Scientists Revealed the Real Cause of Earth’s Future Extinction

Bright Side

Scientists have discovered that Earth’s oxygen won’t last forever—one day, it will disappear, making the planet unlivable for most life. They predict that in the far future, Earth’s atmosphere will be filled with methane instead, just like it was before complex life existed. This means almost all living things, including humans, would suffocate without oxygen to breathe. The process is inevitable, so scientists say we have two choices: find a new planet to live on or figure out how to survive without oxygen. This won’t happen for at least a billion years, but it shows how fragile life on Earth really is. For now, we’re safe—but in the distant future, Earth could become a deadly trap!  Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:00So, in the end, will the Sun be to blame for destroying our planet?

00:05Or how about a huge meteorite?

00:07Or some kind of disease?

00:11Probably not.

00:12It seems that life will disappear for a very unexpected reason.

00:16Humans, animals, insects, fish, and most microbes will be wiped off the face of the Earth because

00:22of oxygen, or more precisely, because of its absence.

00:27Recent research has shown that the number of freshwater reservoirs with very low or

00:31no oxygen levels in coastal areas is increasing worldwide.

00:36Over the past 65 years, four times more oxygen-deficient waters have appeared in the world's oceans.

00:43What does it all mean?

00:44It's likely that life on Earth will vanish much sooner than the Sun's energies dries

00:49up all the oceans.

00:50The end is likely to come in a little more than one billion years.

00:55But this doesn't mean that the planet will disappear too.

00:58The period when Earth is filled with oxygen will make up just about 20-30% of the total

01:04lifespan of the planet.

01:06So we're just temporary guests here.

01:08Just think how long that is – one billion years.

01:12The first Homo sapiens appeared only about 300,000 years ago.

01:16That is, the entire history of humanity occupies less than a half a million years.

01:21So relax.

01:22A billion years won't pass very fast.

01:25By that time, humans won't be on Earth anymore.

01:28We might master space travel and find a new planet in the vast depths of space.

01:33But why can we lose air?

01:35As the Sun heats up, the planet gets warmer and warmer.

01:38And this heat breaks down carbon dioxide, the gas which is necessary for all plants

01:43to photosynthesize.

01:45Without carbon dioxide, they can't produce oxygen.

01:48With a drop in carbon dioxide levels, the methane content will increase, and this gas

01:54is quite harmful to us.

01:55Now, this all sounds logical, but this is a secondary reason for the lack of oxygen.

02:01The real problem is something else entirely.

02:04As the Sun becomes brighter, it will begin to heat rocks on Earth, such as granite and

02:09basalt.

02:10These rocks will start to break down faster.

02:13When they collapse, they take carbon dioxide from the air, which warms our planet.

02:17If there's less carbon dioxide in the air, Earth should become colder.

02:22But there's a problem.

02:23The Sun will shine more, and its heat will outweigh this cooling effect.

02:27So even if rocks take away carbon dioxide, the Sun will blaze so much that Earth will

02:33still become extremely hot.

02:35Next, when the Sun shines more intensely, it, along with other natural factors, contributes

02:41to the breakdown of granite and basalt.

02:44These rocks mix with carbon dioxide and water to make carbonates, which go deep into the

02:48Earth.

02:49This takes carbon dioxide out of the air, which means plants can't make as much oxygen

02:55because they need carbon dioxide to do that.

02:57Besides, volcanoes release gases, which also reduce the amount of oxygen in the air.

03:03So the Sun, by destroying rocks, affects what happens inside Earth and controls how much

03:09oxygen there will be in the air.

03:11In about 1 billion years, the Sun will become so bright that no rocks will be able to save

03:17Earth from its heat.

03:19And the escaping gases will halt photosynthesis and oxygen production.

03:23And then, our planet will return to the state it was in about 2.4 billion years ago.

03:29To the time when the Great Oxidation Event began.

03:32And this event was much more important than, say, the first Olympic Games or the appearance

03:37of humans on the planet.

03:39Thousands of years ago, there was almost no oxygen on Earth.

03:43Instead, there was a soup of gases, such as nitrogen, ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide,

03:49and others.

03:50Yes, we have these gases in the atmosphere today, but there used to be a lot more of

03:55them in the past.

03:57It was difficult for any form of life to originate in such conditions.

04:01But after some struggle, it succeeded.

04:04At first, Earth was inhabited by the simplest bacteria, including cyanobacteria.

04:10They learned how to make oxygen using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.

04:14These bacteria worked for millions and billions of years and made so much oxygen that it began

04:19to accumulate in the air.

04:21This was what we now call the Great Oxidation Event.

04:25It was like a great celebration of life, because with oxygen, new living beings could appear.

04:32By the way, cyanobacteria didn't learn photosynthesis because they were like, oh, let's make oxygen,

04:38it's so cool.

04:39No, oxygen was just a byproduct.

04:43Cyanobacteria wanted only one thing – to get as much energy as possible.

04:47And for this, they learned photosynthesis.

04:49It helped them store energy using sunlight.

04:52They used special pigments to absorb light, and the result of this process was the release

04:56of oxygen.

04:58This had been going on for hundreds of millions of years.

05:01And then, at some point, they made too much oxygen.

05:05This oxygen started to spoil other gases that had been there before.

05:09For example, it ate a lot of methane.

05:12Because of this, Earth cooled down a bit, and the Ice Age began.

05:16But that's another story.

05:17In short, in a billion years, we risk going back to that difficult time.

05:22But let's hope that we'll manage to move to another planet on our spaceships or come

05:26up with some other solution.

05:28And what'll happen to our home planet next?

05:31Will new life be able to originate there without so much oxygen?

05:34Well, it's possible, but it'll be much more difficult.

05:38This will require another source of energy besides the sun.

05:42It can be, for example, hydrothermal vents.

05:45And by the way, there are ecosystems on Earth that use this type of energy.

05:50You can find one of them in the Movile Cave in Romania.

05:54Imagine a place where there's little oxygen.

05:56It's dark, the sun's rays don't reach there.

05:59Over millions of years of evolution, a unique and slightly creepy life has developed in

06:04this cave.

06:05It was first discovered in 1986, and scientists are still exploring this place.

06:11The entrance to the cave is just a small hole in the ground.

06:14A narrow tunnel goes deep underground.

06:17Inside the cave, the air is filled with hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

06:22And there's half as much oxygen there as on the surface.

06:25A human can't stay there without a special mask.

06:28But for local forms of life, this is home.

06:31And they feel great there.

06:34There are several dozen species living in the cave, and many of them aren't found

06:38anywhere else on Earth.

06:40Here you can see strange little monsters.

06:42White snails, white spiders, centipedes with long whiskers, transparent shrimp, and even

06:49unknown species of leeches.

06:51Since there's no light in the cave, all these creatures don't need eyes.

06:55They're blind.

06:56But they have long sensitive antennae and paws that allow them to navigate in the space.

07:02They also have no colored pigment, so all these bugs and spiders are either white or

07:07transparent.

07:08But if there's so little oxygen there, and nobody does photosynthesis, then how does

07:13all this life survive?

07:15It's all thanks to the unique bacteria autotrophs.

07:19They absorb carbon dioxide and produce nutrients.

07:23These bacteria are food for other organisms, and those, in turn, become food for larger

07:28creatures.

07:29So a whole food chain has been built in the cave, which provides all the inhabitants with

07:34food.

07:35Evolution has created a unique ecosystem that exists separately from the rest of the world.

07:40It's like a small universe that has developed according to its own rules.

07:45However, this universe is not expanding, because all living beings here can't live away from

07:50hydrothermal vents and autotrophs.

07:53Otherwise, where would they get their energy from?

07:57But let's imagine that the sun cools down, almost all the oxygen disappears, and the

08:01entire planet gets covered with hydrothermal vents.

08:04It's dark, and the air is filled with methane, CO2, and other substances.

08:10And somehow, life begins.

08:13Imagine people appear at one point.

08:15What would they look like?

08:16Pale, thin, and blind creatures with very long arms that help them navigate in space.

08:22They have pets, large centipedes or cockroaches that move silently on the ground.

08:28People are also quiet because they don't have lungs filled with air to scream.

08:33There's silence in the world.

08:35People communicate through touch.

08:37No one travels.

08:38Everyone lives separately next to their hydrothermal source.

08:42The whole world has turned into a horror movie in a billion years.

08:47That's it for today!

08:48So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

08:52friends!

08:53Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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