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Early Evolution of the Atmosphere and Ocean

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The Chemistry of Life’s Origins

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 416))

Abstract

The early evolution of the atmosphere and oceans is discussed with particular emphasis on factors relevant to the origin of life. Both the atmosphere and ocean formed early as a consequence of impact degassing of planetesimals during accretion. The post-accretionary atmosphere was probably denser than the present atmosphere and was dominated by carbon compounds, principally CO2 and CO. The greenhouse effect of this atmosphere could have kept the early Earth significantly warmer than today despite reduced solar luminosity at that time. The atmosphere is believed to have been weakly reducing; that is, it contained tens to hundreds of parts per million of H2 and very little free O2. Highly reduced gases such as methane and ammonia are generally considered to have been present in only minute quantities. However, several different lines of evidence, including Mars’ climate history, theoretical factors affecting hydrogen escape, and new evidence bearing on the early mantle redox state, all indicate that reduced gases may have been more plentiful than is usually assumed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 211 Deike, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    James F. Kasting

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  1. James F. Kasting
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory Astrophysics, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands

    J. M. Greenberg  & C. X. Mendoza-Gómez  & 

  2. Istituto di Fisica, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy

    V. Pirronello

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Kasting, J.F. (1993). Early Evolution of the Atmosphere and Ocean. In: Greenberg, J.M., Mendoza-Gómez, C.X., Pirronello, V. (eds) The Chemistry of Life’s Origins. NATO ASI Series, vol 416. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1936-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1936-8_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4856-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-1936-8

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