Academician Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1864-1945) was one of the outstanding natural scientists who devoted himself to studying the processes occurring in the biosphere. He is the founder of the scientific direction, named by him biogeochemistry which formed the basis of the modern theory of the biosphere.
Research by V.I. Vernadsky led to the realization of the role of life and living matter in geological processes. The appearance of the Earth, its atmosphere, sedimentary rocks, landscapes - all this is the result of the vital activity of living organisms. Vernadsky assigned a special role in the formation of the face of our planet to man. He presented the activity of mankind as a spontaneous natural process, the origins of which are lost in the depths of history.
Being an outstanding theorist, V.I. Vernadsky stood at the origins of such new and now universally recognized sciences as radiogeology, biogeochemistry, the doctrine of the biosphere and noosphere, science of science.
In 1926 V.I. Vernadsky published the book "Biosphere", which marked the birth of a new science about nature and the relationship of man with it. The biosphere is shown for the first time as a single dynamic system inhabited and controlled by life, the living matter of the planet: "The biosphere is an organized, definite shell of the earth's crust, associated with life." The scientist established that the interaction of living matter with inert matter is part of a large mechanism of the earth's crust, due to which various geochemical and biogenic processes take place, atoms migrate, and they participate in geological and biological cycles.
IN AND. Vernadsky emphasized that the biosphere is the result of geological and biological development and the interaction of inert and biogenic matter. On the one hand, it is the environment of life, and on the other hand, it is the result of life activity. The specificity of the modern biosphere is clearly directed energy flows and biogenic (associated with the activities of living beings) circulation of substances. Vernadsky was the first to show that the chemical state of the outer crust of our planet is entirely under the influence of life and is determined by living organisms, with whose activity the great planetary process is connected - the mythology of chemical elements in the biosphere. The evolution of species, leading to the creation of life forms, is stable in the biosphere and must go in the direction of increasing the biogenic migration of atoms.
IN AND. Vernadsky noted that the limits of the biosphere are determined primarily by the field of existence of life. The development of life, and consequently, the boundaries of the biosphere, is influenced by many factors, and above all, the presence of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water in its liquid phase. Too high or low temperatures, elements of mineral nutrition also limit the area of \u200b\u200bdistribution of life. The supersaline environment (exceeding the concentration of salts in sea water by about 10 times) can also be attributed to the limiting factors. Groundwater with a salt concentration of over 270 g/l is deprived of life.
According to Vernadsky's ideas, the biosphere consists of several heterogeneous components. The main and main living matter, the totality of all living organisms that inhabit the Earth. In the process of life, living organisms interact with non-living (abiogenic) - inert substance. Such a substance is formed as a result of processes in which living organisms do not take part, for example, igneous rocks. The next component is nutrient, created and processed by living organisms (atmospheric gases, coal, oil, peat, limestone, chalk, forest litter, soil humus, etc.). Another component of the biosphere - bio-inert substance- the result of the joint activity of living organisms (water, soil, weathering crust, sedimentary rocks, clay materials) and inert (abiogenic) processes.
Inert matter sharply prevails in mass and volume. Living matter by mass makes up an insignificant part of our planet: approximately 0.25% of the biosphere. Moreover, "the mass of living matter remains basically constant and is determined by the radiant solar energy of the planet's population." At present, this conclusion of Vernadsky is called the law of constancy.
IN AND. Vernadsky formulated five postulates relating to the function of the biosphere.
The first postulate: “From the very beginning of the biosphere, the life included in it should already have been a complex body, and not a homogeneous substance, since its biogeochemical functions associated with life, in terms of diversity and complexity, cannot be the lot of any one form of life.” In other words, the primitive biosphere was originally characterized by rich functional diversity.
The second postulate: “Organisms do not appear singly, but in a mass effect ... The first appearance of life ... should have occurred not in the form of the appearance of any one kind of organisms, but their combination, corresponding to the geochemical function of life. Biocenoses should have appeared immediately.
The third postulate: "In the general monolith of life, no matter how its constituent parts change, their chemical functions could not be affected by morphological change." That is, the primary biosphere was represented by "sets" of organisms such as biocenoses, which were the main "acting force" of geochemical transformations. Morphological changes in "aggregates" were not reflected in the "chemical functions" of these components.
The fourth postulate: "Living organisms ... by their breathing, their nutrition, their metabolism ... by the continuous change of generations ... give rise to one of the grandest planetary phenomena ... - the migration of chemical elements in the biosphere", therefore "throughout the past millions years, we see the formation of the same minerals, at all times there were the same cycles of chemical elements that we see now.
Fifth postulate: "Without exception, all the functions of living matter in the biosphere can be performed by the simplest unicellular organisms."
Developing the doctrine of the biosphere, V.I. Vernadsky came to the conclusion that the main transformer of cosmic energy is the green matter of plants. Only they are able to absorb the energy of solar radiation and synthesize primary organic compounds.
To the concept of "" (without the term itself) as early as the beginning of the 19th century. came up Lamarck. Later (1863) French explorer reut used the term "biosphere" to refer to the area of distribution of life on the earth's surface. In 1875 an Austrian geologist Suess called the biosphere a special shell of the Earth, including the totality of all organisms, opposing it to others
earthly shells. Starting with the work of Suess, biosphere is interpreted as a set of organisms inhabiting the Earth.
The complete doctrine of the biosphere was created by our compatriot academician Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky. The main ideas of V. I. Vernadsky in the doctrine of the biosphere were formed at the beginning of the 20th century. He expounded them in lectures in Paris. In 1926, his ideas about the biosphere were formulated in the book "Biosphere", consisting of two essays: "Biosphere and space" and "Life area". Later, these same ideas were developed in a large monograph "Chemical structure of the Earth's biosphere and its environment", which, unfortunately, was not published until 20 years after his death.
First of all, V.I. Vernadsky defined the space that covers biosphere Earth - the entire hydrosphere to the maximum depths of the oceans, the upper part of the lithosphere of the continents to a depth of about 3 km and the lower part of the atmosphere to the upper boundary of the troposphere. He introduced the integral concept into science living matter and began to call the biosphere the area of \u200b\u200bexistence on Earth of "living matter", which is a complex combination of microorganisms, algae, fungi, plants and animals. In essence, we are talking about a single thermodynamic shell (space) in which life and
there is a constant interaction of all living things with inorganic environmental conditions (a film of life). He showed that the biosphere differs from other spheres of the Earth in that the geological activity of all living organisms takes place inside it. Living organisms, converting solar energy, are a powerful force that affects geological processes.
A specific feature of the biosphere as a special shell of the Earth is the continuous circulation of substances in it, regulated by the activity of living organisms. According to V.I. Vernadsky, in the past they clearly underestimated the contribution of living organisms to the energy of the biosphere and their influence on inanimate bodies. Although living matter in terms of volume and mass makes up an insignificant part of the biosphere, it plays a major role in the geological processes associated with changing the appearance of our planet.
Pursuing the science he created biochemistry, studying the distribution of chemical elements on the surface of the planet, V.I. Vernadsky came to the conclusion that there is practically not a single element from the periodic table that would not be included in living matter. He formulated three important biogeochemical principles:
The listed geochemical principles correlate with the following important conclusions of V.I. Vernadsky: each organism can exist only under the condition of constant close connection with other organisms and inanimate nature; life with all its manifestations has produced profound changes on our planet.
The initial basis for the existence of the biosphere and the biochemical processes occurring in it is the astronomical position of our planet and, first of all, its distance from the Sun and the inclination of the earth's axis to the plane of the earth's orbit. This spatial arrangement of the Earth determines mainly the climate of the Earth, and the latter, in turn, determines the life cycles of all organisms existing on it. The sun is the main energy source of the biosphere and the regulator of all geological, chemical and biological processes on Earth.
The main idea of V.I. Vernadsky lies in the fact that the highest phase of the development of matter on Earth - life - determines and subjugates other planetary processes. On this occasion, he wrote that it can be said without exaggeration that the chemical state of the outer crust of our planet, the biosphere, is entirely under the influence of life and is determined by living organisms.
If all living organisms are evenly distributed on the surface of the Earth, they form a film 5 mm thick. Despite this, the role of living matter in the history of the Earth is no less than the role of geological processes. The entire mass of living matter that has been on Earth, for example, for 1 billion years, already exceeds the mass of the earth's crust.
The quantitative characteristic of living matter is the total amount biomass. IN AND. Vernadsky, having carried out analyzes and calculations, came to the conclusion that the amount of biomass is from 1000 to 10,000 trillion tons. the surface of the leaves of trees, grass stems and green algae, gives numbers of a completely different order - in different periods of the year it ranges from 0.86 to 4.20% of the surface of the Sun, which explains the large total energy of the biosphere. In recent years, similar calculations using the latest equipment were carried out by a Krasnoyarsk biophysicist I. Gitelzon and confirmed the order of numbers, more than half a century ago, determined by V.I. Vernadsky.
A significant place in the works of V.I. Vernadsky, according to the biosphere, green living matter of plants is assigned, since only it is autotrophic and capable of accumulating the radiant energy of the Sun, forming primary organic compounds with its help.
A significant part of the energy of living matter goes to the formation of new biosphere vadose(unknown outside of it) minerals, and part is buried in the form of organic matter, eventually forming deposits of brown and hard coal, oil shale, oil and gas. “We are dealing here,” wrote V.I. Vernadsky, - with a new process, with a slow penetration into the planet of the radiant energy of the Sun, which reached the surface of the Earth. In this way, living matter changes the biosphere and the earth's crust. It continuously leaves in it a part of the chemical elements that have passed through it, creating huge thicknesses of unknown, in addition to it, vadose minerals or penetrating the inert matter of the biosphere with the finest dust of its remnants.
According to the scientist, the earth's crust is mainly the remains of former biospheres. Even its granite-gneiss layer was formed as a result of metamorphism and remelting of rocks that arose sometime under the influence of living matter. He considered only basalts and other basic igneous rocks to be deep and, in their genesis, not connected with the biosphere.
In the doctrine of the biosphere, the concept of "living matter" is fundamental. Living organisms transform cosmic radiant energy into terrestrial, chemical and create an endless variety of our world. With their breath, nutrition, metabolism, death and decomposition, lasting hundreds of millions of years, continuous change of generations, they give rise to the grandiose planetary process that exists only in the biosphere. — migration of chemical elements.
Living matter, according to the theory of V. I. Vernadsky, is a biogeochemical factor on a planetary scale, under the influence of which both the surrounding abiotic environment and the living organisms themselves are transformed. In the entire space of the biosphere, there is an incessant movement of molecules generated by life. Life has a decisive influence on the distribution, migration and dispersion of chemical elements, determining the fate of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, oxygen, magnesium, strontium, carbon, phosphorus, sulfur and other elements.
The epochs of the development of life: Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic reflect not only the forms of life on Earth, but also its geological record, its planetary destiny.
In the doctrine of the biosphere, organic matter, along with the energy of radioactive decay, is considered as a carrier of free energy. Life is considered not as a mechanical sum of individuals or species, but as a matter of fact - a single process, covering all the substance of the upper layer of the planet.
Living matter has changed throughout all geological epochs and periods. Therefore, as noted by V.I. Vernadsky, modern living matter is genetically related to the living matter of all past geological epochs. At the same time, within the framework of significant geological periods of time, the amount of living matter is not subject to noticeable changes. This pattern was formulated by the scientist as a constant amount of living matter in the biosphere (for a given geological period).
Living matter performs the following biogeochemical functions in the biosphere: gas - absorbs and releases gases; redox - oxidizes, for example, carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and restores it to carbohydrates; concentration - organisms-concentrators accumulate nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, calcium, magnesium in their bodies and skeletons. As a result of the performance of these functions, the living substance of the biosphere from the mineral base creates natural waters and soils, it created in the past and maintains the atmosphere in a state of equilibrium.
With the participation of living matter, the weathering process takes place, and rocks are included in geochemical processes.
The gas and redox functions of living matter are closely related to the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. As a result of the biosynthesis of organic substances by autotrophic organisms, a huge amount of carbon dioxide was extracted from the ancient atmosphere. As the biomass of green plants increased, the gas composition of the atmosphere changed - the content of carbon dioxide decreased, and the concentration of oxygen increased. All oxygen in the atmosphere is formed as a result of the vital processes of autotrophic organisms. Living matter has qualitatively changed the gas composition of the atmosphere, the geological envelope of the Earth. In turn, oxygen is used by organisms for the process of respiration, as a result of which carbon dioxide is again released into the atmosphere.
Thus, living organisms created in the past and maintain the atmosphere of our planet for millions of years. An increase in the oxygen concentration in the planet's atmosphere affected the rate and intensity of redox reactions in the lithosphere.
Many microorganisms are directly involved in the oxidation of iron, which leads to the formation of sedimentary iron ores, or to the reduction of sulfates with the formation of biogenic sulfur deposits. Despite the fact that the composition of living organisms includes the same chemical elements, the compounds of which form the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere, organisms do not completely repeat the chemical composition of the environment.
Living matter, actively performing the concentration function, selects from the environment those chemical elements and in such quantity that it needs. Due to the implementation of the concentration function, living organisms have created many sedimentary rocks, for example, deposits of chalk and limestone.
In the biosphere, as in every ecosystem, the circulation of chemical elements is constantly carried out. Thus, the living matter of the biosphere, performing geochemical functions, creates and maintains the balance of the biosphere.
The first conclusion from the doctrine of the biosphere is the principle of the integrity of the biosphere. The structure of the Earth is a coordinated system. The living world is a single system cemented by many food chains and other interdependencies. If even a small part of it dies, everything else will collapse.
The principle of harmony of the biosphere and its organization. In the biosphere, "everything is taken into account and everything is adjusted with the same precision and with the same subordination to measure and harmony, which we see in the harmonious movements of celestial bodies and begin to see in systems of atoms of matter and atoms of energy."
The role of living things in the evolution of the Earth. The face of the Earth is actually shaped by life. "All the minerals of the upper parts of the earth's crust - free aluminosilicic acids (clays), carbonates (limestones and dolomites), iron and aluminum oxide hydrates (brown iron ore and bauxites), and many hundreds of others - are continuously created in it only under the influence of life."
Cosmic role of the biosphere in the transformation of energy. VI Vernadsky emphasized the importance of energy and called living organisms the mechanisms of energy transformation.
Cosmic energy causes the pressure of life, which is achieved by reproduction. The reproduction of organisms decreases as their number increases. Population sizes increase as long as the environment can withstand their further increase, after which equilibrium is reached. The number fluctuates around the equilibrium level.
The spreading of life is a manifestation of its geochemical energy. Living matter, like a gas, spreads over the earth's surface in accordance with the rule of inertia. Small organisms reproduce much faster than large ones. The rate of transmission of life depends on the density of living matter.
The concept of autotrophy. Autotrophic organisms are called organisms that take all the chemical elements they need for life from the bone matter surrounding them and do not require ready-made compounds of another organism to build their body. The field of existence of these autotrophic green organisms is determined by the area of penetration of sunlight.
Life is entirely determined by the field of sustainability of green vegetation, and the limits of life - by the physicochemical properties of the compounds that build the body, their inviolability in certain environmental conditions. The maximum field of life is determined by the extreme limits of the organism's survival. The upper limit of life is determined by radiant energy, the presence of which excludes life and from which the ozone shield protects. The lower limit is associated with reaching a high temperature.
The biosphere in its main features represents the same chemical apparatus from the most ancient geological periods. Life remained constant during geological time, only its form changed. Living matter itself is not a random creation.
The "ubiquity" of life in the biosphere. Life gradually, slowly adapting, captured the biosphere, and this capture did not end. The field of stability of life is the result of its adaptability in the course of time.
The law of frugality in the use of simple chemical bodies by living matter. Once an element has entered, it goes through a long series of states, and the organism introduces into itself only the required number of elements.
The constancy of the amount of living matter in the biosphere. The amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere is of the same order as the amount of living matter. Living matter is an intermediary between the Sun and the Earth and, therefore, either its quantity must be constant, or its energy characteristics must change.
Any system reaches a stable equilibrium when its free energy equals or approaches zero, i.e. when all the work possible in the conditions of the system has been done.
V. I. Vernadsky formulated the idea of human autotrophy, which has become important in the framework of the discussion of the problem of creating artificial ecosystems in spacecraft. The creation of such artificial ecosystems will be an important stage in the development of ecology. Their construction combines an engineering goal - the creation of a new one - and an environmental focus on preserving the existing, creativity and reasonable conservatism. This will be the implementation of the principle of “designing with nature”.
So far, an artificial ecosystem is a very complex and cumbersome structure. What in nature functions by itself, a person can reproduce only at the cost of great effort. But he will have to do this if he wants to explore space and make long flights. The need to create an artificial ecosystem in spacecraft will help to better understand natural ecosystems.
The doctrine of the Earth's biosphere is one of the largest and most interesting generalizations of modern natural science. It is a scientific basis for the study of natural objects and an integrated approach to the organization of modern production.
Life on the planet proceeds and develops only in a thin layer of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. This thin earthly shell inhabited by organisms is commonly called the biosphere.
Biosphere - the area of \u200b\u200b"life", the space on the surface of the globe in which living beings live.
Greatness V.I. Vernadsky in that he first understood and scientifically substantiated the unity of man and the biosphere.
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863-1945) - a prominent Russian scientist, mineralogist and crystallographer, one of the founders of geochemistry and biogeochemistry.
The essence of this doctrine: the biosphere is a qualitatively original shell of the Earth, the development of which is largely determined by the activity of living organisms.
The main provisions of the teachings of V.I. Vernadsky about the biosphere.
First of all, V.I. Vernadsky determined the space covered by the Earth's biosphere. Biosphere (Greek "bios" - life; "sphere" - ball) - the shell of the Earth, in which the life of various organisms develops, inhabiting the surface of the land, soil, lower layers of the atmosphere, hydrosphere.
Planet Earth is characterized by the presence of three surface geospheres - hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere.
Hydrosphere, or the water shell of the Earth, is represented by oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and artificial reservoirs. The water shell covers about 71% of the surface of the globe, the greatest depth in the western part of the Pacific Ocean reaches 11.5 km (Marian Trench).
Lithosphere, or the earth's crust, is the outer hard shell of the globe with a thickness of several tens of kilometers. In the context of the biosphere, the lithosphere is usually understood only as its surface part - the soil.
Atmosphere, or the air shell, consists of several layers: the troposphere up to 15 km in height above the Earth's surface; stratosphere, with an ozone screen extending up to 100 km in height; ionosphere, representing a layer of rarefied gas, up to 500 km high.
The biosphere includes:
1) Living organisms (plants, animals, microorganisms).
2) Troposphere (lower layer of the atmosphere).
3) Hydrosphere (oceans, seas, rivers, etc.).
4) Lithosphere (upper part of the earth's crust).
The age of the biosphere is approximately 4 billion years.
Diagram of the structure of the biosphere
Vernadsky distinguished the following categories of substances:
1) living matter - a set of living organisms inhabiting the biosphere (from the simplest viruses to humans), characterized by chemical composition, mass, energy, information; transforms solar energy and involves inorganic matter in a continuous cycle). Living matter is a “function of the biosphere”, and the biosphere is the result of the development of living substances.
2) biogenic matter - the products of vital activity of living organisms (coal, oil, peat, chalk);
3) bioinert substance - products of decay and processing of rocks and sedimentary rocks by living organisms (soil, silt, natural waters). It has a mineral base, which is radically transformed by the vital activity of organisms (soil cover, air, water).
4) inert matter - everything that had no connection with the living (hardened lava, volcanic ash).
5) Radioactive substances resulting from the decay of radioactive elements (radium, uranium, thorium, etc.).
6) Scattered atoms (chemical elements) that are in the earth's crust in a scattered state.
7) Matter of cosmic origin - meteorites, protons, neutrons, electrons.
Within the biosphere, there are 4 living environments: two dead (water, air), one bio-inert (soil) and one living (organism).
The processes occurring in an ecosystem (the number of living organisms, the rate of their development, etc.) depend on the amount of energy entering the ecosystem and on the circulation of substances in the ecosystem. The biosphere is an energetically open system in which energy is absorbed from the external environment.
The living matter of our planet exists in the form of a huge variety of organisms of various shapes and sizes. Currently, there are more than 2 million organisms on Earth, of which 0.5 are plants, 1.5 are plants and microorganisms (of which 1 million are insects).
The main feature of a living being is, in addition to cellular activity and information transfer, the way energy is used. Living beings capture the energy of the cosmos in the form of sunlight, keep it in the form of the energy of complex organic compounds (biomass), transfer it to each other and transform it into other types of energy (mechanical, electrical, thermal). Inanimate substances preferentially dissipate energy.
Living matter, the biosphere, converts the energy of the Sun into free energy capable of doing work. The work done by life is the transport and redistribution of chemical elements in the biosphere.
All soils and surface minerals (chernozem, clay, limestone, ore, coal and oil deposits) were formed under the influence of life.
Energy conversion in organisms is based on temperature differences and other principles. Living beings should be considered as chemical machines, where chemical energy is converted into other forms of energy.
Features of the functioning of living beings:
ability to self-reproduce;
the ability to form polymeric shells that protect living matter from an inert environment;
ability to store and transfer chemical
energy, as well as to carry out chemical reactions under normal conditions of temperature and pressure without the formation of by-products. Life on Earth is perfectly ecological.
The basis of dynamic balance and sustainability of the biosphere are the circulation of matter and the transformation of energy.
The cycle of substances in the biosphere
The basic principle of the functioning of ecosystems Receiving resources and getting rid of waste occurs within the cycle of all elements.
Let us consider such a cycle for the main components that make up the biosphere.
The carbon cycle
For example, consider the carbon cycle. In the atmosphere, carbon reserves in the form of CO2 are small, in the earth's crust they are present in the form of fossil fuels. When life appeared on Earth about 2 billion years ago, the atmosphere consisted mainly of CO2. The first organisms were anaerobic, i.e. lived in the absence of oxygen. The accumulation of oxygen is due to the existence of green plants. Now its reserves on Earth are estimated at 1.6-105 tons. Green plants can create this mass in 10 thousand years. Carbon released into the atmosphere for various reasons is absorbed by green plants, which release oxygen in the course of their life. And as a result of the consumption of organic compounds by animals, organic substances are oxidized to carbon dioxide, which enters the atmosphere. In other words, carbon is the main participant in the biotic cycle. Man actively intervenes in this cycle, which in the next 100 years can lead to climate change, ocean rise, a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, etc.
Sulfur cycle
Sulfur is converted into various compounds and circulates in the biosphere. From natural sources, it enters the atmosphere in the following form:
hydrogen sulfide (H2S) - a colorless, foul-smelling poisonous gas - during volcanic eruptions, during the decomposition of organic matter in swamps and lowlands flooded by tides;
sulfur dioxide (SO;) - a colorless, suffocating gas from volcanic eruptions;
particles of sulfate salts (for example, ammonium sulfate) - from the smallest splashes of ocean water.
About a third of all sulfur compounds and 99% of sulfur dioxide released into the atmosphere are of anthropogenic origin. The burning of sulfur-containing coals and oil to generate electricity accounts for approximately two-thirds of all anthropogenic sulfur dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The remaining third is accounted for by such technological processes as oil refining, smelting of metals from sulfur-containing copper, lead and zinc ores.
In the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide is oxidized by oxygen to gaseous sulfur trioxide, which, when reacted with water vapor, forms tiny droplets of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Interacting with other atmospheric components, sulfur trioxide can form the smallest particles of sulfate salts. Sulfuric acid and sulfate salts contribute to the formation of acid precipitation that disrupts the vital activity of forest and aquatic ecosystems.
The water cycle
The hydrological cycle, during which the accumulation, purification and redistribution of the planetary water supply takes place, is as follows. Solar energy and gravity continuously move water between the oceans, atmosphere, land, and living organisms. The most important processes of this cycle are evaporation, condensation, precipitation and water runoff back to the sea to restart the cycle.
Under the influence of incoming solar energy, water evaporates from the surface of oceans, rivers, lakes, soils and plants and enters the atmosphere. Winds and air masses carry water vapor to various regions of the Earth. A decrease in temperature in certain parts of the atmosphere leads to the condensation of water vapor, the formation of clouds and fogs, and precipitation.
Part of fresh water returns to the surface of the earth in the form of precipitation, freezes in glaciers. However, it mostly fills depressions and hollows and flows into nearby lakes, streams and rivers, which carry it back to the ocean, thus completing the cycle. This runoff of fresh water from the land surface also causes soil erosion, which leads to the movement of various chemicals in other biogeochemical cycles.
Much of the water returned to land seeps deep into the pound. There is an accumulation of pounds of water in aquifers - underground reservoirs. Underground sources and streams eventually return water to the land surface and into rivers, lakes, streams, from where it evaporates again or flows into the ocean. However, the circulation of groundwater is incomparably slower than the circulation of surface and atmospheric waters.
Evolution of the biosphere
So, in the process of development of the biosphere, 3 levels:
1) Biosphere(where man had little effect on nature).
2) Biotechnosphere
Technosphere is a set of artificial objects created by purposeful human activity, and natural objects modified by this activity. The modern biosphere is the result of a long evolution of the organic world and inanimate nature. Human society is one of the stages in the development of life on Earth. Human activity should be considered as an integral part of the biosphere. Technology is a qualitatively new stage in its development. The question arises - which way will the development of man and the biosphere in the future, by what means to avoid irreversible consequences in nature. It is impossible to prevent changes. Obviously, one should learn to manage the processes between man and nature so that they are mutually beneficial.
3) Noosphere - realm of the mind.
This concept was introduced by the French mathematician and philosopher Le Roy in 1927, and substantiated by Vernadsky in 1944. This is the highest stage in the development of the biosphere, when rational human activity becomes the main determining factor in development. In the noosphere, a person becomes a major geological force, he rebuilds the area of his life with his work and thought. Man is inextricably linked with the biosphere, he cannot leave it. Its existence is a function of the biosphere, which it inevitably changes.
TALE ABOUT SCIENTIST GUS AND EXPERIMENTS TO CHANGE THE BIOSPHERE
It used to be that the Learned Goose was known as an eccentric at the Animal Farm. And after his scientific discoveries and hints of some kind of huge prize, his attitude towards him suddenly changed. Well this is your prize, not khukhra-muhry. Yes, and Gus himself has changed - now he did not just walk around, he flaunted his scientific education, but took up vigorous activity. Either he studies aliens, or he looks out for the secrets of the past of our planet under a thick layer of earth. That's the folklore undertook to collect ... And now, and in general a new, as he says, "global experiment to change the biosphere of the Yard" decided to conduct. And where did he find such words? That's for sure: on a sober head - you can’t vypchesh.
And this experiment consisted of this: in the Courtyard, on the right hand of the gate, there was a well from time immemorial, and Goose was going to change it. The owners of the well, to tell the truth, didn’t really need it - they had a water pipe installed five years ago - both cold and hot water for you. Therefore, the Owners only gave water to the Cattle from the well - the inhabitants of the Animal Farm did not like the water with bleach. Smelly hurts. Yes, the Owner himself, when sometimes he toils too much with a hangover, he will pick up a bucket of water from the well, but with a swing of it, cold, and splash on his head.
So Gus decided to improve the well and adapt it for other purposes. If you throw frogs and fish stuff into it, into this very well, you will get a double benefit. Here is water and livestock for food. Well, not for all, of course, for Cattle, but for those who enjoy these things - Ducks, for example, Geese, and Chernysh the Cat will definitely not refuse fresh fish. This living creature will breed there by itself, and it is much easier to catch it in a narrow well - not like in the Pond, vast and deep. I scooped up a bucket of water from the well in the morning - two three Ducks are full. He scooped up another bucket - and Chernysh ate it.
Kesha the turkey, headman of the Yard, listened carefully to Gusev's idea, after all, the matter of subsistence of the population entrusted to him concerned. And if it works out, then you can get good savings on that. And this is already something. Therefore, he approached the event thoughtfully, with soul and full approval, especially when he found out that there was no need for any expenses. Goose, in addition to the scientific base, also introduced the technical part into his project, how and in what way frogs and fry get into the well.
- Dear Waterfowl! - Goose solemnly began his speech in the poultry house. - Of course, you already know the ultimate goal of our Great Experiment. But we will have to execute the process itself, on voluntary terms. Let's arrange a subbotnik, and together we will do a great deed for the benefit of us and our descendants. Let's catch tadpoles and fry in the pond, and carry them in our own beaks to the well. And when they grow up and begin to give offspring, with a calm soul we will reap the fruits of our hands. I think that everyone understands the benefits of this experiment and will make every effort to carry it out. By the way, the headman of Kesh personally promised to follow all those who shirked from the subbotnik and subsequently would not allow them to distribute what they had caught in the well.
- Yes, we ... Yes, forever! - Ducks and Geese got excited when they heard about Keshino's promise. - If necessary - then we - too!
That's what they decided on. Some irresponsible elements, however, expressed certain doubts, but Scientist Goose convinced them too, talking about the greatest projects to change the biosphere - and about the creation of artificial seas, and about a tunnel under some kind of English Channel, and about the turn of the Siberian rivers. At this point, the last doubters swelled up. Seas, rivers, tunnels - Avon, what colossus! What, we won’t master some kind of well? Yes, easily!
A trifle from the pond was caught all day. Amicably so, with all the hamuz, although it is fussy and stupidly. More than half of the fry and tadpoles were crushed in a hurry with their beaks, and which, without reaching the place, they accidentally swallowed them out of habit. But by evening, a fair amount was thrown into the experimental well. Did it. And, satisfied, they dispersed, dreaming about how in a couple of weeks they would scoop delicacy food in buckets.
However, the next day the Owner, suffering from a heavy hangover in the morning, decided to splash a bucket of icy water on his head. And so he did. And frogs and tadpoles poured out of the bucket anyway. And one, the most hefty, settled down on top of his head, but so deliciously, croaked loudly. The owner, the poor fellow, already shuddered everything. Passion, how he disdained frogs. So, in the heat of the moment, this very "defiled" well fell asleep.
The cattle had to go to the river or to the pond for water. It's far away, not like before - everything was close at hand. Angry go, wander, Goose with his experiment, on which they curse the world. And he only manages to make excuses. Like, this is an idea, it was for the common good and all prosperity. Who knew that a good thing could turn out like this?
And the White Rat in his memoirs put this story under a special heading: "Do not spit in the well - it will come in handy to drink water!" The goose even hugged him a little, but what's the point? It was only later that he realized that the experiment with the biosphere must be done carefully and thoughtfully, having calculated all the consequences more than once from all sides.
Here the fairy tale ends.
In the early 90s of the last century, the world witnessed a very strange scientific experiment called "Biosphere-2".
Eight people dressed in uniform futuristic overalls waved to a huge crowd of journalists and entered the airlock, which was located in the Arizona desert.
Airtight glass domes contained five landscape modules: jungle, savannah, swamp, desert, and even a small ocean with a beach and a coral reef.
Among this beauty there was an agricultural block equipped with the latest technology, as well as a residential building built in an avant-garde style. Also, in addition to people, about 4 thousand various representatives of the fauna were launched inside, including goats, pigs and chickens on the farm.
Biosphere-2 is a building that simulates a closed ecological system, built by Space Biosphere Ventures and billionaire Edward Bass in the Arizona desert (USA).
The number "2" in the title is intended to emphasize that "Biosphere-1" is the Earth.
There is an alternative version about the "first Biosphere" - that was the name of the American pavilion Biosphere at the world exhibition Expo-67, at one time no less famous than the Atomium.
This version is supported by a noticeable external similarity in the design of Biosphere and Biosphere-2.
The main task of "Biosphere-2" was to find out whether a person can live and work in a closed environment. In the distant future, such systems can be useful both as autonomous settlements in space and in the event of an extreme deterioration in living conditions on Earth.
The laboratory is a network of sealed buildings with a total area of 1.5 hectares made of light materials, divided into several independent ecosystems and covered with a glass dome that transmits about 50% of sunlight.
The interior space is divided into 7 blocks, including a tropical forest, a miniature ocean with an unusual chemical composition, a desert, a savannah and a mangrove estuary. Giant "lungs" regulate the internal pressure in such a way that it matches the external one - this minimizes air leakage.
The experiment was carried out in two stages: the first from September 26, 1991 to September 26, 1993 and the second in 1994.
This entire ark was supposed to exist autonomously for two years, eating what grew under the dome, breathing oxygen that the plants emitted, purifying and endlessly using the same water.
A kind of planet in miniature, untouched by the technical revolution, where eight intelligent, enlightened people planned to engage in simple physical labor, gather at the same dinner table, play music in their leisure hours, and, finally, work for a great goal, for the benefit of science.
Why not heaven?
Turns out it's not that simple...
Eight people (four women and four men) stayed in Biosphere-2 for about two years, maintaining contact with the outside world only through a computer. Together with them, 3,000 species of plants and animals were brought there.
During the first stage, the oxygen level began to fall by 0.5% per month, which led to a situation where people were forced to live in conditions of oxygen starvation (similar conditions are observed at an altitude of 4,080 m above sea level).
About a week later, Biosphere's chief technician, Van Tillo, came to breakfast very excited. He announced that he had strange and unpleasant news. Daily measurements of the state of the air showed that the designers of the dome made a mistake in their calculations.
The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere gradually decreases and the percentage of carbon dioxide increases.
While this is completely imperceptible, however, if the trend continues, in about a year, existence at the station will become impossible. From that day on, the heavenly life of the bionauts ended, and a tense struggle began for the air they breathed.
Firstly, it was decided to increase green biomass as intensively as possible.
The colonists devoted all their free time to planting and caring for plants.
Secondly, they ran a backup carbon dioxide absorber at full capacity, from which the sediment had to be constantly scraped off.
Thirdly, the ocean became an unexpected helper, where a certain amount of CO2 settled, turning into acetic acid.
True, the acidity of the ocean was constantly growing from this, and additives had to be used to lower it. Nothing helped. The air under the dome became more and more rarefied.
Since the oxygen level had fallen to such a dangerous level, the decision was made to artificially pump in oxygen from outside.
A couple of weeks later, one of the participants in the experiment cut off her finger while working on agricultural equipment. Attempts to reattach the finger failed and the participant had to leave the experiment.
Pretty quickly, the team split into two opposing groups. This greatly interfered with the normal course of research.
Even after 20 years, the groups avoid meeting.
Trees, grass and shrubs grew inside the laboratory, which gave 46 types of plant food, there were goat pastures, pigsties, chicken coops, fish and shrimps swam in artificial reservoirs.
It was assumed that the complex would function autonomously, since all the conditions for the normal circulation of substances were present.
Sunlight, according to scientists, should have been enough for sufficient reproduction of oxygen by plants as a result of photosynthesis, worms and microorganisms were called upon to ensure the processing of waste, insects to pollinate plants, etc.
However, after a few weeks, the lives of people living in subsistence farming were disrupted.
Microorganisms and insects began to multiply in unexpectedly large numbers, causing unexpected oxygen consumption and the destruction of crops (the use of pesticides was not envisaged).
Soon, another global problem arose before the bionauts.
It turned out that a farm of 20 acres, with all modern technologies for cultivating the land, is able to provide only 80% of the needs of the colonists in food. Their daily diet (the same for women and men) was 1700 calories, which is normal for a sedentary office life, but catastrophically low for the amount of physical work that every inhabitant of the Biosphere had to do.
At first, dinner was served as a buffet, but soon serious conflicts began to arise because of this, and food began to be placed on everyone's plate, literally measuring out to the gram.
People got up from the table hungry and constantly dreamed of the delicacies of the big world.
Evening philosophical discussions have replaced fantasies about what they will eat when they are released. The pantry, where the main delicacy of the bionauts - bananas, was stored, had to be locked after a disgusting episode with anonymous looting.
Before giving the cleanings to the pigs, people carefully chose everything that they could eat themselves. Banana skins and nut husks went for a delicacy.
One evening, Jane Poynter, who was in charge of the farm, confessed that she was aware of a future food crisis. A few months before moving in, she calculated that the bionauts would not have enough food, but under the influence of Dr. Walford with his ideas about a healthy diet, it was decided that this shortage would only benefit.
The doctor, by the way, was the only one who did not complain of hunger. He continued to insist on the validity of his theory: after six months of a “hungry” diet, the blood condition of the bionauts improved significantly, cholesterol levels decreased, and metabolism improved. People lost 10 to 18 percent of their body weight and looked remarkably young. They smiled from behind the glass at journalists and curious tourists, pretending that nothing was happening. However, the bionauts felt worse and worse.
The summer of 1992 was particularly difficult for the colonists. Rice crops were destroyed by pests, so that their diet for several months consisted almost entirely of beans, sweet potatoes and carrots.
Due to excess beta-carotene, their skin turned orange. Added to this misfortune was a particularly strong El Niño, due to which the sky over Biosphere-2 was overcast for almost the entire winter.
This weakened the jungle's photosynthesis (and hence the production of precious oxygen), and also reduced the already meager crops. The world around them was losing its beauty and harmony. In the "desert" it rained regularly due to condensation on the ceiling, so that many plants rotted.
Huge five-meter trees in the jungle suddenly became brittle, some fell, breaking everything around. (Subsequently, investigating this phenomenon, scientists came to the conclusion that its cause lay in the absence of wind under the dome, which strengthens tree trunks in nature.)
The drains in the fishponds clogged, and the fish were getting scarcer. It was increasingly difficult to fight the acidity of the ocean, because of which the corals were dying.
The fauna of the jungle and savannah was also inexorably reduced.
The hosts of paradise felt no better. The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere was constantly decreasing and reached 16% (against the norm of 20%). This is comparable to the rarefied air of the mountains, and usually the human body quickly adapts to this state. However, due to the general exhaustion of the colonists, mountain sickness did not let them go.
The bionauts began to get tired quickly, their head was constantly spinning, they could no longer do the work in the same volume. But in the most radical way, oxygen starvation affected their morale. Everyone felt oppressed, sad, irritated. Every day there were scandals under the dome.
Only cockroaches and ants, which filled all biological niches, felt great. The biosphere was gradually dying.
The inhabitants of the project began to lose weight and suffocate. Scientists had to violate the conditions of the experiment and start supplying oxygen (23 tons) and products inside (these facts were hidden and were later exposed).
The first experiment ended in failure: people lost a lot of weight, the amount of oxygen dropped to 15% (the normal content in the atmosphere is 21%).
After the end of the experiment in 1994, a three-year restoration of the huge complex began.
During this time, the sponsors abandoned the project, recognizing that the experiment did not bring the expected results.
In early 1996, Biosphere-2 was transferred under the scientific supervision of B. Marino and his colleagues from the Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
They decided to stop the experiment and remove people from the building, because it was not clear how to solve the problem of nutrition and maintaining the composition of the air unchanged. In mid-1996, scientists began a new experiment, this time without the participation of people.
They had to find out: does the increase in the percentage of CO2 really increase the yield and for how long; what happens to excess carbon dioxide and where it accumulates; whether some reverse catastrophic process is possible with an uncontrolled increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The second stage was also prematurely interrupted due to organizational and financial problems. It is assumed that the drop in oxygen levels was caused by unforeseen microbial growth. Crops, savannah and forest were filled with microorganisms that began to multiply and destroy seedlings.
The main reason for the conflict was that Allen did not allow the bionauts to publicize their problems.
He continued to pretend that the experiment was going according to plan.
Half of the colonists (both captains, the PR director and the head of scientific research, that is, the management) absolutely agreed with this position. They believed that they needed to stay under the dome for the planned two years at any cost. Another four bionauts argued that the help of international scientists should be urgently requested in order to understand why oxygen is disappearing. It would also be nice to order some air and food from outside.
Jane Poynter, the leader of the group who wanted to ask for help, describes the beginning of the conflict this way: “I cleaned the animal pens on the farm. My head was spinning terribly, and I had to rest every minute. In the morning we talked about our situation, and I said that staying here and suffocating is some kind of sectarianism. I thought about all this, then turned around and saw Abigail, who was standing behind me. She had something in her mouth... In the next second, she spat in my face! I was confused and asked: “For what?” “Think for yourself,” she replied, turned around and left.”
Meanwhile, ordinary spectators, who every day came in whole buses to see what was happening in a giant human aquarium, and did not suspect what passions were boiling there. They lined up along the wall, sipping cola, chewing hot dogs, and people in futuristic costumes behind the glass seemed to them surprisingly spiritual, real heroes of science fiction books and visionaries. Although, by and large, the "visionaries" were just very tired and hungry. In the autumn of 1992, the oxygen content under the dome dropped to 14%.
Dr. Walford announced that he was resigning from his duties, as he was no longer able to add even two-digit numbers in his head. At night, the bionauts constantly woke up, as the active photosynthesis of plants stopped, the level of oxygen dropped sharply and they began to suffocate. By this time, all vertebrate animals of the biosphere had died.
A year after the start of the experiment, Allen and Bass decided to depressurize the capsule and add oxygen to the atmosphere of the Biosphere.
They also allowed the bionauts to use emergency supplies of grain and vegetables from the seed vault. This greatly improved the general condition of the colonists.
However, the two warring groups remained in a state of permanent war, trying not to even talk to each other. On September 26, 1993, when the airlock was solemnly depressurized and people went outside, one could understand from their faces that the experiment had failed - the expulsion from paradise had taken place in full and forever. The biosphere turned out to be unsuitable for life. Meanwhile, journalists who found out about the addition of oxygen to the atmosphere made a huge scandal out of this and dubbed the "Biosphere" the grand failure of the century. So what was this mysterious oxygen problem?
When scientists carefully examined the deplorable state of the ruined domes, they came to the conclusion that cement floors played a fatal role.
Oxygen reacted with cement and settled in the form of oxides on the walls.
Bacteria in the soil turned out to be another active consumer of oxygen.
The most fertile chernozem was chosen for Biosphere, so that it would have enough natural microelements for many years, but in such a land there were a lot of microorganisms that breathe oxygen in the same way as vertebrates.
Scientific journals recognized these discoveries as the main and only achievements of the Biosphere. On one of the inner walls of the “planet”, a few lines written by one of the women are still preserved: “Only here we felt how dependent on the surrounding nature. If there are no trees, we will have nothing to breathe, if the water is polluted, we will have nothing to drink.”
On January 10, 2005, the company that owns the unique complex put the laboratory up for sale.
On one of the inner walls of the "planet" there are still several lines written by one of the women:
“Only here we felt how dependent on the surrounding nature. If there are no trees, we will have nothing to breathe, if the water is polluted, we will have nothing to drink.”
This giant "greenhouse" will become a permanent home for African animals such as gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis, as well as some rare species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and invertebrates. This biodome is expected to make a significant contribution to the conservation of the biodiversity of our planet.
The biodome will mimic the natural habitat of the Congo rainforest. The area of this British piece of Africa will be 16,000 m 2 , the maximum height of the "greenhouse" vault will reach 34 meters.
The Tale of Amber and the Presentiment of the Biosphere
More than 200 years ago, Lomonosov expressed an idea that characterizes the basic attitude of a naturalist who, “imagining the great space, cunning structure and beauty of all creatures, with some sacred horror and reverent love, honors the Creator’s infinite wisdom and power.”
What is important here is not the reference to the Creator, since Lomonosov saw in natural phenomena a manifestation of the great creativity of the nature of the Earth and Cosmos. The meaning is important: a naturalist must be able to contemplate Nature "with some sacred horror and reverent love."
Yes, our earthly Nature must be known, comprehended and loved. The newest testament to man: love the biosphere as yourself; take care of your inhabited cosmic home as if it were your own, for our destiny depends on its condition.
It was this attitude to Nature that largely predetermined the remarkable scientific insights of Lomonosov. In his scientific works, you are surprised to discover the origins of the doctrine of the geological activity of living organisms and the biosphere as a living environment - a doctrine that was first most thoroughly developed at the beginning of the 20th century by V.I. Vernadsky and A.E. Fersman...
However, we should start with a scientific fairy tale.
In the treatise "On the Layers of the Earth" Lomonosov cited the story of a small insect that lived in ancient times. I will give this story, slightly editing, for ease of reading, giving some archaic words and expressions a modern look, as well as highlighting paragraphs.
Taking advantage of the summer warmth and radiance of the sun, we walked through the luxurious blessed plants, searched for and collected everything that serves our food. They enjoyed among themselves the charm of the blessing of the current burden, and, following various sweet smells, they crawled and flew over grasses, leaves and trees, without fear of any misfortune from them.
And so we sat down on the liquid resin that had flowed from the tree, which, having tied us to itself with stickiness, captivated us and, constantly pouring out, completely covered us. Then, from an earthquake, our fallen forest place was covered with an overflowing sea: the trees were overthrown, covered with silt and sand, along with pitch and with us; where, for a long time, mineral juices penetrated the resin, gave greater hardness, and turned into amber, in which we received tombs more magnificent than noble and rich people in the world can have.
We came to the ore veins in no other way and no other time than the petrified wood that is with us.
It would seem that in this fairy tale special? Obvious ideas, popular science essay. And this is a scientific discovery with far-reaching consequences, broad generalizations on a global scale.
This is what precedes the tale: “In this case, I can’t help thinking about where amber originated from. For although my intention only extends to the layers of the earth; and this addition cannot contain a detailed description of things in the earth; however, this matter tires the reasoning and not the last philistines of a learned society; of which most revere amber as a genuine mineral body.
It was this opinion that prevailed in the era of Lomonosov. And it was a forced, one might say, opinion; it was imposed on the scientific community by theologians and the tradition of the European Middle Ages (especially since many of the scientists of the Renaissance and the beginning of the Enlightenment were clergymen). As we know, the ideas about the time from the Creation of the World, calculated in millennia, and the legends about the Flood affected.
Lomonosov gave a convincing argument in favor of the veracity of his fairy tale: “It seems to me that the included in amber could prove quite contrary ... flies, butterflies, small dragonflies, spiders, ants, all kinds of insects and, moreover, sheets and knots of small plants.”
It would seem that further evidence is not required. “However, despite the fact,” he continued, “almost all the best revered Minerographers in the world write that amber originated in the bowels of the earth from a combination of acid, which is contained in sulfur, with earthen and oily particles. I will put forward the first and easy refutation of their opinion towards this, that there is not yet a single Chemist from sulfuric acid, from some combustible mountain matter and from the earth of amber, and from all knowledge and experiments it is clear that it is impossible to be chemical.
Perhaps he conducted the relevant experiments or read about them in the scientific literature. He reported that artificial amber is usually made from transparent resin mixed with some other substances. And he recalls that amber is found on the sea shallows of the Prussian coast after strong winds. Its waves do not throw it out of the depths of the sea, but wash it out of coastal rocks. Fragments of petrified trees are also found here.
In the Carpathian mountains, amber is also found in sedimentary layers and also along with petrified trees. In Italy, amber occurs in places where oil is mined, and it comes from bituminous coals, in which charred tree trunks are found.
“All this shows,” he concludes, “that amber is the origin of the plant kingdom… Burnt amber gives off fragrant smoke like cypress resin, and in the Russian Pomeranian regions, where it is found, it is called sea incense. Chemical experiments separate it into a combustible oil, into a volatile acidic dry salt, leaving a little earth in the retort, and showing not much water during the distillation. All this does not reveal any mineral coarseness in him.
The tale of amber is also instructive in a methodical sense. Lomonosov teaches us to understand the alphabet of the stone chronicle in its simplest manifestations, because small insects immured in a precious transparent sarcophagus, one might say, speak for themselves.
Let's take into account: when Lomonosov wrote about the subsidence of the earth's surface as a result of earthquakes, he had in mind slow movements imperceptible by man. And further. Having told about the origin of amber, he made a generalization: mineral bodies, in particular metals, are not primordial or primeval matter, but are constantly born in the earth's crust.
By this, he acted - albeit not explicitly - against the dogma accepted by many, not only by the townsfolk or theologians, but also by scientists, about creation from nothing on earth. It was completely clear to him that it was impossible to explain from a religious position the structure of the earth's crust and the origin of not only amber, but also other minerals, as well as layers of rocks that were once deposited in the sea, then petrified and raised to the surface in the form of mountains and hills.
(The famous philosopher Voltaire ridiculed such views, believing that the fossilized remains of marine organisms were left in the Alps by pilgrims who came from Palestine and gathered these specimens on the Mediterranean coast.)
... Miners, miners, engaged in practical work, tried not to think about the complex theoretical, as it seemed to them, mysteries of the origin of mineral bodies and mineral deposits. Moreover, they avoided contradictions with traditional religious truths learned from childhood.
According to Lomonosov, the fossils and imprints of the once living creatures found in different rocks died from various causes that constantly operate on Earth. By studying fossil remains, it is possible to restore the natural conditions in which they lived. These finds testify to the fact that "a great change on the surface of the earth" is produced by floods and floods. Some "drownings" occur "from an excess of air water, that is, from heavy and extraordinary rains and steep melting of snow, others from seas and lakes that transcend their shores."
In the second case, "earth tremors" or "insensitive and long-term depressions and elevations of the earth's surface" affect. Such changes have been repeated many times in the history of the Earth and are quietly happening now. The difference in the age of rocks with fossils can be ascertained by studying the alternation of the layers in which they are found, and their sequence is visible in wells, mines, and especially in the cliffs along the banks of rivers.
“Such a view of the origin of fossils,” Vernadsky believed, “was not for Lomonosov a mere accidental remark. It was closely connected with his general idea of the life of our planet, and, as far as I know, Lomonosov's brilliant, although not entirely correct concept, has no direct predecessors. He attached great importance to the organic world in the life of our planet.
Attaching great importance to "underground fire", Lomonosov noted with amazing insight the important role of the organic world in the life of our planet. According to him, peat, brown and black coals come from the products of processing mainly plant residues. The latter are formed from peat by its slow transformation into coal in the depths of the earth due to the high temperature of the interior of the Earth.
... I remember four decades ago I talked with a prominent Soviet geologist N.B. Vassoevich, the author of the theory of the origin of oil and combustible gas in the biosphere. Suddenly he took out one of the many books lying on his desk, found the right page and read: “Meanwhile, this brown and black oily matter is expelled by underground heat from the coals being prepared and enters into various clefts and cavities, dry and moist, filled with water ...
And this is the birth of liquid various types of combustible and dry hardened materials, which are stone oil, Jewish resin (asphalt. - R.B.), oil, jet and the like, which, although they differ in purity, however, originate from the same source. It is known from chemical experiments that distillation of such fatty matters, when a steep fire is carried out, the oil comes out black and thick, on the contrary, from a light fire it comes out light and transparent.
Lomonosov said it,” Nikolai Bronislavovich said solemnly. - That's who was the first to comprehend the secret of the origin of oil!
Yes, and here Lomonosov was the first. He explained: “According to quiet underground combustion, the action should rise ... the thinnest matter” and, having accumulated in “some kind of warm cavity”, it is processed “by a secondary action, which chemists call rectification.”
If you do not pay attention to some old words and expressions, then the idea of Mikhail Vasilyevich fully corresponds to modern views.
Someone may recall that in the middle of the 19th century, a hypothesis of the inorganic origin of oil arose, supported by the authority of D.I. Mendeleev. It has not been refuted so far. However, if under certain conditions "inorganic oil" is formed in small quantities, then more or less significant deposits of oil and gas owe their origin to a complex of factors, and above all to the processing of the organic material of the biosphere.
“I do not know of a single theory of the 18th century,” wrote Vernadsky, “that could be put along with these views of Lomonosov. Similarly, of organic origin, in his opinion, amber is the fossilized resin of trees. Turning to even closer subjects, he is the first to touch upon the origin of chernozem and considers it to be a product of the decay of terrestrial vegetation, woody and grassy, and partly of animals. In the same way, he considers the organic matter of slates and clays to be a product of the destruction of the organized world (mainly chernozem).
It may seem strange that once scientists did not guess about the organic origin of amber and soils. If I am not mistaken, even in Antiquity it was suggested that amber is a petrified resin. But at the same time rock crystal (quartz) was considered to be petrified ice. All these were assumptions, without any justification.
“Thus,” Vernadsky continued, “he sees the remains of organisms everywhere. Their bones and imprints turned into fossils, changed their substance, retaining their shape, and the not completely burned body that was in them gave huge deposits of oil, coal, peat, black soil.
And one more remark by Vernadsky: “Among the numerous cosmogonies of the 18th century, Lomonosov’s cosmological views are in many respects original, since he everywhere took chemical factors into account, while most of the cosmogony was based mainly on mechanics and physics.”
Note: in the last half century, theories of the origin of the Universe, the structure of matter, the development of the Earth, the evolution of Life and Mind, based on the data of physical and mathematical sciences, are most popular in the scientific community.
The doctrine of the biosphere has been relegated to the background, and the technical sciences have come to the fore, satisfying the immensely growing material needs of the most prosperous groups of the population. And if since the time of Lomonosov technical achievements have been truly fantastic, then in the knowledge of the native nature of the Earth, successes are small, and in recent decades they have been completely insignificant. Humanity is rapidly destroying and polluting the environment. Thus, the foundations of our existence are undermined.
Lomonosov, of course, retained elements of a mechanistic worldview. This is partly justified (recall the above judgment of Immanuel Kant). But most importantly: he was aware of the greatness and incomprehensible complexity of earthly nature, living organisms. Reverence for Nature - this was the basis of his worldview (at the beginning of the 20th century, this principle of ecology was proclaimed by the remarkable German thinker Albert Schweitzer).
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From the book Shaman. Scandalous biography of Jim Morrison author Rudenskaya AnastasiaXIII Premonition In 1936, the Dali couple went to conquer America for the second time. The great mystifier could be proud of himself. “My second trip to America could be called the official start of 'fame'. All paintings were sold out on the day of the exhibition. Salvador Dali
From the book Notes. From the history of the Russian Foreign Ministry, 1914–1920 Book 1. author Mikhailovsky Georgy NikolaevichPremonition The small cinema hall was crowded and stuffy. The crowd around was noisy, yawning, crunching chips and popcorn, hissing with opening cans of soda ... Sweaty teachers lazily fanned their folders. Junior students who came to gawk at the graduates
From the book Television. Off-screen clumsy author Wiesilter Vilen S.Premonition of an Explosion That autumn, my uncle N.V. came to Petrograd twice from Sevastopol, where he constantly lived with his family. Charykov: the first time at the beginning of October, the second - at Christmas, shortly after the murder of Rasputin. Both times he was about three weeks old, and as a man who had
From the book of Marilyn Monroe. The right to shine author Mishanenkova Ekaterina Alexandrovna From the book Through Time author Kulchitsky Mikhail ValentinovichPremonition It was Grace McKee who first told Marilyn that she would definitely become an actress. “Grace loved Norma Jean and admired her,” recalled Layla Field, Grace McKee's colleague at work. - If it weren't for Grace, there would be no Marilyn Monroe ... Grace admired Norma
From the author's bookPremonition Will we really forget how to love and on holidays, spreading out sofas, we will begin to welcome guests and ceremoniously drink cold Caucasian narzan? Let's get heavy. Our hearing will become weak. We will moo sluggishly and bullishly. And we will take a closet for a woman and hug him in
