The Breath of Earth: An Oxygen Odyssey - One Strange Rock Episode #1

One Strange Rock, a must-watch series from National Geographic, offers 10 engaging, entertaining, and insightful episodes. Through these, I learned so much about the wonders of Earth that I hadn’t known before. Here's a breakdown of what I discovered or got a quick refresher on in this episode: Earth is unique in many ways. It’s the "1 in a million" planet, the only one we know of that's rich in oxygen, which makes up 20.95% of our atmosphere—a percentage that has remained incredibly stable over time. Oxygen is essential for generating the energy that sustains life. So, how is oxygen produced? Through an incredible cycle: a) It begins in Africa, in salt deserts. b) From here, massive dust storms carry this desert dust across the Atlantic to South America—a phenomenon observable from space. c) Every year, 27 million tons of African dust reach the Amazon basin, delivering perfect nutrients for plants and trees thanks to the salts and minerals it carries. d) The trees and plants, as we learned in school, transform carbon dioxide into oxygen. e) Each tree produces enough oxygen to support two people. f) However, all the oxygen produced in the Amazon basin is consumed within the basin itself. g) The Amazon rainforest, in turn, creates a "river in the sky," where evaporating water forms massive clouds. h) This sky river meets the Andes Mountains, where it condenses into rain, flows back into the Amazon, erodes the rocks, and transports the generated nutrient-rich sediments to the ocean. i) In the ocean, diatoms—tiny organisms and unsung heroes—absorb these nutrients, photosynthesizing and producing oxygen. In fact, diatoms are responsible for generating around 50% of the atmospheric oxygen. j) Diatoms thrive wherever there's water. k) When they die, diatoms settle on the ocean floor, forming a salty layer. l) Eventually, this layer forms new salt deserts, as mentioned in point a. m) And so, the oxygen cycle continues. This cycle is nothing short of astonishing—it shows how everything is interconnected and also how fragile these connections may be. All of this covered in just 50 minutes! https://youtu.be/XrC4vDcWmxk?si=GZluN5Z_9CpsUDcZ

- Pedro

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