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3.2 b.y. of organic compound formation near sea-floor hot springs

1996; Geological Society of America; Volume: 24; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024 2.3.co;2

1943-2682

Cornel E.J. de Ronde, Thomas W. Ebbesen,

Geophysical Methods and Applications

Research Article| September 01, 1996 3.2 b.y. of organic compound formation near sea-floor hot springs Cornel E. J. de Ronde; Cornel E. J. de Ronde 1Geological Survey of Japan, 1-1-3 Higashi, Tsukuba 305, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Thomas W. Ebbesen Thomas W. Ebbesen 2Fundamental Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba 305, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Cornel E. J. de Ronde 1Geological Survey of Japan, 1-1-3 Higashi, Tsukuba 305, Japan Thomas W. Ebbesen 2Fundamental Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba 305, Japan Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1996) 24 (9): 791–794. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024 2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Cornel E. J. de Ronde, Thomas W. Ebbesen; 3.2 b.y. of organic compound formation near sea-floor hot springs. Geology 1996;; 24 (9): 791–794. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024 2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Sea-floor hydrothermal vent sites as modern equivalents of the earliest ecosystems on Earth is an intriguing hypothesis, but one that has no supporting evidence from the geologic record. We have therefore analyzed the organic content of samples representative of sea-floor hydrothermal activity from ∼ 3.2 Ga, as well as samples up to the present, including active sea-floor hydrothermal deposits. The mass spectroscopy results show that a great variety of organic compounds is present in all the samples. The data are essentially indistinguishable between the various samples, irrespective of their age. These findings imply, among other things, that organic productivity associated with sea-floor hydrothermal environments was already vigorous as early as the Middle Archean, supporting the premise that life may have started near vent sites. However, abundant organic material in concomitant pelagic sediment (shale), together with supporting carbon isotopic evidence, shows that a photosynthetic marine biota was probably also active at this time. Thus, ecosystems related to sea-floor hydrothermal activity and photosynthetic microorganisms in the ambient ocean coexisted at 3.2 Ga, indicating that these earliest ecosystems must have been in existence well before this time. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.