Scientists have discovered clues to life on Earth thanks to 3.5 billion-year-old microorganisms

He Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is one of those rare places where extremely old rocks of the Earth are found. There they are found the rock is about 3.5 billion years old

Microorganisms that existed 3.5 billion years ago

A research team led by the University of Göttingen discovered new information about the formation and composition of this ancient biomasswhich provides information about first ecosystems from the earth. The results were published in the journal Precambrian studies.

Using high-resolution techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and near-X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), Researchers analyzed carbon particles find in barium sulfate stones. This allowed scientists to obtain important information about the structure of microscopically small particles and prove that they are of biological origin.. The particles were likely deposited as sediment in a water body “caldera”, a large cauldron-shaped hole formed after volcanic activity.

Moreover, some particles had to be transferred and transformed hydrothermal waters a little lower volcano surface. This indicates a turbulent history of sediment deposition. By analyzing different isotopes of carbon, the researchers concluded that Various types of microorganisms were already living in the vicinity of volcanic activity.

The study not only sheds light on the Earth’s past, but is also interesting from a methodological point of view. First author, Lena Weimannfrom the Geoscience Center of the University of Göttingen explains: “It was very interesting to combine different high-resolution techniques, allowing us to gain information about the deposition history of organic particles and their origin. As our results show, original traces of the first organisms can still be found even in extremely ancient materials.

Link

L. Weimann et al., Carbonaceous matter in ~3.5 Ga black layered barite from the Dresser Formation (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia) – understanding organic cycling on the young Earth, Precambrian studies (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.precamres.2024.107321

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-high-solve-techniques-reveal-clues.html