Assessing the effects of ultraviolet radiation on the photosynthetic potential in Archean marine environments
Avila-Alonso, D.; Baetens, J.M.; Cardenas, R.; De Baets, B. (2017). Assessing the effects of ultraviolet radiation on the photosynthetic potential in Archean marine environments. International Journal of Astrobiology 16(3): 271-279. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S147355041600032X In: International Journal of Astrobiology. CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS: New York. ISSN 1473-5504; e-ISSN 1475-3006, more |  |
| Keyword | | | Author keywords | Archean eon; chlorophyll a; marine environments; photosyntheticpotential; ultraviolet radiation |
| Authors | | Top | - Avila-Alonso, D., more
- Baetens, J.M., more
- Cardenas, R.
- De Baets, B., more
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| Abstract | In this work, the photosynthesis model presented by Avila et al. in 2013 is extended and more scenarios inhabited by ancient cyanobacteria are investigated to quantify the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on their photosynthetic potential in marine environments of the Archean eon. We consider ferrous ions as blockers of UV during the Early Archean, while the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll a is used to quantify the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by photosynthetic organisms. UV could have induced photoinhibition at the water surface, thereby strongly affecting the species with low light use efficiency. A higher photosynthetic potential in early marine environments was shown than in the Late Archean as a consequence of the attenuation of UVC and UVB by iron ions, which probably played an important role in the protection of ancient free-floating bacteria from high-intensity UV radiation. Photosynthetic organisms in Archean coastal and ocean environments were probably abundant in the first 5 and 25 m of the water column, respectively. However, species with a relatively high efficiency in the use of light could have inhabited ocean waters up to a depth of 200 m and show a Deep Chlorophyll Maximum near 60 m depth. We show that the electromagnetic radiation from the Sun, both UV and visible light, could have determined the vertical distribution of Archean marine photosynthetic organisms. |
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