Furthermore, the reality of two-way interactions between climate and life is well recognized.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section><section data-level="2" id="ref272922"><h2 class="h2">The evolution of life and the atmosphere</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="202401" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/114421-050-E3FC8A1E/Comparison-Earth-atmospheres-life-atmosphere-nitrogen-planet.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/121560/202401"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/114421-050-E3FC8A1E/Comparison-Earth-atmospheres-life-atmosphere-nitrogen-planet.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/114421-050-E3FC8A1E/Comparison-Earth-atmospheres-life-atmosphere-nitrogen-planet.jpg?w=300" alt="Earth's early and modern atmospheres compared" data-width="1056" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/114421-050-E3FC8A1E/Comparison-Earth-atmospheres-life-atmosphere-nitrogen-planet.jpg" data-href="/media/1/121560/202401">Earth's early and modern atmospheres compared</a><span>Comparison of Earth's prebiotic and modern atmospheres. Before life began on the planet, Earth's atmosphere was largely made up of nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases. After photosynthesizing organisms multiplied on Earth's surface and in the oceans, much of the carbon dioxide was replaced with oxygen.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Life on Earth began at least as early as 3.5 billion years ago during the middle of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Archean-Eon" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Archean Eon</a> (about 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago). It was during this interval that life first began to exercise certain controls on the atmosphere. The atmosphere’s prebiological state is often characterized as being rich in <span id="ref967578"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/water-vapor" class="md-crosslink ">water vapour</a> and carbon dioxide. Though some nitrogen was also present, little if any <span id="ref966736"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/oxygen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">oxygen</a> was available. Chemical reactions with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/hydrogen-sulfide" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">hydrogen sulfide</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/hydrogen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">hydrogen</a>, and reduced <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="compounds" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compounds" data-type="MW">compounds</a> of nitrogen and sulfur precluded any but the shortest lifetime for free oxygen in the atmosphere. As a result, life evolved in an atmosphere that was <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/reduction-chemistry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">reducing</a> (high hydrogen content) rather than <span id="ref966765"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/oxidation-reduction-reaction" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">oxidizing</a> (high oxygen content). In addition to their chemically reducing character, the predominant gases of this prebiotic atmosphere, with the exception of nitrogen, were largely transparent to incoming <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sunlight-solar-radiation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sunlight</a> but <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="opaque" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opaque" data-type="MW">opaque</a> to outgoing terrestrial <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/infrared-radiation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">infrared radiation</a>. As a result, these gases are called, perhaps improperly, <span id="ref967247"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/greenhouse-effect" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">greenhouse gases</a> (<em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/greenhouse-effect" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">greenhouse effect</a>) because they are able to slow the release of outgoing <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/radiation" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">radiation</a> back into <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/space-physics-and-metaphysics" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">space</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the Archean Eon, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sun" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sun</a> produced as much as 25 percent less <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/light" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">light</a> than it does today; however, Earth’s <span id="ref967272"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/temperature" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">temperature</a> was much like that of today. This is possible because the <span id="ref967245"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/greenhouse-gas" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">greenhouse gas</a>-rich Archean atmosphere was effective in retarding the loss of terrestrial radiation to space. The resulting long residence time of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/energy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">energy</a> within the Earth-atmosphere system resulted in a warmer atmosphere than would have been possible otherwise. The average temperature of Earth’s surface in the early Archean <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="Eon" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Eon" data-type="EB">Eon</a> was warmer than the modern global average. It was, according to some sources, probably similar to temperatures found in today’s tropics. Depending on the amount of nitrogen present during the Archean Eon, it has been suggested that the atmosphere may have held more than 1,000 times as much <span id="ref967239"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/carbon-dioxide" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">carbon dioxide</a> than it does today.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Archean organisms included photosynthetic and chemosynthetic <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/bacteria" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">bacteria</a>, <span id="ref967526"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/methane" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">methane</a>-producing bacteria, and a more primitive group of organisms now called the “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/archaea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Archaea</a>” (a group of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/prokaryote" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">prokaryotes</a> more related to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/eukaryote" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">eukaryotes</a> than to bacteria and found in extreme environments). Through their <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/metabolism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">metabolic</a> processes, organisms of the Archean Eon slowly changed the atmosphere. Hydrogen rose from trace amounts to about 1 part per million (ppm) of dry <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/air" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">air</a>. Methane concentrations increased from near zero to about 100 ppm. <span id="ref966737"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/oxygen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Oxygen</a> increased from near zero to 1 ppm, whereas nitrogen concentrations rose to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="encompass" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encompass" data-type="MW">encompass</a> 99 percent of all atmospheric molecules excluding water vapour. Carbon dioxide concentrations decreased to only 0.3 percent of the total; however, this was nearly 10 times the current concentration. The <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="composition" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/composition" data-type="MW">composition</a> of the atmosphere, its radiation budget, its <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/thermodynamics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">thermodynamics</a>, and its fluid <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dynamics" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dynamics" data-type="MW">dynamics</a> were transformed by life from the Archean Eon.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">American geochemist Robert Garrels calculated that, in the absence of life and given the burial rate of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/carbon-chemical-element" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">carbon</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/rock-geology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">rocks</a>, oxygen would be unavailable to form water, and free hydrogen would be lost to space. Without the presence of life and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="compounded" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compounded" data-type="MW">compounded</a> by this loss of hydrogen, there would be no <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">oceans</a>, and Earth would have become merely a dusty planet by the middle of the Archean Eon. By the end of the Archean Eon 2.5 billion years ago, both the pigment <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/chlorophyll" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">chlorophyll</a> and photosynthetic organisms had evolved such that the production of oxygen increased rapidly. The atmosphere became transformed from a reducing atmosphere with carbon dioxide, limited oxygen, and <span id="ref966702"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/anaerobe" class="md-crosslink ">anaerobic organisms</a> (that is, life-forms that do not require oxygen for respiration) in control to one with an oxidizing atmosphere that was rich in <span id="ref966740"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/oxygen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">oxygen</a>, poor in carbon dioxide, and dominated by aerobic organisms (that is, life-forms requiring oxygen for respiration).</p><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With the decline in carbon dioxide and a rise in oxygen, the greenhouse warming <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="capacity" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/capacity" data-type="EB">capacity</a> of Earth’s atmosphere was sharply reduced; however, this happened over a period of time when the energy produced by the Sun increased systematically. These compensating changes resulted in a relatively constant planetary <span id="ref967273"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/temperature" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">temperature</a> over much of Earth’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">history</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":35,"pagesTotal":42,"pageId":121560,"pageLength":937,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":35,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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