But while lifeless during that time, the planet was already covered by vast oceans dotted with hydrothermal vent systems that released large amounts of ferrous iron into the water. The earliest ...

And in this greenish glow, blue-green algae flourish. Despite their name, blue-green algae aren’t algae at all — they’re cyanobacteria: ancient, light-harvesting microbes that helped shape Earth’s ...

Cyanobacteria are an ancient group of microorganisms with fossils dating back to two billion years ago. They were the first life forms on Earth capable of photosynthesizing, contributing to the ...

Ancient oceans were green due to their high iron content Cyanobacteria adapted to green light for photosynthesis Climate change is increasing phytoplankton, altering ocean color ...

In the modern world, most oxidation is performed by plants, using chlorophylls. However, the ancient cyanobacteria also used additional pigments called phycobilins, which were an integral part of ...

However, ancient sediments and rocks hold chemical ... the development of oxygenic (oxygen-generating) photosynthesis in cyanobacteria and carbon deposition, fundamentally changed Earth's ...