22
Oct
National Times Bureau (Rajeev Sharma): Earth’s breathable, oxygen-rich air the foundation of complex life may not be as permanent as it seems. A recent NASA-backed study published in Nature Geoscience warns that our planet’s oxygenated atmosphere is merely a temporary phase in Earth’s long evolutionary journey. Using advanced computer models, researchers have estimated when this phase might end and what could trigger its collapse.According to the study by Kazumi Ozaki and Christopher T. Reinhard, Earth’s oxygen levels will remain above 1% of current levels for only about 1.08 ± 0.14 billion years. After that, scientists predict a rapid decline in…