Biomolecule formation by oceanic impacts on early Earth
Biomolecule formation by oceanic impacts on early Earth
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DOI：
10.1038/ngeo383
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发表时间：
2009-01-01
影响因子：
18.3
通讯作者：
Nakazawa, Hiromoto
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Furukawa, Yoshihiro;Sekine, Toshimori;Nakazawa, Hiromoto
地外天体的强烈撞击融化了胚胎地球，形成了一个富含二氧化碳和氮的大气层的无机体（1，2）。某些简单的有机分子已被证明在类似陨石撞击的条件下形成，尽管这些事件与更复杂分子的发展之间的联系仍不清楚。普通的陨石，最常见的陨石类型，含有固体碳，铁和镍元素的有机化学物质的形成（4，5）。在这里，我们使用冲击实验来重现南极陨石撞击早期海洋的周围条件。我们用推进枪高速撞击固体碳铁镍水和氮的混合物撞击后，我们回收了许多有机分子，包括脂肪酸，胺和氨基酸。我们认为，早期地球上的有机分子可能是从这种撞击合成中产生的。由于早期地球上频繁发生的自然撞击比我们的实验更持久，压力更高（6，7），它们可能导致有机化合物的合成更丰富，多样性和复杂性。
Intense impacts of extraterrestrial objects melted the embryonic Earth, forming an inorganic body with a carbon-dioxide- and nitrogen-rich atmosphere(1,2). Certain simple organic molecules have been shown to form under conditions resembling meteorite impacts, although the link between these events and the development of more complex molecules remains unclear(3). Ordinary chondrites, the most common type of meteorite, contain solid carbon, iron and nickel-elements essential to the formation of organic chemicals(4,5). Here we use shock experiments to recreate the conditions surrounding the impact of chondritic meteorites into an early ocean. We used a propellant gun to create a high-velocity impact into a mixture of solid carbon, iron, nickel, water and nitrogen. After the impact, we recovered numerous organic molecules, including fatty acids, amines and an amino acid. We suggest that organic molecules on the early Earth may have arisen from such impact syntheses. As the natural impacts that were frequent on the early Earth are more sustained and reach higher pressures than our experiments(6,7), they may have resulted in the synthesis of a greater abundance, variety and complexity of organic compounds.