Life on Earth Over Deep Time

Life on Earth is entangled with its environment. The first photosynthetic bacteria forever altered the composition of the atmosphere. Land plants reshaped the carbon cycle. Resilient species rebounded after mass extinction events. Since its emergence, life has regulated Earth’s climate and vice versa.

The latest special issue from Quanta Magazine does a deep dive into this relationship, tracing the story of how life has influenced the climate going back billions of years, from the earliest methane-making microbes to the human activities driving modern climate change.

Among the scientists studying this dynamic life-climate relationship are microbiologist Arpita Bose and paleoclimatologist Jessica Tierney. Bose studies microbial metabolisms and nutrient cycling, including how these vital systems are affected by changing environmental conditions. Tierney’s work focuses on reconstructing ancient life and the climates in which it evolved.

Join us as Bose and Tierney sit down with Hannah Waters, senior biology editor at Quanta Magazine, for a conversation that will explore questions such as how studying climate transitions across deep time helps us understand the changes we’re seeing today.

Bose is an associate professor in the Department of Biology and the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Her lab uses an interdisciplinary approach to study microbial metabolisms and their influence on biogeochemical cycling. Her lab then applies the knowledge they gain to generate new ways of addressing issues such as the energy crisis, pollution, human health, sustainability, the circular economy and climate action. Bose is a L’Oreal USA and AAAS Women in Science Fellow, a Packard Fellow, a Fulbright Scholar and an Anant Fellow for Climate Action.

Tierney is a professor and the Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair in Integrative Science in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona. Her research studies past climate change with geochemistry and climate models. Studying past climates, including past warm climates and extreme events, can better inform how climate change will affect our planet. Tierney was a Packard Foundation Fellow in Science and Engineering, is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and received the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, the highest award given to early-career scientists.