Life May Have Originated on Land and Not in the Oceans
Earliest signs of life on land preserved in ca. 3.5 Ga hot spring deposits.
Scientists present new discoveries of hot spring deposits including geyserite, sinter terracettes and mineralized remnants of hot spring pools/vents, all of which preserve a suite of microbial biosignatures indicative of the earliest life on land. These include stromatolites, newly observed microbial palisade fabric and gas bubbles preserved in inferred mineralized, exopolymeric substance. These findings extend the known geological record of inhabited terrestrial hot springs on Earth by ∼3 billion years, the occurrence of an exposed land surface by up to ∼130 million years and evidence of life on land by ∼580 million years, and offer an analogue in the search for potential fossil life in ancient Martian hot springs.
source: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15263
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