Earliest Life on Earth: Habitats, Environments and Methods of Detection

This volume integrates the latest findings on earliest life forms, identified and characterized in some of the oldest rocks on Earth. It places emphasis on the integration of analytical methods with observational techniques and experimental simulations.

Takes the reader to the habitats of the most ancient preserved organisms on earth Shows how we can identify early life forms from their physical and chemical remains Determines what these early life forms and ecosystems were like Compares early life forms with existing species today in similar niche environments Presents some alternative perspectives on the biogenic/abiogenic origins of some very ancient carbonaceous matter Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Contenu

Preface

Contributors

Dedication to John F. Lindsay

Introduction; Miryam Glikson and Suzanne D. Golding

**Part I: Submarine hot springs and venting environments - cradle of life

Earliest seafloor hydrothermal systems on Earth: Comparison with modern analogues; Suzanne D. Golding et al

Archean hydrothermal systems in the Barberton Greenstone Belt and their significance as a habitat for early life; Axel Hofmann

Birth of biomolecules from the warm wet sheets of clays near spreading centres; Lynda.B. Williams et al

Part II: Evidence and record of earliest life on Earth

Towards a null hypothesis for stromatolites; Martin D. Brasier

Trace element geochemistry as a tool for interpreting microbialites; Gregory E. Webb and Balz S. Kamber

A modern perspective on ancient life: microbial mats in sandy marine settings from the Archean Era to today; Nora Noffke

Early life record from nitrogen isotopes; Daniele L. Pinti and Ko Hashizume

Part III: Distinguishing biological from abiotically synthesized organic matter in the early archean

Integration of observational and analytical methodologies to characterize organic matter in early Archean rocks: distinguishing biological from abiotically synthesized carbonaceous matter structures; Miryam Glikson et al

Bugs or gunk? Nanoscale methods for assessing the biogenicity of ancient microfossils and organic matter; Bradley T. De Gregorio et al

What can carbon isotopes tell us about sources of reduced carbon in rocks from the early Earth; Thomas M. McCollom

Index