Microbial habitability of the Hadean Earth during the late heavy bombardment

Abramov, Oleg; Mojzsis, Stephen J.

doi:10.1038/nature08015

Cited by 269Origins and Evolution of LifeAstro and Planetary SciencePlanetary Science and Exploration

Microbial habitability of the Hadean Earth during the late heavy bombardment

Abramov, Oleg, Mojzsis, Stephen J.·2009·Nature

DOI 10.1038/nature08015

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Abstract

Lunar rocks and impact melts, lunar and asteroidal meteorites, and an ancient martian meteorite record thermal metamorphic events with ages that group around and/or do not exceed 3.9 Gyr. That such a diverse suite of solar system materials share this feature is interpreted to be the result of a post-primary-accretion cataclysmic spike in the number of impacts commonly referred to as the late heavy bombardment (LHB). Despite its obvious significance to the preservation of crust and the survivability of an emergent biosphere, the thermal effects of this bombardment on the young Earth remain poorly constrained. Here we report numerical models constructed to probe the degree of thermal metamorphism in the crust in the effort to recreate the effect of the LHB on the Earth as a whole; outputs were used to assess habitable volumes of crust for a possible near-surface and subsurface primordial microbial biosphere. Our analysis shows that there is no plausible situation in which the habitable zone was fully sterilized on Earth, at least since the termination of primary accretion of the planets and the postulated impact origin of the Moon. Our results explain the root location of hyperthermophilic bacteria in the phylogenetic tree for 16S small-subunit ribosomal RNA, and bode well for the persistence of microbial biospheres even on planetary bodies strongly reworked by impacts.

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An LHB would likely not sterilize Earth; any microbial life would have rebounded.
“Regardless, an LHB would likely not sterilize Earth (26); any microbial life would have rebounded (27).”
From The Archean atmosphere (2020) · cites this paper as [26]
Evidence indicates Earth may never have been fully sterilized during the Late Heavy Bombardment.
“This viewpoint is strengthened by evidence that indicates Earth may never have been fully sterilized during the LHB (Abramov and Mojzsis, 2009).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Abramov and Mojzsis, 2009

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Authors: Abramov, O., & Mojzsis, S. J.
Affiliations: University of Colorado Boulder (US)
Corresponding author: Abramov, Oleg
ORCID: Abramov, Oleg
Mojzsis, Stephen J.
Venue: Nature
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2009-05
Volume: 459
Issue: 7245
Pages: 419-422
ISSN: 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/nature08015
OpenAlex: W2084870018
Cited by: 269
References: 31
Citations by year: 2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 19
FWCI: 8.24
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations: Nature (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Topics: Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Planetary Science and Exploration
Keywords: Late Heavy Bombardment, contact metamorphism, impact heating, subsurface habitability, hydrothermal activity, thermophiles, hyperthermophiles, origin of life, lunar crust, Hadean Earth, lunar cataclysm, meteorites
MeSH terms: Bacteria, Hot Temperature, Models, Biological, Phylogeny, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Sterilization, Time Factors, Moon, Ecosystem, Earth, Planet, Meteoroids, History, Ancient

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Microbial habitability of the Hadean Earth during the late heavy bombardment

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