Visualisation of the Gaia theory of James Lovelock: See our home, the earth, breathing like a living organism. The seasons are pumping oxigen and CO-2. A video installation by Raymond Brouwersc compilated from NASA satelite images of the world
The Gaia hypothesis was first scientifically formulated in the 1960s by the independent research scientist James Lovelock, as a consequence of his work for NASA on methods of detecting life on Mars. He initially published the Gaia Hypothesis in journal articles in the early 1970s followed by a popularizing 1979 book Gaia: A new look at life on Earth.
The hypothesis was initially, according to Lovelock, a way to explain the fact that combinations of chemicals including oxygen and methane persist in stable concentrations in the atmosphere of the Earth. Lovelock suggested detecting such combinations in other planets' atmospheres as a relatively reliable and cheap way to detect life, which many biologists opposed at the time and since. Later, other relationships such as sea creatures producing sulfur and iodine in approximately the same quantities as required by land creatures emerged and helped bolster the theory. Rather than invent many different theories to describe each such equilibrium, Lovelock dealt with them holistically, naming this self-regulating living system after the Greek goddess Gaia, using a suggestion from the novelist William Golding, who was living in the same village as Lovelock at the time (Bowerchalke, Wiltshire, UK). The Gaia Hypothesis has since been supported by a number of scientific experiments and provided a number of useful predictions, and hence is properly referred to as the Gaia theory.
Since 1971, the noted microbiologist Dr. Lynn Margulis has been Lovelock's most important collaborator in developing Gaian concepts.
Until 1975 the hypothesis was almost totally ignored. An article in the New Scientist of February 15, 1975, and a popular book length version of the theory, published in 1979 as The Quest for Gaia, began to attract scientific and critical attention to the hypothesis. The theory was then attacked by many mainstream biologists. Championed by certain environmentalists and climate scientists, it was vociferously rejected by many others, both within scientific circles and outside them.
Dr. Keeling is the first scientist who started collecting carbon dioxide samples at a base in Mauna Loah (Hawaii) in 1958. By 1960, he had established that there are strong seasonal variations in carbon dioxide levels with peak levels reached in the late northern hemisphere winter. A reduction in carbon dioxide followed during spring and early summer each year as plant growth increased in the land-rich northern hemisphere.
Every spring, when trees leaf out and grasslands and farmlands green, the carbon dioxide in the air decreases, reflecting the demand from photosynthesis. Conversely, in fall, when leaves and wilted plants are returned to the soil and decay, the carbon dioxide rises again. Gaia (Greek for 'the Earth Mother') breathes on an annual cycle, and we can measure how deeply.
Der ideale Platz um CO-2 zu messen, muss weit entfernt von Städten, die es produzieren und entfernt von Vegetation, die es absorbiert gelegen sein. Auf dem Mauna Loah, auf Hawaii, findet Keeling den idealen Ort. In 3400 Metern Höhe in mitten eines kahlen Lavafels beginnt er mit der Probeentnahme.
Er sagt:" Im März 1957 fingen wir am Mauna Loah Observatorium mit den Messungen an und ich erwartete eine nahezu konstante Konzentration, aber das geschah nicht. Die Konzentration stieg über Monate an und dann sank sie. Von Mai bis September sank sie und dann fing sie wieder an zu steigen. Als wir diese Informationen hatten, weniger als ein Jahr an Daten war es ziemlich offensichtlich, dass wir es hier mit der Atmung der Pflanzen in der nördlichen Hämisphäre zu tun hatten. Sie absorbieren in ihrer Wachstumsperiode in den mittleren und hohen Lagen Kohlendioxid und dann wird es in einem Zyklus, im Winter, wieder abgegeben". Keelings sensible Messgeräte haben die Atmung der Erde aufgespürt. Jede Frühjahr blühen die Pflanzen und holen sich CO-2 aus der Luft. Im Herbst wird das CO-2 wieder freigegeben, wenn die Pflanzen verrotten. (www.dziapko.de)
La natura di cui facciamo parte è viva. Дыхание планеты Planète respiration 呼吸的星球 נושם הכוכב التنفس الكوكب श्वास ग्रह 呼吸の惑星 La respiración del planeta Πλανήτη Αναπνοή Vejrtrækning planet Hengitys planeetta
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Gaia theory: The Breathing Planet II (world's averag rainfall)by hendriktheresa3,293 views
yes, indeed!
kasp84 1 year ago 6
earth is the organism! we're just the cells!
GaiaIsOurMother 9 months ago 2