The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaia theory or Gaia principle, proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.
What are the concepts of the Gaia theory?
- The emergence of Gaian self-regulation through the course of evolution is allegedly extremely improbable.
- Nevertheless, the long-term survival of life on a planet without Gaian self-regulation may well be even more improbable.
- Therefore, intelligent observers are most likely to find themselves on a planet with Gaian self-regulation.
What is the evidence of Gaia theory?
The evidence of fossils Lovelock's understanding of this was that even with extreme changes in weather in the past, Life in some form had always survived He saw this as.. Evidence of organisation and intelligence in the Gaia system Rather than the randomness that lovelock believed., Darwin has proposed through his 'survival of the fittest'
Who is James Lovelock and what is the Gaia hypothesis?
The scientific investigation of the Gaia hypothesis focuses on observing how the biosphere and the evolution of life forms contribute to the stability of global temperature, ocean salinity, oxygen in the atmosphere and other factors of habitability in a preferred homeostasis. The Gaia hypothesis was formulated by the chemist James Lovelock and co-developed by the microbiologist Lynn Margulis in the 1970s.
What is the highest Gaia zOMG level?
The rings that drop from chests are always CL 1.0. However, the rings that drop from monsters vary in CL relative to the difficulty of the area you're in. For example, rings dropped at Bass'ken Lake are usually around CL2~3ish. However, the rings dropped at Shallow Sea are between CL 7~8ish.
Why is the Gaia hypothesis important?
The Gaia theory also predicted the causal link between increased biodiversity and increasing stability of populations. The Gaian influence on the development of Evolutionary theory can be found in the idea that life on earth works with the abiotic environment as a self-regulatory system.
How does the Gaia hypothesis explain the interaction between?
How does the Gaia hypothesis explain the interaction between biotic and abiotic factors in the biosphere? The Gaia hypothesis recognizes the extensive connections and feedback loops between the living and nonliving parts of the planet. The part of earth where life exists.
What is Gaia hypothesis give Example situation?
They state the evolution of life and its environment may affect each other. An example is how the activity of photosynthetic bacteria during Precambrian times have completely modified the Earth atmosphere to turn it aerobic, and as such supporting evolution of life (in particular eukaryotic life).
What is the Gaia hypothesis for kids?
From Academic Kids He hypothesized that the living matter of the planet functioned like a single organism and named this self-regulating living system after the Greek goddess, Gaia. Gaia theories have non-technical predecessors in the ideas of several cultures.
What are the core elements of the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia hypothesis posits that the Earth is a self-regulating complex system involving the biosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrospheres and the pedosphere, tightly coupled as an evolving system.
What's the meaning of Gaia?
Greek goddess of EarthGaia was the Greek goddess of Earth, mother of all life, similar to the Roman Terra Mater (mother Earth) reclining with a cornucopia, or the Andean Pachamama, the Hindu, Prithvi, “the Vast One,” or the Hopi Kokyangwuti, Spider Grandmother, who with Sun god Tawa created Earth and its creatures.
What is wrong with the Gaia hypothesis?
whose goal is to maintain the planet in state fit for life”. A powerful argument against the Gaia hypothesis is the assertion (such as that made by Richard Dawkins in The Extended Phenotype) that Gaia cannot arise from Darwinian evolution of life — the planet as a whole is not a unit of selection.
What makes life on the Earth possible?
What makes the Earth habitable? It is the right distance from the Sun, it is protected from harmful solar radiation by its magnetic field, it is kept warm by an insulating atmosphere, and it has the right chemical ingredients for life, including water and carbon.
Is Earth a living being?
No, planet Earth is not a living entity like a human being, a badger, a mosquito, or even a tomato plant. That fact, however, hasn't stopped people from treating Earth like a living creature throughout time.
Is the Earth sentient?
In this theory, the whole Earth is a sentient "being" that regulates processes in the natural environment by balancing various aspects of it against others.
Who invented Gaia?
James LovelockJames Lovelock is best known as the father of Gaia Theory, the revolutionary idea that life on Earth is a self-regulating community of organisms interacting with each other and their surroundings.
Who wrote Gaia?
James LovelockWe have learned so much about our home planet in the three decades since James Lovelock wrote Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (Oxford, 1979). Has the book stood the test of time?
Gaia Hypothesis
The Gaia Hypothesis: What Does It Mean for Life on Earth?
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaiatheory or Gaiaprinciple, proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.
Who developed the Gaia hypothesis?
Developed c. 1972 largely by British chemist James E. Lovelock and U.S. biologist Lynn Margulis, the Gaia hypothesisis named for the Greek Earth goddess.
What is the Gaia telescope?
Gaia is a European Space Agency space telescope that maps the positions of more than 1 billion stars to the highest precision yet of any mission. The data not only plots the positions of stars, but also helps astronomers understand stellar evolution and history.
What is Gaianism?
Gaianism is an earth-centered philosophical, holistic, and spiritual belief that shares expressions with earth religions and paganism while not identifying exclusively with any specific one.
What is the purpose of Gaia?
Gaia, the Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics, is a European Space Agency astronomical observatory mission. Its goal is to create the largest, most precise three-dimensional map of the Milky Way by surveying about 1% of the galaxy's 100 billion stars.
What is Daisyworld simulation?
Daisyworld, a computer simulation, is a hypothetical world orbiting a star whose radiant energy is slowly increasing or decreasing. The simulation tracks the two daisy populations and the surface temperature of Daisyworld as the sun's rays grow more powerful.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
Gaia hypothesis. The study of planetary habitability is partly based upon extrapolation from knowledge of the Earth's conditions, as the Earth is the only planet currently known to harbour life. The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaia theory or Gaia principle, proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth ...
Which hypothesis contradicts the Gaia hypothesis?
Gaia hypothesis 3 of "oxygen shocks" and reduced methane levels, that led during the Huronian, Sturtian and Marinoan/Varanger Ice Ages the world to very nearly become a solid "snowball" contradicts the Gaia hypothesis somewhat, although the ending of these Cryogenian periods through bio-geophysiological processes accords well with Lovelock's theory. Processing of the greenhouse gas CO
Why is the idea of a living Earth controversial?
The concept of a living Earth has caused a lot of controversy, partly due to the different attributes and connotations given to this hypothetical life, partly because of the straightforward language used by Lovelock in his writings. For instance, evolutionary biologists such as the late palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould and the ethologist Richard Dawkins attacked his statement in the first paragraph of his book (1979), that "the quest for Gaia is an attempt to find the largest living creature on Earth." [32] James Lovelock sustains that agreeing on a rational answer is not possible because science has not yet formulated a full definition of life. [33]
What is the originality of Gaia theory?
The originality of the Gaia theory relies on the assessment that such homeostatic balance is actively pursued with the goal of keeping the optimal conditions for life, even when terrestrial or external events menace them. [3] Gaia hypothesis 2. Regulation of the salinity in the oceans.
How does Gaia evolve?
Gaia evolves through a cybernetic feedback system operated unconsciously by the biota, leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability in a full homeostasis. Many processes in the Earth's surface essential for the conditions of life depend on the interaction of living forms, especially microorganisms, with inorganic elements. These processes establish a global control system that regulates Earth's surface temperature, atmosphere composition and ocean salinity, powered by the global thermodynamic desequilibrium state of the Earth system. [2]
When was the second Gaia conference?
Second Gaia conference. In 1988, to draw attention to the Gaia hypothesis, the climatologist Stephen Schneider organised a conference of the American Geophysical Union's first Chapman Conference on Gaia,[27] held at San Diego in 1989, solely to discuss Gaia.
What is the hypothesis of a rivet popper?
The hypothesis leads to the conclusion that only a few key species are necessary for a healthy ecosystem. The "rivet-popper" hypothesis put forth by Paul R. Ehrlich and his wife Anne H. Ehrlich, compares each species forming part of an ecosystem as a rivet on the aeroplane (represented by the ecosystem).
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia hypothesis posits that the Earth is a self-regulating complex system involving the biosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrospheres and the pedosphere, tightly coupled as an evolving system. The hypothesis contends that this system as a whole, called Gaia, seeks a physical and chemical environment optimal for contemporary life.
When was the Gaia hypothesis first proposed?
Lovelock formulated the Gaia Hypothesis in journal articles in 1972 and 1974, followed by a popularizing 1979 book Gaia: A new look at life on Earth. An article in the New Scientist of February 6, 1975, and a popular book length version of the hypothesis, published in 1979 as The Quest for Gaia, began to attract scientific and critical attention.
What is the Gaia theorem?
The Gaia theorem states that the Earth's atmospheric composition is kept at a dynamically steady state by the presence of life. The atmospheric composition provides the conditions that contemporary life has adapted to. All the atmospheric gases other than noble gases present in the atmosphere are either made by organisms or processed by them.
How does Gaia evolve?
Gaia evolves through a cybernetic feedback system operated unconsciously by the biota, leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability in a full homeostasis. Many processes in the Earth's surface essential for the conditions of life depend on the interaction of living forms, especially microorganisms, with inorganic elements. These processes establish a global control system that regulates Earth's surface temperature, atmosphere composition and ocean salinity, powered by the global thermodynamic disequilibrium state of the Earth system.
What is the Gaia philosophy?
In some versions of Gaia philosophy, all lifeforms are considered part of one single living planetary being called Gaia. In this view, the atmosphere, the seas and the terrestrial crust would be results of interventions carried out by Gaia through the coevolving diversity of living organisms.
Which model of the Gaia hypothesis was developed to explain the planetary temperature regulation?
In response to the criticism that the Gaia hypothesis seemingly required unrealistic group selection and cooperation between organisms, James Lovelock and Andrew Watson developed a mathematical model, Daisyworld, in which ecological competition underpinned planetary temperature regulation.
When was the first public symposium on the Gaia hypothesis held?
In 1985 , the first public symposium on the Gaia hypothesis, Is The Earth A Living Organism? was held at University of Massachusetts Amherst, August 1–6. The principal sponsor was the National Audubon Society. Speakers included James Lovelock, George Wald, Mary Catherine Bateson, Lewis Thomas, John Todd, Donald Michael, Christopher Bird, Thomas Berry, David Abram, Michael Cohen, and William Fields. Some 500 people attended.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
Gaia hypothesis, model of the Earthin which its living and nonliving parts are viewed as a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism. Developed c.1972 largely by British chemist James E. Lovelock and U.S. biologist Lynn Margulis, the Gaia hypothesisis named for the Greek Earth goddess. It postulates that all living things have a regulatory effect on the Earth’s environmentthat promotes life overall; the Earth is homeostatic in support of life-sustaining conditions. The theory is highly controversial.
Who developed the Gaia hypothesis?
Developed c. 1972 largely by British chemist James E. Lovelock and U.S. biologist Lynn Margulis, the Gaia hypothesis is named for the Greek Earth goddess.
Is the Earth homeostatic?
It postulates that all living things have a regulatory effect on the Earth’s environment that promotes life overall; the Earth is homeostatic in support of life-sustaining conditions. The theory is highly controversial. This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty, Editor.
What Does Gaia Hypothesis Mean?
The Gaia hypothesis is the theory put forward by James Lovelock that proposes the planet is a vast self-regulating organism and that all life on our planet as a collective defines and regulates the conditions that are necessary for that life to continue, and that all life contributes to its own survival as a whole.
Safeopedia Explains Gaia Hypothesis
The Gaia hypothesis was first formulated in the mid 1960s and was published in writing in 1979. It has spawned several interesting lines of thought and many new areas of research. It is not substantiated by scientific research, but it does provide new avenues of thought for the study of our planet's life support systems and how life works together.
Why is the Gaia hypothesis useful?
Still, the Gaia hypothesis is a useful concept, because it emphasizes the diverse connections of ecosystems, and the consequences of human activities that result in environmental and ecological changes. Today, and into the foreseeable future, humans are rapidly becoming a dominant force that is causing large, often degradative changes to Earth's environments and ecosystems.
Why is Gaia called Gaia?
Telling Golding of his new theory, he then asked his advice about choosing a suitable name for it, and the result of this meeting was that the term "Gaia" was chosen because of its real connection to the Greek goddess who pulled the living world together out of chaos or complete disorder.
How did Lovelock explain the difference between Earth's atmosphere and the atmosphere of its neighboring planets?
Suggesting that chemistry and physics seemed to argue that these barren and hostile planets should have an atmosphere just like that of Earth, Lovelock stated that Earth's atmosphere is different because it has life on it. Both Mars and Venus have an atmosphere with about 95 percent carbon dioxide, while Earth's is about 79 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. He explained this dramatic difference by saying that Earth's atmosphere was probably very much like that of its neighbors at first, and that it was a world with hardly any life on it. The only form that did exist was what many consider to be the first forms of life — anaerobic (pronounced ANN-ay-roe-bik) bacteria that lived in the ocean. This type of bacteria cannot live in an oxygen environment, and its only job is to convert nitrates to nitrogen gas. This accounts for the beginnings of a nitrogen build-up in Earth's atmosphere.
Why is the atmosphere regulated at a state that is comfortable for life?
He says that the atmosphere, the oceans, the climate, and even the crust of Earth are regulated at a state that is comfortable for life because of the behavior of living organisms. This is the revolutionary lesson that the Gaia hypothesis wants to teach.
How did prokaryotes change?
The simple prokaryotes did this by getting together and forming symbiotic groups or systems that increased their chances of survival. According to Margulis then, symbiosis, or the way different organisms adapt to living together to the benefit of each, was the major mechanism for change on Earth.
How did oxygen become essential to life?
The oxygen essential to life as we know it did not start to accumulate in the atmosphere until organisms that were capable of photosynthesis evolved. Photosynthesis is the process that some algae and all plants use to convert chemically the Sun 's light into food. This process uses carbon dioxide and water to make energy-packed glucose, and it gives off oxygen as a by-product. These very first photosynthesizers were a blue- green algae called cyanobacteria (pronounced SIGH-uh-no-bak-teer-eea) that live in water. Eventually, these organisms produced so much oxygen that they put the older anaerobic bacteria out of business. As a result, the only place that anaerobic bacteria could survive was on the deep-sea floor (as well as in heavily water-logged soil and in our own intestines). Love-lock's basic point was that the existence of life (bacteria) eventually made Earth a very different place by giving it an atmosphere.
What is the sum total of all lifeforms on Earth and the interaction among those lifeforms?
Biosphere : The sum total of all lifeforms on Earth and the interaction among those lifeforms.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
"The Gaia hypothesis states that the lower atmosphere of the earth is an integral, regulated, and necessary part of life itself. For hundreds of millions of years, life has controlled the temperature, ...
Who proposed the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia Hypothesis states that life on earth controls the physical and chemical conditions of the environment (the biotic controls the abiotic) The hypothesis was formulated by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis.
How does Gaia's co-evolutionary theory affect the biota?
Co-evolutionary Gaia asserts that the biota influence their abiotic environment, and that the environment in turn influences the evolution of the biota by Darwinian process. "The biota have effected profound changes on the environment of the surface of the earth.
Which of the Gaian hypotheses asserts that biota have a substantial influence over certain aspects of?
Influential Gaia , the weakest of the hypotheses, asserts that biota have a substantial influence over certain aspects of the abiotic world , such as temperature and the composition of the atmosphere.
Why do methane and ammonia exist in their present abundances?
Life has other influences over the chemistry of the planet: methane and ammonia exist in their present abundances because bacteria continually regenerate them by decomposing organic matter.
Who were the originators of the hypothesis?
The Hypothesis and its Originators. The originators of the hypothesis were James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis. Lovelock is a British independent scientist and inventor with a background in human physiology. Margulis was, in the 1970's, a microbiologist at Boston University.
Is the atmosphere in homeostasis?
"the Earth's atmosphere is more than merely anomalous; it appears to be a contrivance specifically constituted for a set of purposes" (Lovelock and Margulis 1974).
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia (pronounced GAY-ah) hypothesis is the idea that Earth is a living organism and can regulate its own environment. This idea argues that Earth is able to maintain conditions that are favorable for life to survive on it, and that it is the living things on Earth that give the planet this ability.
What is the main idea behind the Gaia hypothesis?
The main idea behind the Gaia hypothesis can be both simple and complex. Often, several similar examples or analogies concerning the bodies of living organisms are used to make the Gaia concept easier to understand.
How did oxygen become essential to life?
The oxygen essential to life as we know it did not start to accumulate in the atmosphere until organisms that were capable of photosynthesis evolved. Photosynthesis is the process that some algae and all plants use to convert chemically the Sun's light into food. This process uses carbon dioxide and water to make energy-packed glucose, and it gives off oxygen as a by-product. These very first photosynthesizers were a blue-green algae called cyanobacteria (pronounced SIGH-uh-no-bak-teer-eea) that live in water. Eventually, these organisms produced so much oxygen that they put the older anaerobic bacteria out of business. As a result, the only place that anaerobic bacteria could survive was on the deep-sea floor (as well as in heavily water-logged soil and in our own intestines). Love-lock's basic point was that the existence of life (bacteria) eventually made Earth a very different place by giving it an atmosphere.
How did Lovelock come up with the idea of the atmosphere?
Origin of Earth's atmosphere. Lovelock arrived at this hypothesis by studying Earth's neighboring planets, Mars and Venus. Suggesting that chemistry and physics seemed to argue that these barren and hostile planets should have an atmosphere just like that of Earth, Lovelock stated that Earth's atmosphere is different because it has life on it.
What is the meaning of Gaia?
Gaia is the name of the Greek goddess of Earth and mother of the Titans. In modern times, the name has come to symbolize "Earth Mother" or "Living Earth.". In this book, Lovelock proposed that Earth's biosphere (all the parts of Earth that make up the living world) acts as a single living system that if left alone, can regulate itself.
What does Gaia say about the atmosphere?
He says that the atmosphere, the oceans, the climate, and even the crust of Earth are regulated at a state that is comfortable for life because of the behavior of living organisms . This is the revolutionary lesson that the Gaia hypothesis wants to teach. It says that all of Earth's major components, such as the amount ...
What is the name of the process that allows the Earth to maintain its homeostasis?
In the Gaia hypothe sis, it is the presence and activities of life that keep Earth in homeostasis and allow it to regulate its systems and maintain steady-state conditions.
Summary
Details
The Gaia hypothesis posits that the Earth is a self-regulating complex system involving the biosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrospheres and the pedosphere, tightly coupled as an evolving system. The hypothesis contends that this system as a whole, called Gaia, seeks a physical and chemical environment optimal for contemporary life.
Overview
Gaian hypotheses suggest that organisms co-evolve with their environment: that is, they "influence their abiotic environment, and that environment in turn influences the biota by Darwinian process". Lovelock (1995) gave evidence of this in his second book, showing the evolution from the world of the early thermo-acido-philic and methanogenic bacteria towards the oxygen-enriched atmosphere today that supports more complex life.
History
The idea of the Earth as an integrated whole, a living being, has a long tradition. The mythical Gaia was the primal Greek goddess personifying the Earth, the Greek version of "Mother Nature" (from Ge = Earth, and Aia = PIE grandmother), or the Earth Mother. James Lovelock gave this name to his hypothesis after a suggestion from the novelist William Golding, who was living in the same villag…
Criticism
After initially receiving little attention from scientists (from 1969 until 1977), thereafter for a period the initial Gaia hypothesis was criticized by a number of scientists, such as Ford Doolittle, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould. Lovelock has said that because his hypothesis is named after a Greek goddess, and championed by many non-scientists, the Gaia hypothesis was interpreted as a neo-Pagan religion. Many scientists in particular also criticised the approach tak…
See also
• Biocoenosis – Interacting organisms living together in a habitat
• Earth science – Fields of natural science related to Earth
• Environmentalism – Broad philosophy, ideology and social movement concerning environmental wellbeing
Sources
• Bondì, Roberto (2006). Blu come un'arancia. Gaia tra mito e scienza. Torino, Utet: Prefazione di Enrico Bellone. ISBN 978-88-02-07259-3.
• Bondì, Roberto (2007). Solo l'atomo ci può salvare. L'ambientalismo nuclearista di James Lovelock. Torino, Utet: Prefazione di Enrico Bellone. ISBN 978-88-02-07704-8.
Further reading
• Joseph, Lawrence E. (1990). Gaia: The Growth of an Idea. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-31-204318-6.