Oxygen levels long ago

[skshow@Rt66.com]

OK, I know this is a little out of the Mesozoic, and I did start something off 
topic with the Field Museum post, however.....

The September 95 issue of Discover magazine has an article on the fluctuations 
in the oxygen levels during the Carboniferous (p. 32).  I don't recall any 
literature being cited, but the 35% number was used as a reason for the huge 
insects of that period.  The theory goes that as the concentration of oxygen 
increases so does the size of the animal that can be supported by diffusional 
oxygen transfer (also known as the squared/cubed law).

My two cents..


Steve Showalter

skshow@rt66.com