Life on Earth did NOT begin in space – say scientists who claim it emerged when lightning struck ancient volcanic eruptions on our planet

Some scientists believe life came to Earth from space, but a new study now claims it started on our planet.

Researchers from Sorbonne University in Paris have found lightning striking volcanic eruptions in what is now Turkey, Peru and Italy emitted extreme levels of nitrogen that fueled the earliest life forms.

Nitrogen is essential for sustaining life on Earth and when combined with lightning strikes it reacts with oxygen to produce nitrogen oxide which is then released into the soil where it can create and sustain life.

Samples taken at the three ancient volcanic sites showed that the large amounts of nitrates were atmospheric, meaning the elements did not come from the volcano but were brought to the formation by lightning.

“If you look at the different possibilities, the most likely was volcanic lightning,” lead study author Slimane Bekki said. NewScientist.

“We know that when you have a huge volcanic eruption you get a lot of lightning,” he added.

Volcanic lightning usually occurs at the beginning of a volcanic eruption and is found in two places: close to the ground in ash clouds and the plume of volcanic smoke in the second layer of Earth’s atmosphere, the stratosphere.

Bekki and his team visited southern Peru, central Turkey and a volcanic island off the coast of Naples in Italy.

These regions are known to harbor ancient volcanic deposits, and after finding a large amount of nitrates in the soil, they conducted tests that showed these came from the atmosphere and not the volcano.

‘Indeed, nitrate produced by storm lightning around the world is spread over the Earth’s surface, while volcanic deposits are formed locally in a very short time and, according to our results, can contain large amounts of solid N (nitrogen). , a prerequisite for the development of life,” the scientists wrote in the study Courthouse News Service.

Volcanic lightning occurs in two places: close to the ground in ash clouds and in the plume of volcanic smoke

Nitrogen is the most abundant element in the atmosphere of the Earth and the universe. Previous research has shown that lightning can form nitrates under the right conditions, whether caused by a thunderstorm or a volcanic eruption.

However, researchers ruled out that thunderstorms are the cause of the origin of life due to the small amounts of nitrogen it produces.

“Our findings indicate a unique role potentially played by undersea explosive eruptions in providing essential ingredients for the origins of life on Earth,” the study said.

When volcanic lightning caused nitric oxide to form, amino acids were released into the soil, providing the basis for the creation of ancient microorganisms, according to a separate study. study by researchers from Johns Hopkins and Charles University in the Czech Republic.

“You see the same amino acids in every organism, from humans to bacteria to archaea, and that’s because all things on Earth are connected through this tree of life that has an origin, an organism that was the ancestor of all living things,” he said . Stephen Fried, a Johns Hopkins chemist who co-led the study.

“We describe the events that determined why that ancestor got the amino acids he did.”

There are several theories about how life originated on our planet.

But there are three guiding ideas: life arose from the basic gases and elements of Earth’s early pools and seas, meteorites brought living things to Earth, and meteorites provided only the basic chemical components of life, not life yourself.

Experts in the fields of astrobiology and analytical chemistry told DailyMail.com in December that the most likely explanation is a combination of the first and third theories.

They said that the basic building blocks of life were brought from space by meteorites and that they gave rise to life in the primordial soup of early Earth’s pools and shallow seas.

However, the recent research revealed the first field evidence that it was not the volcanic eruption itself that created life, but rather volcanic lightning that created enough nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere.