Global Cycles Sulfur and Carbon

Walker J. C. G. (1979) The early history of oxygen and ozone in the atmosphere. Pure Appl. Geophys. 117, 498-512. Walker J. C. G. (1986) Global geochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur, and oxygen. Mar. Geol. 70, 159-174. 

Berner, R.A. (1989) Biogeochemical cycles of carbon and sulfur and their effect on atmospheric oxygen over Phanerozoic time. Palaeogeog. Palaeoclim. Palaeoecol. (Global Planetary change section) 75, 95-122. 

We can share the view of some authors (Fenchel et al., 1998) that this theory may serve a plausible explanation of thioester world as precursor for the present RNA world. Furthermore, it is attractive in a number of respects too. One has to mention the development of very early, global scale geochemical cycling of carbon, sulfur, and iron. It would present the early interactions between atmosphere and biochemical processes, like thioester-bounded hydrogen production contribution to the formation of reducing species that were critical for any atmospheric organic synthesis. 

Unlike sulfur and nitrogen compounds in air where we found a wide range of oxidation states in relatively few compounds, carbon has a nearly unlimited number of compounds. These compounds fall roughly into two categories inorganic and organic compounds. The global carbon cycle is discussed in Chapter 11. 

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