We present a testable hypothesis related to an origin of life on land in which fluctuating
volcanic hot spring pools play a central role. The hypothesis is based on experimental …

Earth has been habitable for 4.3 billion years, and the earliest rock record indicates the
presence of a microbial biosphere by at least 3.4 billion years ago—and disputably earlier …

Biological activity is a major factor in Earth's chemical cycles, including facilitating CO2
sequestration and providing climate feedbacks. Thus a key question in Earth's evolution is …

Abstract The ca. 3.48 Ga Dresser Formation, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, is well
known for hosting some of Earth's earliest convincing evidence of life (stromatolites …

Abstract The Archean era (4 to 2.5 billion years ago, Ga) yielded rocks that include the
oldest conclusive traces of life as well as many controversial occurrences. Carbonaceous …

Construction and assembly of the Geologic Time Scale involves:(a) constructing a relative
(chronostratigraphic) standard scale for key periods in the Earth's rock record;(b) identifying …

Uncovers the Key Role Microbes Play in the Transformation of Oxidizable and Reducible
MineralsMany areas of geomicrobial processes are receiving serious attention from …

The record of the continental lithosphere is patchy and incomplete; no known rock is older
than 4.02 Ga, and less than 5% of the rocks preserved are older than 3 Ga. In addition, there …

Microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) result from the response of microbial
mats to physical sediment dynamics. MISS are cosmopolitan and found in many modern …

Geothermics is an area of geophysics that studies the thermal state and history of the interior
of the Earth. Solar heat penetrates only into the topmost layers of the Earth's crust. Diurnal …