Early Archaean Ecology - Exploring the Evidence and Habitats for Early (3.6-3.85 Billion Year Old) Life

The prime scientific quest of the 21st century will be the origin of life. The earliest evidence for life is at 3.85 Ga (billion-years) in the world s oldest-known sediments from Akilia, Greenland. These rocks were contorted and heated during later crustal upheavals, and the evidence for life at 3.85 Ga is controversial. Such life would be highly significant, because then first, primitive life arose before the known stratigraphic record. The project will extend the methods used to detect earliest life, and use Greenland rocks to explore other possible early habitats (submarine volcanic rocks and hot springs) and understand its environment.