Was There Land on the Early Earth?

The presence of exposed land on the early Earth is a prerequisite for a certain type of prebiotic chemical evolution in which the oscillating activity of water, driven by short-term, day–night, and seasonal cycles, facilitates the synthesis of proto-biopolymers. Exposed land is, however, not guarant...

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Autor principal: Jun Korenaga
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/8bc68b8590674521941fcdc9b0e5654a
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:8bc68b8590674521941fcdc9b0e5654a2021-11-25T18:10:36ZWas There Land on the Early Earth?10.3390/life111111422075-1729https://doaj.org/article/8bc68b8590674521941fcdc9b0e5654a2021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/11/1142https://doaj.org/toc/2075-1729The presence of exposed land on the early Earth is a prerequisite for a certain type of prebiotic chemical evolution in which the oscillating activity of water, driven by short-term, day–night, and seasonal cycles, facilitates the synthesis of proto-biopolymers. Exposed land is, however, not guaranteed to exist on the early Earth, which is likely to have been drastically different from the modern Earth. This mini-review attempts to provide an up-to-date account on the possibility of exposed land on the early Earth by integrating recent geological and geophysical findings. Owing to the competing effects of the growing ocean and continents in the Hadean, a substantial expanse of the Earth’s surface (∼20% or more) could have been covered by exposed continents in the mid-Hadean. In contrast, exposed land may have been limited to isolated ocean islands in the late Hadean and early Archean. The importance of exposed land during the origins of life remains an open question.Jun KorenagaMDPI AGarticleexposed landcontinentsocean islandswet–dry cyclesScienceQENLife, Vol 11, Iss 1142, p 1142 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic exposed land
continents
ocean islands
wet–dry cycles
Science
Q
spellingShingle exposed land
continents
ocean islands
wet–dry cycles
Science
Q
Jun Korenaga
Was There Land on the Early Earth?
description The presence of exposed land on the early Earth is a prerequisite for a certain type of prebiotic chemical evolution in which the oscillating activity of water, driven by short-term, day–night, and seasonal cycles, facilitates the synthesis of proto-biopolymers. Exposed land is, however, not guaranteed to exist on the early Earth, which is likely to have been drastically different from the modern Earth. This mini-review attempts to provide an up-to-date account on the possibility of exposed land on the early Earth by integrating recent geological and geophysical findings. Owing to the competing effects of the growing ocean and continents in the Hadean, a substantial expanse of the Earth’s surface (∼20% or more) could have been covered by exposed continents in the mid-Hadean. In contrast, exposed land may have been limited to isolated ocean islands in the late Hadean and early Archean. The importance of exposed land during the origins of life remains an open question.
format article
author Jun Korenaga
author_facet Jun Korenaga
author_sort Jun Korenaga
title Was There Land on the Early Earth?
title_short Was There Land on the Early Earth?
title_full Was There Land on the Early Earth?
title_fullStr Was There Land on the Early Earth?
title_full_unstemmed Was There Land on the Early Earth?
title_sort was there land on the early earth?
publisher MDPI AG
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/8bc68b8590674521941fcdc9b0e5654a
work_keys_str_mv AT junkorenaga wastherelandontheearlyearth
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