| Contents |
Earliest seafloor hydrothermal systems on earth : comparison with modern analogues / Suzanne D. Golding [and others] -- Archean hydrothermal systems in the Barberton greenstone belt and their significance as a habitat for early life / Axel Hofmann -- Birth of biomolecules from the warm wet sheets of clays near spreading centres / Lynda B. Williams [and others] -- Towards a null hypothesis for stromatolites / Martin D. Brasier -- Trace element geochemistry as a tool for interpreting microbialites / Gregory E. Webb and Balz S. Kamber -- A modern perspective on ancient life : microbial mats in sandy marine settings from the Archean era to today / Nora Noffke -- Early life record from nitrogen isotopes / Daniele L. Pinti and Ko Hashizume -- Integration of observational and analytical methodologies to characterize organic matter in early Archean rocks : distinguishing biological from abiotically synthesized carbonaceous matter structures / Miryam Glikson [and others] -- Bugs or gunk? : nanoscale methods for assessing the biogenicity of ancient microfossils and organic matter / Bradley T. De Gregorio [and others] -- What can carbon isotopes tell us about sources of reduced carbon in rocks from the early earth? / Thomas M. McCollom. |
| Abstract |
This volume integrates the latest findings on earliest life forms, identified and characterised in some of the oldest rocks on Earth. New material from prominent researchers in the field is presented and evaluated in the context of previous work. Emphasis is placed on the integration of analytical methods with observational techniques and experimental simulations. The opening section focuses on submarine hot springs that the majority of researchers postulates served as the cradle of life on Earth. In subsequent sections, evidence for life in strongly metamorphosed rocks such as those in Greenland is evaluated and early ecosystems identified in the well preserved Barberton and Pilbara successions in Southern Africa and Western Australia. The final section includes a number of contributions from authors with alternate perspectives on the evidence and record of early life on Earth. Audience This volume will be valuable to researchers and graduate students in biogeosciences, geochemistry, paleontology and geology interested in the origin of life on earth. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Source of description | Print version record. |
| Issued in other form | Print version: Earliest life on earth. Dordrecht ; London ; New York : Springer, ©2011 9789048187935 |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| ISBN | 9789048187942 (electronic bk.) |
| ISBN | 904818794X (electronic bk.) |
