大型小行星对早期地球的影响对生态系统的消灭
N H Sleep1, K J Zahnle, J F Kasting
1Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, California 94305, USA.
Nature
|November 9, 1989
概括
早地球可能已经支持非光合作用生命早在44亿年前,尽管致命的小行星撞击. 在复杂的生态系统出现之前,光合作用生物体进化的窗口很窄.
科学领域:
- 早期地球的条件.
- 天体生物学 天体生物学
- 生命的起源 生命的起源
背景情况:
- 大型小行星对早期地球的影响,通过蒸发海洋水,创造了全球致命的条件.
- 早期地球的可居住性可能已经扩展到独立于光合作用的生态系统.
研究的目的:
- 调查地球早期可居住性的时间表,重点关注光合作用生命的出现.
- 确定非光合作用生态系统持续居住的最早可能的时期.
主要方法:
- 地质和古生物学记录的分析.
- 早期地球环境条件和影响事件的建模.
主要成果:
- 地球可能早在4.44亿年前 (Gyr BP) 已经适合非光合作用生态系统居住.
- 在3.8 Gyr BP以后,在强制光合作用生物进化的可能性和化石记录中先进的光合作用生态系统的出现之间存在一个受约束的时期.
结论:
- 非光合作用生命可能比以前认为的要早得多地在地球上建立.
- 复杂的光合作用生态系统的进化局限于地球历史上一个特定的,相对较晚的窗口.
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