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Delivery of organic matter to the early Earth

Zita Martins and Matthew A. Pasek
Delivery of organic matter to the early Earth (in Extraterrestrial organic matter, Mehmet Yesiltas (editor) and Yoko Kebukawa (editor))
Elements (February 2024) 20 (1): 19-23

Abstract

The inner Solar System - including the planet Earth - was heavily bombarded by comets, asteroids, and their fragments (i.e., meteorites, micrometeorites, and interplanetary dust particles) from 4.56 to about 3.5 billion years ago. This bombardment resulted in a rich assortment of organics delivered to the Earth, as comets and many asteroids contain carbonaceous material. These organic compounds were likely further processed on the early Earth (e.g., by impact-shock reactions), providing a feedstock of prebiotic molecules to the crust and oceans. In this chapter, we review the mechanisms of organic matter delivery to the primitive Earth, further reactions and processing, and the importance of exogenous material in the evolution of our planet and life.


ISSN: 1811-5209
EISSN: 1811-5217
Serial Title: Elements
Serial Volume: 20
Serial Issue: 1
Title: Delivery of organic matter to the early Earth
Title: Extraterrestrial organic matter
Author(s): Martins, ZitaPasek, Matthew A.
Author(s): Yesiltas, Mehmeteditor
Author(s): Kebukawa, Yokoeditor
Affiliation: Universidade de Lisboa, Centro de Quimica Estrutural, Lisbon, Portugal
Affiliation: Kirklareli University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Sciences, Kirklareli, Turkey
Pages: 19-23
Published: 202402
Text Language: English
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America and Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland and Mineralogical Association of Canada and Geochemical Society and Clay Minerals Society, International
References: 30
Accession Number: 2024-025146
Categories: Petrology of meteorites and tektitesGeneral geochemistry
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus.
Secondary Affiliation: University of South Florida, USA, United States
Country of Publication: International
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2024, American Geosciences Institute. Abstract, copyright, Mineralogical Society of America. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States
Update Code: 2024
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