Pumice as a Remarkable Substrate for the Origin of Life
Abstract
The context for the emergence of life on Earth sometime prior to 3.5 billion years ago is almost as big a puzzle as the definition of life itself. Hitherto, the problem has largely been addressed in terms of theoretical and experimental chemistry plus evidence from extremophile habitats like modern hydrothermal vents and meteorite impact structures. Here, we argue that extensive rafts of glassy, porous, and gas-rich pumice could have had a significant role in the origin of life and provided an important habitat for the earliest communities of microorganisms. This is because pumice has four remarkable properties. First, during eruption it develops the highest surface-area-to-volume ratio known for any rock type. Second, it is the only known rock type that floats as rafts at the air-water interface and then becomes beached in the tidal zone for long periods of time. Third, it is exposed to an unusually wide variety of conditions, including dehydration. Finally, from rafting to burial, it has a remarkable ability to adsorb metals, organics, and phosphates as well as to host organic catalysts such as zeolites and titanium oxides. These remarkable properties now deserve to be rigorously explored in the laboratory and the early rock record. Key Words: Pumice—Volcanoes—Biominerals—Origin of life. Astrobiology 11, 725–735.
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It is possible that various prebiotic molecules could have been formed in a variety of environments, ranging from subaerial springs, to coastal volcanic splash pools, to pumice rafts, or submarine hydrothermal sediments.
“Whether or not this was really the case (indeed, cells could have emerged in a number of environments around the globe), it is possible that various prebiotic molecules could have been formed in a variety of environments, ranging from subaerial springs (Damer and Deamer 2015), to coastal volcanic splash pools (Fox and Strasdeit 2013), to pumice rafts (Brasier et al. 2011), or submarine”
From The Emergence of Life (2019) · cites this paper as Brasier et al. 2011
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BackgroundThe Importance of Water for Life
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A Hydrothermal-Sedimentary Context for the Origin of Life
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- Authors
- Brasier, M. D., Matthewman, R., McMahon, S., & Wacey, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Brasier, Martin D.
- Venue
- Astrobiology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-09
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 725-735
- ISSN
- 1531-1074 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-8070
- OpenAlex
- W2037685251
- Cited by
- 86
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 3.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Astrobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
- Keywords
- pumice, origin of life, pumice rafts, surface-to-volume ratio, air-water interface, intertidal zone, dehydration, metal adsorption, phosphate adsorption, organic catalysts, zeolites, titanium oxide, hydrothermal vents, impact craters
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Porosity, Silicates, Earth, Planet
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