The Deep Hot Biosphere : The Myth of Fossil Fuels (Paperback)
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Life on other PlanetsHighly oxidized iron is abundant on Mars, and very small-grained magnetite can then be expected to be one of the accumulated residues of microbial processes; so can iron sulfide and methane-derived carbonates. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are the large molecules that might remain in a rock that originally contained crude oil but then was exposed for millions of years to the high vacuum of space. All these substances have been found in the discovery meteorite, closely packaged to each other, and this by itself would make a strong case for the microbial interpretation. In addition, there are small objects seen under scanning electron microscopy that may well be fossils of microbes. While the last item by itself would not be conclusive evidence, the combination of this together with oil and the three residue products make a strong case for the microbial explanation. It is true that each step can occur without biological intervention, but the chance of finding by chance the evidence for all three solids in a small volume, together with hydrocarbons, seems to be very low. Many terrestrial oil and gas wells show just such an association (but an association with helium also, which the meteorite could not have transported through space).
by Thomas Gold
May 1997Earth's Oxygen EnigmaScientists have long believed that blue-green algae arose 3.5 billion years ago, pumping out oxygen and causing the oceans to fill with rust. Over the next billion years the algae transformed Earth's atmosphere, allowing oxygen-breathing life to evolve. Carrine Blank of Washington University in St. Louis... compared genetic sequences from 53 different groups of bacteria -- including blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria -- to construct a detailed family tree. The results confounded her expectations. "Cyanobacteria arose fairly late, about 2.2 or 2.3 billion years ago. That explains why we see this very sudden increase in oxygen, around 2.2 to 2 billion years ago, which has always been a big mystery," she says. The finding implies that something else caused the ocean rusting.
by Kathy A. Svitil
February 11, 2003
Carrine Blank of Washington University in St. Louis
May I suggest you also read
No Free Lunch, Part 1:
A Critique of Thomas Gold's Claims for Abiotic Oil
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/102104_no_free_pt1.shtml
No Free Lunch, Part 2:
If abiotic oil exists, where is it?
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011205_no_free_pt2.shtml
When comet Halley came by during 1988 the Europeans (NOT nasa) took close up pictures of it. They saw a black part that was much bigger than what they thought the comet should be. They discovered a surprise: the comet was 4 times bigger in size than they had thought. That meant it was 4 cubed times more massive, or about 64 times.
It was black because it was covered with a dirty, tar-like material. Their sensors found it was "kerogen", CH2.5 polymer, which is something like oil shale.