Journal articles on the topic 'Abiogenic theory'

AbstractThe study of life remote in space has strong parallels with the study of life remote in time. Both are dependent on decoding those historic phenomena called ‘fossils’, here taken to include biogenic traces of activity and waste products. There is the shared problem of data restoration from incomplete data sets; the importance of contextual analysis of potentially viable habitats; the centrality of cell theory; the need to reject the null hypothesis of an abiogenic origin for candidate cells via morphospace analysis; the need to demonstrate biology-like behaviour (e.g., association with biofilm-like structures; tendency to form clusters and ‘mats’; and a preference for certain substrates), and of metabolism-like behaviour (e.g., within the candidate cell wall; within surrounding ‘waste products’; evidence for syntrophy and metabolic cycles; and evidence for metabolic tiers). We combine these ideas into a robust protocol for demonstrating ancient or extra-terrestrial life, drawing examples from Earth's early geological record, in particular from the earliest known freshwater communities of the 1.0 Ga Torridonian of Scotland, from the 1.9 Ga Gunflint Chert of Canada, from the 3.4 Ga Strelley Pool sandstone of Australia, and from the 3.46 Ga Apex Chert also of Australia.

It is shown that the hypothesis of organic origin of hydrocarbons doesn’t respond to the presence of a dominant concentration of methane in sediments, deposits, “shale’ series and so on, hence prospecting and exploration for hydrocarbon deposits in them are conducted in most cases intuitively, but not on the fundamental scientific basis. Experimental studies based on the heating of slightly modified organic matter (peat) show that up to 200 °C in the process of its decomposition the following gases were delivered (vol. %): CO2 = 49.5; H2O = 49.3; CH4, C2H6, C3H8, N2, H2, SO2, H2S within 1.2 % in total. It is confirmed that there is no coal methane, there is no shale gas-methane, but there is methane of one genesis with slightly different isotope composition of carbon, but synthesized according to the same mechanism in the high-thermobaric processes that after migration into the earth’s crust accumulated in the form of deposits in cavities of coal seams, terrigenous units, sandstones and so on. Prospecting for pool-deposits of hydrocarbons should be carried out in conformity with developed “new technology of determination of prospects for oil and gas presence in the local area”, “physical-chemical model of synthesis of hydrocarbons and the way of geochemical searching for their occurrences”, “new theory of hydrocarbon synthesis and genesis in the earth’s lithosphere: abiogenic-biogenic dualism”.

At the present stage of the development of human civilization the rapid development of high-tech space technologies, growing scientific and commercial interest in space, and also increased attention to fundamental questions about the origin and future of life in the Universe require the formation of new scientific efforts regarding the understanding of the phenomenon of life, the emergence of the biosphere, and the planetary role of man in the further evolution of planet Earth. Modern society is actively seeking answers to lifelong questions related to whether our biosphere is the only form of life in space, and whether human contact with extraterrestrial life forms and civilizations is possible. The search for these answers is facilitated by such a science as astrobiology. The purpose of this publication is a brief overview of the current state of astrobiology based on publications in leading scientific journals over the past decades, as well as an analysis of the potential opportunities for the development of this science in Ukraine. Astrobiology as a science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the question of the origin of life on Earth, how it has evolved on this planet for billions of years, its limits, and the existence of life beyond Earth, its possible forms and modes of life existence, as well as the conditions for the emergence and development of life in the Universe. Astrobiology investigates whether life, as a cosmic phenomenon, can exist beyond Earth in various forms, including terrestrial ones delivered by spacecraft to other planets. The main goal of astrobiology is to search for and study various forms of life beyond Earth, as well as to study the existence of terrestrial life forms in extreme conditions, close to the conditions of open space and environmental conditions on other planets of the Solar and other stellar systems. An important interdisciplinary area of research in modern astrobiology is the study of the chemical composition of interstellar space and chemical processes that can lead to the formation of organic molecules. Abiogenic synthesis of organic compounds in outer space can occur under conditions of extremely low temperatures, cosmic vacuum and high levels of ionizing radiation. The theory of the spontaneous origin of life on planet Earth suggests that the first simplest living organisms arose by self-organization from organic compounds that were formed as a result of their abiogenic synthesis. The possibility of abiogenic synthesis of biologically relevant organic molecules has been experimentally proven. But the idea of the spontaneous origin of life as a molecular-informational phenomenon still remains hypothetical. The alternative viewpoint is a theory of panspermia. This theory assumes the process of spontaneous origin of life somewhere else in space, such as on another planetary body, and living organisms came to Earth with space dust, comets and asteroids. The possibility that organisms can survive movement through space is supported by some experimental confirmation based on studies of the resistance of certain types of organisms to extreme factors of open space and environmental conditions on some planets and satellites, in particular on Mars, Enceladus and other celestial bodies. An important area of research in modern astrobiology is the search for biosignatures that can reliably indicate the presence of certain life forms. The development of astrobiology gives rise to a number of systemic issues that must be resolved and which should form a systemic vision of the possibility of the existence of various life forms on other planets. An important issue in astrobiology is the problem of the influence of cosmic factors on the terrestrial biosphere and possible biospheres of other planets. These factors are primarily associated with the activity of stars around which planetary systems are formed. In connection with the active development of space missions to the planets of the Solar System, the question arose of the possibility of transferring terrestrial life forms on space probes to other planets, which in turn raises a number of problems associated with astrobiological "pollution" and the ethical responsibility of human civilization for the spread of terrestrial life forms as a result of contamination of space probes. The review pays special attention to the issues of training highly qualified specialists in the field of astrobiology at universities and relevant educational and scientific centers, in particular on the basis of the UK Astrobiology Center of the University of Edinburgh. The need to open an International Astrobiology Center on the basis of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv together with the University of Edinburgh is substantiated. Astrobiology is a new, interdisciplinary, and in-demand science. It has its own scientific challenges and methodology. The further development of this field of knowledge requires the involvement of specialists from various natural and humanitarian disciplines, who need to be trained through new interdisciplinary educational courses and programs for the preparation of bachelors, masters, and doctors of philosophy

Arguments for an abiotic origin of low-molecular weight organic compounds in deep-sea hot springs are compelling owing to implications for the sustenance of deep biosphere microbial communities and their potential role in the origin of life. Theory predicts that warm H2-rich fluids, like those emanating from serpentinizing hydrothermal systems, create a favorable thermodynamic drive for the abiotic generation of organic compounds from inorganic precursors. Here, we constrain two distinct reaction pathways for abiotic organic synthesis in the natural environment at the Von Damm hydrothermal field and delineate spatially where inorganic carbon is converted into bioavailable reduced carbon. We reveal that carbon transformation reactions in a single system can progress over hours, days, and up to thousands of years. Previous studies have suggested that CH4 and higher hydrocarbons in ultramafic hydrothermal systems were dependent on H2 generation during active serpentinization. Rather, our results indicate that CH4 found in vent fluids is formed in H2-rich fluid inclusions, and higher n-alkanes may likely be derived from the same source. This finding implies that, in contrast with current paradigms, these compounds may form independently of actively circulating serpentinizing fluids in ultramafic-influenced systems. Conversely, widespread production of formate by ΣCO2 reduction at Von Damm occurs rapidly during shallow subsurface mixing of the same fluids, which may support anaerobic methanogenesis. Our finding of abiogenic formate in deep-sea hot springs has significant implications for microbial life strategies in the present-day deep biosphere as well as early life on Earth and beyond.

This work is a modern revisitation of an old idea of great chemists of the past such as Berthelot, Mendeleev, Cloez and Moissan: the formation of organic matter under pre-biotic conditions starting from the hydrolysis of metal carbides. This idea was originally proposed for the formation of petroleum in the Earth and was extended to other bodies of the solar system by Sokolov at the end of the 19th century. The reason for this revisitation lies in the fact that complex organic matter resembling a petroleum fraction may exist in certain protoplanetary nebulae. The present work starts with a survey of the theory of the inorganic origin of petroleum and reports on current evidence for its derivation from residues of formerly living matter, but also considers theories that admit both a biogenic and an abiogenic origin for petroleum. By considering the cosmic abundance of elements and the evidence concerning the presence of carbides in meteorites, we discuss the formation, structure and hydrolysis products derived from the metal carbides of the iron peak of cosmic elemental abundance. Chromium carbide (Cr3C2) has then been used as a model compound for all the key carbides of the iron peak of the cosmic abundance (Cr, Fe, Ni, V, Mn, Co) and it has been hydrolysed under different conditions and the hydrocarbons formed have been analysed using electronic spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Methane, a series of about 20 different alkenes with single and conjugated double bonds have been detected. Paraffins are formed simultaneously with the alkene series but no acetylenic hydrocarbons have been detected. This study confirms early works considering the easy hydrolysis of the carbides of Cr, Fe, Ni, Mn and Co with the formation of H2, a series of alkanes including methane and a series of alkenes including ethylene. The peculiar behaviour of copper carbide (copper is inside the iron peak of the cosmic abundances) has been discussed as well. A survey of the hydrolytic behaviour of other carbides has been included so that all lanthanides and actinides are considered as well as carbides of the second and third groups of the periodic table of elements and highly refractory carbides such as those of Ti, Zr, Ta and W have been briefly discussed. Furthermore, the hydrolysis of mixed metal carbides and nitrides is discussed, which gives a mixture of extremely interesting molecules that are considered the raw materials for the formation of the molecules of life: guanidine, methyl hydrazine, formic acid, hydrogen cyanide, urea, cyanamide, methylamine and formaldehyde. The hydrolysis of metal carbides has also been discussed within the framework of other reactions that are well considered in the present day in an astrochemical context: the ion–molecule reaction, the Miller–Urey and the Sagan–Kaare synthesis as well as the catalytic Fischer–Tropsch synthesis and the radiation-driven Fischer–Tropsch synthesis.

&nbsp; <em>There are questions that the world community of scientists has not been able to find answers to. Among them is the question: &laquo;How did oil appear?&raquo; Origin of oil is one of mysteries of modern science. There are number of theories of its origin.</em> &nbsp;

Against the present-day credo of the organic origin of petroleum, it may be difficult to believe that in the early days of the oil industry, the abiogenic (inorganic) origin of petroleum held sway. In 1877, Russian Scientist Mendeleev (of the Periodic Table fame) proposed that metal carbides deep within the earth reacted with water at high temperatures to form acetylene which subsequently condensed to form heavier hydrocarbons (as is readily demonstrated in the lab). CaC2 + 2H2O = C2H2 + Ca(OH)2 In 1890, Sokoloff propounded that `bitumina', originated from meteorites and that this petroleum was extruded from the earth's interior into the surface sediments. They were the first Sorcerers. Others (eg. Vernadsky, Kudryavtsev) were to follow with differing concepts of the Inorganic Origin of petroleum including Volcanic Origin Theory, Earthquake Outgassing, etc. Their views received great support from their peers (and still linger in some quarters!). Then came the period in the early 1900s when advances in the knowledge of the composition of petroleum saw the ascendancy of the Theory of Organic Origin. In particular, the discovery of the optical activity of petroleum (Walden, 1906) and of the presence of chlorophyll porphyrins (Treibs, 1934) confirmed the low temperature origin and history of petroleum and thus cemented the Organic Theory. Subsequently, the search for petroleum moved to the great sedimentary basins of the world. The successes scored seemed to put paid to the inorganic Theory. The organic Sorcerers seemed to have won. Or did they? In the 1990s, a new set of Sorcerers led by T. Gold reignited the Inorganic Theory. Largely supported by the state-owned Swedish electricity utility Vattenfall, he caused a deep well (6.5 km by 1997) to be drilled into the crystalline basement rocks in Sweden in search of predicted petroleum of inorganic origin but the outcome was a dry hole. Was that the end of the Inorganic Theory? Perhaps, not.

В докладе рассмотрены существующие представления о распространённости углерода на Земле. На примере данных о содержании углерода в верхней мантии Земли, полученных на западе США методом глубинной сейсмической томографии, выполнена оценка ресурсного потенциала недр в рамках теории глубинного, абиогенно-мантийного происхождения нефти и газа. Согласно приведенной оценке, частично расплавленная зона (резервуар) содержит не менее 1,2×1017 кг летучих (Q, кг), таких как водород (H) и углерод (C). Расчет по углероду (С) показал, что весовое содержание углерода на единицу объема земной коры и верхней мантии, для которого выполнены оценки содержания С, составит 1333,3кг/м3 или 1,3 тн/м3 (1,3 г/см3). При средней величине расплава пород верхней мантии 0.5±0.2% (на объем) объем области плавления земной коры (глубинного углеродного резервуара), содержащей оценённый объем летучих, составит: 4,5×1011м3. В таком представлении весовое содержание (концентрация) углерода на единицу объема частично расплавленной зоны глубинного углеродного резервуара составит: 2,67×105 кг/м3, или 266,67 тн/м3 (266,67 г/см3). Эти цифры, характеризующие не просто высокое содержание углерода и водорода как основных доноров углеводородов, но и характеризующие концентрацию этих элементов в пределах определенных зон верхней мантии Земли (астеносферный слой), по всем основаниям (состав, концентрация, фазовое состояние, РТ условия) могут быть отнесены к очагам глубинного нефтегазообразования. Приведенные данные позволяют утверждать, что проблема доноров УВ глубинного, абиогенно-мантийного генезиса в нашем представлении снята, и с высокой вероятностью определен источник первичных доноров УВ в разрезе мантии и железоуглеродного ядра Земли, обладающий неисчерпаемыми ресурсами первичного С, фазовый состав которого, в зависимости от РТ условий земных оболочек, может быть кристаллическим (алмазная фаза, соединения с железом и никелем (Fen+Nin) +Cn, например, карбиды железа - FeC, Fe2C, Fe3C (цементит) и др.), жидким (например, расплав с примесью серы или другими летучими H-N-F-O-Cl) и газообразным (СО2 - газообразный только в мантии, выше слоя D’’). При этом синтез УВ в промышленных масштабах осуществляется в процессе гидрогенезации глубинного С на восходящих водородных струях в пределах астеносферных линз, чему благоприятствует наличие здесь реакционного объема, катализаторов и необходимые РТ условия полимеризации углеводородных радикалов. В статье рассматривается, как процессы преобразования глубинных флюидов, которые приводят к формированию абиогенных нефтей, влияют на глобальное изменение климата на Земле. The report reviewed the existing understanding of the prevalence of carbon on Earth. Using the example of data on the carbon content in the upper mantle of the Earth, obtained in the western United States by the method of deep seismic tomography, the resource potential of the subsoil was estimated in the framework of the theory of deep, abiogenic-mantle origin of oil and gas. According to this estimate, the partially molten zone (reservoir) contains at least 1.2 × 1017 kg of volatiles (Q, kg) such as hydrogen (H) and carbon (C). The calculation for carbon (C) showed that the weight content of carbon per unit volume of the earth’s crust and upper mantle, for which the C content was estimated, will be 1,333.3 kg / m3 or 1.3 t / m3 (1.3 g / cm3). With an average melt of the upper mantle rocks of 0.5 ± 0.2% (per volume), the volume of the melting region of the earth’s crust (deep carbon reservoir) containing the estimated volume of volatiles will be 4.5 × 1011 m3. In this representation, the weight content (concentration) of carbon per unit volume of the partially molten zone of the deep carbon reservoir will be: 2.67 × 105 kg / m3 or 266.67 t / m3 (266.67 g / cm3). These figures, characterizing not only the high content of carbon and hydrogen as the main donors of hydrocarbons, but also characterizing the concentration of these elements within certain zones of the Earth’s upper mantle (asthenospheric layer), for all reasons (composition, concentration, phase state, RT conditions) can be attributed to the centers of deep oil and gas formation. The data presented allow us to assert that the problem of HC donors of deep, abiogenic-mantle genesis, in our view, has been removed, and the source of primary HC donors in the section of the mantle and the iron-carbon core of the Earth, which has inexhaustible resources of primary C, the phase composition of which, depending on RT conditions of the earth’s shells can be crystalline (diamond phase, compounds with iron and nickel (Fen + Nin) + Cn, for example, iron carbides - FeC, Fe2C, Fe3C (cementite), etc.), liquid (for example, a melt with an impurity sulfur or other volatile HNFO-Cl) and gaseous (CO2 is gaseous only in the mantle, above the D ‘’ layer). In this case, the synthesis of hydrocarbons on an industrial scale is carried out in the process of hydrogenation of deep carbon on ascending hydrogen jets within the asthenospheric lenses, which is favored by the presence of a reaction volume, catalysts, and the necessary RT conditions for the polymerization of hydrocarbon radicals. The report examines how the processes of transformation of deep fluids, which lead to the formation of abiogenic oils, affect global climate change on Earth.