Sulfate in Ancitent oceans

Scientists have recently discovered that modern day sulfur levels (in the ocean) are way higher than in ancient times. This is important because sulfur is regarded as one of the key components for life, one of the most important biological components. Without sulfur, life is not able to grow and evolve as rapidly, or effectively. This would explain why the prehistoric oceans and its marine life were so different from our modern day oceans/marine life. Scientists found that sulfur levels were measured at 200 micro molar in certain concentrations vital to marine life. Compared to today's readings of thousands higher of micro molar. The researchers found this information by taking the fingerprints (weird!) of rocks that date back to prehistoric times. These rocks resonate sulfur isotopes and with the proper technology, can indicate levels of sulfur from thousands of years ago. This is helpful for scientists to understand the history of our oceans and how they changed/ grew over the Earth's lifetime.

 



"Life in Earth’s Primordial Sea Was Starved for Sulfate." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.