Abstract
PERHAPS the most perplexing problem of biological evolution involves explanation of why diversification of life began only after 85% of the lifetime of the Earth while simple life seems to have been present for virtually all of geological time. Recent observations1–2 on the presence of complex organic species in meteoritic debris and in the interstellar medium show that some of the basic biological building blocks may have been available from the earliest times. Chamberlain and Marland3 have commented on the biological consequences of the Hargraves4 model of ocean-crust evolution while others5–6 have reassessed evidence on atmospheric evolution and indicated that changes in oxygen partial pressure may not have been critical to the diversification of life. In this note I suggest that important changes in ocean chemistry must have occurred if our current models of crustal evolution and igneous events have any validity. The evolution of complex life forms requires a high degree of environmental stability and constancy of chemical environment. It is suggested that this condition is closely linked to the spacing of major volcanic centres, and that the modern long wavelength pattern of ocean ridges and subduction zones was necessary to achieve this stability. The distribution of ophiolites or ocean-floor structures of modern type7 indicates that the present pattern may have been initiated about one billion years ago. Furthermore, large scale continental emergence4 may have been necessary to provide oceans with stable chemistry.
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FYFE, W. Effects on biological evolution of changes in ocean chemistry. Nature 267, 510 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/267510a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/267510a0
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