Main content

A Geochemical History of Life on Earth

Humanity is conducting a giant chemistry experiment with Earth鈥檚 atmosphere and oceans, but is it really unprecedented? Justin Rowlatt tells the story of how our planet was made.

Humanity is conducting a giant chemistry experiment with our planet鈥檚 atmosphere and oceans, filling them with unprecedented amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and above all carbon dioxide.

But is it really unprecedented? In a series of five programmes, Justin Rowlatt explores the geochemical history of life on Earth, and discovers how humans are just the latest species to suddenly emerge and transform the planet鈥檚 chemistry, with devastating consequences.

Image: A banded iron formation (Credit: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London/麻豆社)