Some scientists believed that life on Earth originated from outer space, but a new study suggests that it began on our planet. Researchers from Sorbonne University in Paris conducted a study and found that lightning strikes on ancient volcanic eruptions in present-day Turkey, Peru, and Italy released high levels of nitrogen that initiated the earliest life forms. Nitrogen, essential for sustaining life on Earth, when combined with lightning strikes, reacts with oxygen to produce nitrogen oxide, which then seeps into the soil to create and support life. Samples collected from the three ancient volcanic sites showed significant amounts of nitrates in the atmosphere, indicating that the elements were brought to the area by lightning, rather than originating from the volcano itself.
The study’s lead author, Slimane Bekki, stated, “When you look at the different possibilities, the most likely was volcanic lightning.” The researchers visited southern Peru, central Turkey, and a volcanic island off the coast of Naples in Italy, all of which are known for hosting ancient volcanic deposits. After discovering abundant nitrates in the soil, tests confirmed that they came from the atmosphere, not the volcano. This finding suggests that the nitrate produced by storm lightning worldwide is spread out on the Earth’s surface, while volcanic deposits are formed locally and rapidly, containing large amounts of fixed nitrogen, crucial for life development.
Nitrogen is the most common element in Earth’s atmosphere and the universe. Previous research indicated that lightning, under suitable conditions, can produce nitrates, regardless of whether it was due to a thunderstorm or a volcanic eruption. The study ruled out thunderstorm lightning as the cause of life creation due to the small amounts of nitrogen it produces. When volcanic lightning generated nitrogen oxide, it released amino acids into the soil, laying the groundwork for the formation of ancient microorganisms, according to a separate study by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Charles University in the Czech Republic.
There are multiple theories on how life originated on our planet, with three leading ideas: life arose from the basic gases and elements of Earth’s early pools and seas, meteorites delivered living things to Earth, and meteorites delivered just the basic chemical components of life, not life itself. Experts in astrobiology and analytical chemistry suggested that the most likely explanation is a combination of the first and third theories. They stated that the basic building blocks of life were delivered from space by meteorites, giving rise to life in the primordial soup of early Earth’s pools and shallow seas. However, the recent study revealed that it wasn’t the volcanic eruption itself that created life, but rather the volcanic lightning that produced enough nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere.
