For one of my first posts of the NEW year, I would like to start with something old. Something very, very, VERY old: stromatolites.
You, your dog, your cat, your friends, relatives and the ancestors of all of those mammals are only here today because of stromatolites.
Wait, what?
First of all what is a ‘stromatolite’? I found about these things in a BBC travel article, featuring strange, round formations found in certain places around the world, in this case in Western Australia, north of Perth called the Pilbara. From that article:
…stromatolites are stony structures built by colonies of microscopic photosynthesising organisms called cyanobacteria. As sediment layered in shallow water, bacteria grew over it, binding the sedimentary particles and building layer upon millimetre layer until the layers became mounds.
OK, you’re thinking, fine. But what does that have to do with me and my ancestors? And my DOG? Or my CAT? Well, that becomes clear with this next paragraph:
Their empire-building brought with it their most important role in Earth’s history. They breathed. Using the sun to harness energy, they produced and built up the oxygen content of the Earth’s atmosphere to about 20%, giving the kiss of life to all that was to evolve.
These have been around for billions of years – the same age as the solar system. So this speaks to sustainability. But it also speaks to something else important to projects and project managers – balance. The cyanobacteria which builds the stromatolites are sensitive to their environment, and thus the Hamelin Pool in which they reside has the highest level of protection from the Western Australian government. See details in this recently-published research.
A quick way to learn about this is to view this 2-minute video:
So to review: these cyanobacteria provided the earth with the oxygen balance we need to live. The cyanobacteria that create the stromatolites are, themselves, prone to a very careful balance to survive. You sense a theme here? Balance.
But wait – the plot thickens. The balance becomes even more interesting. These same cyanobacteria – the ones that helped give rise to the rest of life on the planet…? Those same cyanobacteria have appeared here in my very own blog as a villain – a bad guy!
You may recall that I blogged about the negative effects of what is (incorrectly) called ‘blue-green algae blooms’. You can visit that post here.
You may recall this photo:
Cyanobacteria giveth – and taketh away. Just like risk can be opportunity or threat. And to further make the connection to our profession, just as we, as project managers must balance scope, time, cost, risk, quality, team engagement… and more, life on earth depends on balance, going back – way, way back.
This is fascinating science in my opinion. You can learn more below in this summary and from other references.
Stromatolites are the oldest fossil records of life on Earth.
The oldest are found in the Pilbara in Western Australia, and date to 3.7bn years old.
Stromatolites are formed by bacteria that grow in a “microbial mat”, depositing layers of sand and calcium carbonate held together with a glue-like secretion.
For most of the history of life on Earth they were in great abundance, peaking about 1.25bn years ago.
The bacteria that form them were among the earliest photosynthesisers, responsible for starting the process that boosted the oxygen in the atmosphere from less than 1% to more than 20%.
The mild conditions they caused, and the abundance of life they allowed to evolve, were ultimately the seed of their own destruction.
Only a handful of locations have been found with active stromatolites, with world heritage-listed Hamelin Pool in Western Australia containing by far the biggest colony.
A 202,000-hectare private reserve, created by Bush Heritage Australia, will help protect Hamelin pool and the 100m stromatolites it is home to.
Mike ClaytonCEO| OnlinePMCoursesAlresford, United Kingdom
Stromatolites are fabulously important. But even the BBC makes mistakes. The article you quote from the BBC travel article would not have been written, I hope, by a science correspondent:
'Their empire-building brought with it their most important role in Earths history. They breathed. Using the sun to harness energy, they produced and built up the oxygen content of the Earths atmosphere to about 20%, giving the kiss of life to all that was to evolve.'
The important thing is not the breathing. That produces CO2. It's photosynthesis. Early plant life made O2 by photosynthesis - thus poisoning their own environment with the dangerous reactive gas, O2.
Richard MaltzmanPortfolio Manager| EarthPM LLCAndover, Ma, United States
Thanks, Mike, for the clarification. The references I also included from ResearchGate should clear up what I think is indeed a bit overstated by BBC. See https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309518390_Environmental_pressures_influencing_living_stromatolites_in_Hamelin_Pool_Shark_Bay_Western_Australia
