Far out cosmology: supernovas and biodiversity (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, March 25, 2023, 05:06 (398 days ago) @ David Turell

Starting from 500 million years ago. comparable patterns:

https://www.universetoday.com/160686/did-supernovae-help-push-life-to-become-more-diverse/

"An idea of cosmic catastrophes having an effect on life is not new. Usually, people think about such events happening to us in modern times. But, there’s a long history of Earth being affected by past cosmic events. It’s likely, for example, that shock waves from supernova explosions set the birth process of our Sun in motion. We experience solar flares and outbursts and how they interfere with our technology. So, why couldn’t supernovae also play a role in the evolution of life? There are a lot of ideas about that, involving both astronomical and biological research.

According to Henrik Svensmark, describing the team’s research, it’s possible that one effect of a supernova is a change in Earth’s climate. “A high number of supernovae leads to a cold climate with a large temperature difference between the equator and polar regions,” he said. “This results in stronger winds, ocean mixing, and transportation of life-essential nutrients to the surface waters along the continental shelves.”

"The team’s paper points out some interesting specifics. It states, “In accordance with the cosmic ray theory, Earth experienced cold glacial periods when the local supernova frequency was high, i.e., high cosmic rays and warm climates when the flux was low. These results suggest that changes in supernovae frequency and, thereby, changes in cosmic rays have significantly influenced the Phanerozoic climate.”

"This proposed influence of supernova explosions extends to the conditions for life. For example, the paper suggests a correlation between past supernova rates and the burial of organic matter in ocean sediments during the last 500 million years. The sequence goes like this: supernovae rates influence climate. Climate influences atmosphere–ocean circulation. That circulation brings nutrients to marine organisms. Nutrient concentrations control bioproductivity (how organisms thrive). Then, as they die, their remains settle into sea sediments, which fossilize and preserve the record of past biological activity.

"All of this appears to correlate with changes in supernova rates. If this link turns out to be solid, then supernovae may well influence climate and the energy available to biological systems. And all that has an influence on marine life.

"So, what evidence is Svensmark’s team offering? They studied the fossil record of ancient shallow marine areas. These were along the edges of oceans and other bodies of water in the Phanerozoic period of Earth’s geologic history. That’s the period of time we’re in now. It began some 542 million years ago. These shallow marine shelves are relevant since most marine life thrives in these areas. By studying the rates of change in species of life they found clear evidence of explosions in biodiversity.

"The team then looked at the astrophysical fossil record of supernovae. They studied supernova frequencies recorded in three data sets of open stellar clusters in the solar neighborhood. Those catalogs contain data about clusters within 850 parsecs of the Sun, with ages 520 million years and younger. The team then correlated the data from the two sets with each other to link higher-than-normal rates of past supernova explosions with climate-influenced changes in biodiversity in shallow marine environments.

" You start with a star at least 8 times the mass of the Sun. When this massive progenitor star reaches the end of its life, it collapses in on itself. The infalling material rebounds off the stellar core and rushes out to space. That cloud of debris scatters all the elements made by the star both before and during the supernova explosion. The event also emits huge amounts of cosmic rays. Those energetic particles eventually arrive in our Solar System. Some smash into Earth’s atmosphere and send showers of ions crashing through the atmosphere. There, they help create the aerosols that form clouds.

"Clouds help regulate solar energy by controlling how much sunlight reaches Earth’s surface. The warmth of the sunlight is one part of the water-warmth-nutrient triad that enables life to form and thrive on the planet. So, in a very real sense, the influence of supernovae is part of the cycle of substantial climate shifts, thanks to the intensity of cosmic rays. According to Svensmark, those changes can be as much as several hundred percent over millions of years. “The new evidence points to a connection between life on Earth and supernovae, mediated by the effect of cosmic rays on clouds and climate”, he said.?

Comment: be sure to look the graph comparing the patterns of different aspects over time from 500 million years ago. I would note the Cambrian explosion slightly predates this study and is a negative factor for their varied correlation theory. The graph shows low supernova activity in that time period. In view of this finding, lets return to our discussion about God's control of cosmologic events and environmental events. This study says the cosmologic events change the Earth's environment. I stand by my theory that God does interfere with or control these events. They happen and whatever results pop up God designs for them, no luck ever needed. This also tends to silence dhw's complaint that the huge universe size and
millions of parts are unexplained. This clearly is a partial explanation.