美狄亚假说
此词条暂由Henry翻译。The Medea hypothesis is a term coined by paleontologist Peter Ward[1] for the anti-Gaian hypothesis that multicellular life, understood as a superorganism, is suicidal. In this view, microbial-triggered mass extinctions are attempts to return the Earth to the microbial-dominated state it has been for most of its history.[2][3][4] The metaphor refers to the mythological Medea (representing the Earth), who kills her own children (multicellular life).
The Medea hypothesis is a term coined by paleontologist Peter Ward for the anti-Gaian hypothesis that multicellular life, understood as a superorganism, is suicidal. In this view, microbial-triggered mass extinctions are attempts to return the Earth to the microbial-dominated state it has been for most of its history. The metaphor refers to the mythological Medea (representing the Earth), who kills her own children (multicellular life).
美狄亚假说Medea hypothesis是古生物学家彼得·沃德为反盖亚假说创造的一个术语,该假说认为多细胞生命(也被理解为超有机体),具有自杀倾向。按照这种观点,微生物引发的大规模物种灭绝是试图使地球恢复到历史上大部分时间以微生物为主的状态。这个比喻指的是神话中的美狄亚(代表地球) ,她杀死了自己的孩子(代表多细胞生命)。
Past "suicide attempts" include:
Past "suicide attempts" include:
以往的「自杀企图」包括:
- Methane poisoning, 3.5 billion years ago
甲烷中毒Methane poisoning,35亿年前
- The oxygen catastrophe, 2.45 billion years ago
大氧化事件reat Oxygenation Event|氧气灾难,24.5亿年前
- Snowball Earth, twice, 2.4–2.1 billion years ago and 790–630 million years ago
雪球化地球,两次( 休伦冰河时期Huronian glaciation|24亿年前到21亿年前,7.96亿年前到6.3亿年前)
- At least five putative hydrogen sulfide-induced mass extinctions, such as the Great Dying, 模板:Ma
至少五次公认的硫化氢导致的大灭绝,比如 二叠纪-三叠纪灭绝事件Permian–Triassic extinction event
The list does not include the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, since this was, at least partially, externally induced by a meteor impact.
The list does not include the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, since this was, at least partially, externally induced by a meteor impact.
这份名单不包括 白垩纪-古近纪大灭绝事件Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event,因为这次至少部分是由流星撞击引起的。
Peter Ward also believes that the current man-made climate change and mass extinction event may be considered to be the most recent Medean event. As these events are anthropogenic, he postulates that Medean events are not necessarily caused by microbes, but by intelligent life as well. He believes that the final mass extinction of complex life, roughly about 500 million years in the future, will also be considered a Medean event. Plant life that still exists by then will be forced to adapt to a warming and expanding Sun, causing them to remove even more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (which in turn will have already be due to the increasing heat from the Sun gradually speeding up the weathering process that removes them from the atmosphere), and ultimately accelerating the complete extinction of complex life by making carbon dioxide levels drop down to just 10 ppm, below which plants can no longer survive. However, Ward simultaneously argues that intelligent life such as humans may not necessarily just trigger future Medean events, but may eventually prevent them from occurring.
Peter Ward also believes that the current man-made climate change and mass extinction event may be considered to be the most recent Medean event. As these events are anthropogenic, he postulates that Medean events are not necessarily caused by microbes, but by intelligent life as well. He believes that the final mass extinction of complex life, roughly about 500 million years in the future, will also be considered a Medean event. Plant life that still exists by then will be forced to adapt to a warming and expanding Sun, causing them to remove even more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (which in turn will have already be due to the increasing heat from the Sun gradually speeding up the weathering process that removes them from the atmosphere), and ultimately accelerating the complete extinction of complex life by making carbon dioxide levels drop down to just 10 ppm, below which plants can no longer survive. However, Ward simultaneously argues that intelligent life such as humans may not necessarily just trigger future Medean events, but may eventually prevent them from occurring.
彼得沃德还认为,目前人为导致的气候变化和大规模物种灭绝事件可能被认为是最近的美狄亚事件。由于这些事件是人为的,他假定美狄亚事件不一定是由微生物引起的,也可能由智慧生命引起。他认为,复杂生命的最终大规模灭绝,大约在未来5亿年左右,这也将被视为美狄亚事件。到那时仍然存在的植物将被迫适应日益变暖和膨胀的太阳,从而使它们从大气中吸收更多的二氧化碳(反过来,这也由于太阳不断增加的热量导致逐渐加快的风化过程,使二氧化碳从大气中消失) ,并最终通过使二氧化碳浓度降低到只有10ppm(低于这个浓度,植物将无法存活)来加速复杂生命的完全灭绝。然而,沃德同时认为,像人类这样的智慧生命可能不一定只是触发未来的美狄亚事件,也有可能最终阻止它们的发生。
See also
See also
参见
费米悖论
地球的未来,气候影响
References
References
参考资料
- ↑ Peter Ward (2009), The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive?,
- ↑ Gaia's evil twin: Is life its own worst enemy? The New Scientist. Volume 202, Issue 2713, 17 June 2009, pages 28–31 (Cover story)
- ↑ Bennett, Drake (2009-01-11). "Dark green: A scientist argues that the natural world isn't benevolent and sustaining: it's bent on self-destruction". Boston.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ↑ Grey, William (February 2010). "Gaia theory – Reflections on life on earth". Australian Review of Public Affairs. University of Sydney. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
External links
External links
外部链接
- The Medea Hypothesis: A response to the Gaia hypothesis Review of Ward's book, February 12, 2010 .
- Paleontologist Peter Ward’s “Medea hypothesis”: Life is out to get you Scientific American review, January 13, 2010
- The Medea Hypothesis Review by the Astrobiology Society of Britain.
- The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive? Outlook for the world is still grim Review in the Times Educational Supplement
Category:Events that forced the climate
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Category:Evolutionary biology
分类: 进化生物学
Category:Extinction events
分类: 灭绝事件
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分类: 气候史
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类别: 假设
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类别: 气象假说
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