Constraining the Time Interval for the Origin of Life on Earth
Open accessAbstract
Estimates of the time at which life arose on Earth make use of two types of evidence. First, astrophysical and geophysical studies provide a timescale for the formation of Earth and the Moon, for large impact events on early Earth, and for the cooling of the early magma ocean. From this evidence, we can deduce a habitability boundary, which is the earliest point at which Earth became habitable. Second, biosignatures in geological samples, including microfossils, stromatolites, and chemical isotope ratios, provide evidence for when life was actually present. From these observations we can deduce a biosignature boundary, which is the earliest point at which there is clear evidence that life existed. Studies with molecular phylogenetics and records of the changing level of oxygen in the atmosphere give additional information that helps to determine the biosignature boundary. Here, we review the data from a wide range of disciplines to summarize current information on the timings of these two boundaries. The habitability boundary could be as early as 4.5 Ga, the earliest possible estimate of the time at which Earth had a stable crust and hydrosphere, or as late as 3.9 Ga, the end of the period of heavy meteorite bombardment. The lack of consensus on whether there was a late heavy meteorite bombardment that was significant enough to prevent life is the largest uncertainty in estimating the time of the habitability boundary. The biosignature boundary is more closely constrained. Evidence from carbon isotope ratios and stromatolite fossils both point to a time close to 3.7 Ga. Life must have emerged in the interval between these two boundaries. The time taken for life to appear could, therefore, be within 200 Myr or as long as 800 Myr. Key Words: Origin of life-Astrobiology-Habitability-Biosignatures-Geochemistry-Early Earth. Astrobiology 18, 343-364.
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An arbitrarily low abiogenesis rate cannot be robustly excluded because the chance probability tab/t⊕ ~ 0.1 is not negligible assuming a constant abiogenesis rate.
“but an arbitrarily low rate cannot be robustly excluded25–27 because the chance probability tab∕t⊕ ~ 0.1 is not negligible assuming a constant abiogenesis rate, where tab is the time of abiogenesis elapsed from the birth of Earth28, and t⊕ the present age of Earth.”
From Emergence of life in an inflationary universe (2020) · cites this paper as [28]
A 3.5-billion-year-old hot spring setting on a volcanic plateau that formed in the absence of direct plate tectonic involvement is a good analog for an early Earth volcanic landscape emerging from a global ocean.
“The recent discovery of a 3.5-billion-year-old hot spring setting on a volcanic plateau that formed in the absence of direct plate tectonic involvement is a good analog for an early Earth volcanic landscape emerging from a global ocean just 500 million years after the approximate time frame we are proposing for life's origins (Pearce et al., 2018; Van Kranendonk et al., 2020).”
From The Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life (2020) · cites this paper as Pearce et al., 2018
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The Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life
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“5billion-year-old hot spring setting on a volcanic plateau that formed in the absence of direct plate tectonic involvement is a good analog for an early Earth volcanic landscape emerging from a global ocean just 500 million years after the approximate time frame we are proposing for life’s origins (Pearce et al., 2018…”
BackgroundCo‐evolution of early Earth environments and microbial life
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Toward RNA Life on Early Earth: From Atmospheric HCN to Biomolecule Production in Warm Little Ponds
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Active Galactic Nuclei: Boon or Bane for Biota?
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Factoring Origin of Life Hypotheses into the Search for Life in the Solar System and Beyond
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Implications of Captured Interstellar Objects for Panspermia and Extraterrestrial Life
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Emergence of life in an inflationary universe
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“uncertain among these, owing to the rapid development of exoplanet studies in recent years. The baseline for t d is set to 0.5 Gyr as a plausible time scale from the birth of Earth to the abiogenesis [25], and that for t c is set to 1 yr supposing a seasonable cycle, e.g. [28], though 1 day may also be reasonable for…”
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Global Future: Low-Carbon Economy or High-Carbon Economy?
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Acceptance and knowledge of evolutionary theory among third-year university students in Spain
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The Origin of Life: What Is the Question?
Malaterre, C., Jeancolas, C., & Nghe, P. (2022) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2021.0162 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
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The very early evolution of protein translocation across membranes
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Reduced Late Bombardment on Rocky Exoplanets around M Dwarfs
Lichtenberg, T., & Clement, M. S. (2022) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac9521 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Origin of Life: The Point of No Return
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An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of HCN Production in the Hadean Earth Atmosphere
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Self-citationMacrobiont: Cradle for the Origin of Life and Creation of a Biosphere
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Adsorption of nucleotides on clay surfaces: Effects of mineral composition, pH and solution salts
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Atmospheric nitrogen when life evolved on Earth
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In search of the RNA world on Mars
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In Situ Geochronology for the Next Decade: Mission Designs for the Moon, Mars, and Vesta
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If Loud Aliens Explain Human Earliness, Quiet Aliens Are Also Rare
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Prebiotic membrane structures mimic the morphology of alleged early traces of life on Earth
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Does the Evolution of Complex Life Depend on the Stellar Spectral Energy Distribution?
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A reassessment of the “hard-steps” model for the evolution of intelligent life
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Testing S isotopes as biomarkers for Mars
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The Need for Including Virus Detection Methods in Future Mars Missions
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Substantial Extension of the Lifetime of the Terrestrial Biosphere
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Controls of Atmospheric Methane on Early Earth and Inhabited Earth-like Terrestrial Exoplanets
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- Authors
- Pearce, B. K. D., Tupper, A. S., Pudritz, R. E., & Higgs, P. G.
- Affiliations
- McMaster University (CA)
- Venue
- Astrobiology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-03-01
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 343-364
- ISSN
- 1531-1074 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-8070
- OpenAlex
- W2950877648
- Cited by
- 140
- References
- 157
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 7
- FWCI
- 6.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arxiv.org
- Locations
- Astrobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- 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 › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution
- Keywords
- origin of life, early Earth, biosignatures, Late Heavy Bombardment, carbon isotope ratio, stromatolites, microfossils, atmospheric oxygenation, molecular phylogeny, Moon formation, Earth formation
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Carbon Isotopes, Fossils, Phylogeny, Time Factors, Water, Earth, Planet, Exobiology, Evolution, Molecular
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
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