The Primeval Earth Atmosphere

Many properties and characteristics of the Earth are determined by plate tectonics, according to the theory of which the lithosphere is not a closed shell instead it consists of about a dozen large, rigid plates. These are constantly in motion—on a geological timescale. Each of the plates moves as an independent unit and swims on the softer, but more dense, asthenosphere (Press and Siever, 1995). 

All the models of the chemical composition of the atmosphere of primeval Earth are hypothetical. Samples from this period of development of the Earth are not available And the oldest rocks give us only a limited amount of information. 

However, we need information on the atmospheric composition in order to plan and carry out simulation experiments. Although the four terrestrial planets originated from the same solar matter, their atmospheres are completely different. This is due to  

Their ability to reflect solar radiation (albedo) and 

In a later phase of development, the existence or non-existence of life. 

Among the terrestrial planets, the situation of the Earth is special. Its atmosphere (around 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen by volume) is completely different from 

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In the early days of biogenesis research, only the primeval Earth atmosphere was regarded as being the place where biomolecules or their precursors could have been formed (the Miller era). Later on, the Earth s surface and, after the discov-... 

Because of their similar history, the four terrestrial planets have similar layer structures. However, their surfaces and atmospheres show enormous physical and chemical differences. The development of the primeval Earth via the agglomeration of planetesimals was accompanied by a vast temperature increase caused by contributions from three different phenomena ... 

If the primeval Earth s atmosphere was indeed formed only from volatile components emitted by the primitive, newly formed Earth s crust, its composition must have depended on the time at which it was formed, i.e., whether this was before or after the formation of the iron-rich Earth s core (Joyce, 1989) ... 

Such a thought-provoking model was naturally subject to criticism Catling (Department of Earth Science, University of Bristol) considered the calculations to be unrealistic, since (for example) the authors had underestimated the temperatures of the upper layers of the atmosphere. The prompt answer of the authors to these criticisms was quite clear Hence, the ancient atmosphere was hydrogen rich (Catling, 2006 Tian et al., 2006). J. F. Kasting and M. Tazewell (2006) have given a detailed account of the climate of the primeval Earth and the composition of its atmosphere. 

Stanley Miller at the University of Chicago more than 50 years ago. This experiment (in fact, of course, many were carried out prior to the successful one) is probably as well known as the Wohler synthesis of urea Miller s doctoral supervisor, Harold Urey (winner of the Nobel Prize in 1934), had suggested to Miller that he simulate a reducing primeval Earth atmosphere (as required by the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis) to electrical discharges and see what happens . Urey apparently expected that such an experiment would lead to a huge variety of organic compounds. 

The results so far available, and the models derived from them, indicate the following a reducing atmosphere is more favourable for amino acid synthesis. If, however, the partial pressure of methane on the primeval Earth was either zero or very low, a relatively high H2/CO or H2/CO2 ratio still allowed good rates of amino acid synthesis. It is, however, still an open question as to whether these concepts are realistic, because of the possibility that hydrogen could have escaped into space. It is arguable that in certain areas on the young Earth (and under unknown conditions),... 

It is probable that the prevalent oxidation states of phosphorus on the young Earth were lower than they are today, so calcium salts with a much better solubility than that of apatite could have been formed. As Glindemann et al. (1999) were able to show in model experiments, up to 11 % of the starting material could be converted to phosphite in CH4/N2 atmospheres (10% CH4) using Na2HP04, hydroxyapatite or fluoroapatite sources. Similar processes cannot be excluded for the primeval Earth, for example, under the influence of electrical discharges. 

However, the question must always be asked as to whether these processes could have taken place on the primordial Earth in its archaic state. The answer requires considerable fundamental consideration. Strictly speaking, most of the experiments carried out on prebiotic chemistry cannot be carried out under prebiotic conditions , since we do not know exactly what these were. In spite of the large amount of work done, physical parameters such as temperature, composition and pressure of the primeval atmosphere, extent and results of asteroid impacts, the nature of the Earth s surface, the state of the primeval ocean etc. have not so far been established or even extrapolated. It is not even sure that this will be possible in the future. In spite of these difficulties, attempts are being made to define and study the synthetic possibilities, on the basis of the assumed scenario on the primeval Earth. Thus, for example, in the case of the SPREAD process, we can assume that the surface at which the reactions occur could not have been an SH-containing thiosepharose, but a mineral structure of similar activity which could have carried out the necessary functions just as well. The separation of the copy of the matrix could have been driven by a periodic temperature change (e.g., diurnal variation). For his models, H. Kuhn has assumed that similar periodic processes are the driving force for some prebiotic reactions (see Sect. 8.3). 

Fe-S complexes have important functions in today s living systems, in enzymes such as the ferredoxins and oxidoreductases, as well as in electron transport proteins. It is striking that these redox reactions mainly involve elements and compounds such as CO, H2 and N2, which were probably also components of the primeval Earth s atmosphere. Thus, the assumption of an active involvement of Fe-S clusters in a (hypothetical) Fe-S world in processes which finally led to biogenesis appears completely reasonable We now have a background to the theory of the chemoau-totrophic origin of life . 

The thioester world postulated by de Duve should in fact be called the sulphur-iron world , since iron ions are essential for the redox processes occurring in such a thioester world, de Duve (1991, 1996) asks a question which is vital for the whole of prebiotic chemistry where did the redox equivalents necessary for the construction of biomolecules on the primeval Earth come from This question becomes largely irrelevant if the strongly reducing atmosphere postulated by Miller/Urey and... 

Woese chose the name archaebacteria because these microorganisms grow best under conditions which were probably found on the primeval Earth between 3.5 and 4 billion years ago hot boiling water and thermal vents, highly acidic environment, oxygen-free atmosphere and high salt concentrations. 

Three processes that take place in living organisms - respiration in animals and plants, photosynthesis only in plants, and the precipitation of solids by some aquatic animals - have altered the primeval composition of the outer solid, liquid, and gaseous layers of the earth. Respiration consumes oxygen from the atmosphere and creates carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis, which does the opposite (consumes carbon dioxide and releases oxygen), has... 

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