Life on Earth may have started in Greenland volcano

The National Academy of Science used isotypes of zinc to measure the acid levels and thermal fluids of the Isua mud volcanoes in the south west of Greenland

From The Telegraph: Life on Earth may have started in Greenland volcano
Researchers say they have discovered the chemical elements crucial to the formation of life in mud volcanoes at Isua in south-west Greenland.

It was believed life began in underwater geysers - but scientists now argue that these could not have sustained life, and that the volcanoes offered the oldest environment where life could begin.

Amidst the ancient rocks, believed to be some of the oldest on earth, scientist found the vital mineral of serpentinite - which is the crucial ingredient needed to support life.

Serpentinite is formed when sea water breaks through the earth's upper mantle, the mineral allows aminio-acids to stabilise and form organic molecules.

Primitive life was presumed to have first developed in hydrothermal sources under sea mountains.

These geysers which spewed out hydrogen, methane and other gases were thought to produce an environment favourable to life.

But French researches claim these geysers, known as black smokers, were too acidic to allow life building block's aminio-acids to stabilise.

Instead, they argue life was more likely to have started within the volcanoes.

These life-forms formed when the continents barely covered the earth's surface and the planet was awash with seas.

The geological study published in the National Academy of Science used isotypes of zinc to measure the acid levels and thermal fluids of the Isua mud volcanoes.

They found that these minerals formed a favourable environment for amino-acid stabilisation.

Researchers from the Laboratoire de Geologie de Lyon Marie-Laure Pons said: "Mud volancoes at Isua have been identified as a possible birthplace for life on earth.

"Nearly four billion years ago, at a time when the continents only occupied a very small part of the surface area of the globe, the oceanic crust of Isua was permeated by basic hydrothermal fluids, rich in carbonates, and at temperatures ranging from 100 to 300°C.

"Phosphorous, another indispensable element to life, is abundant in environments where serpentinisation takes place.

"As this process generates mud volcanoes, all the necessary conditions were gathered at Isua for organic molecules to form and be stable.

"The mud volcanoes at Isua thus represent a particularly favourable setting for the emergence of primitive terrestrial life."