Early Hadean Earth conditions were ideal for prebiotic chemistry

Lili Loth , Joaquin Bastias-Silva, Clémentine Antoine, David Ehrenreich, Nicolas David Greber, Luca Caricchi 

The time at which surface conditions favorable for prebiotic chemistry were established on Earth remains debated. Following magma-ocean solidification, high atmospheric pressure modulated the release of water from Earth’s primary crust. Here, we model the coupled formation of early oceans and felsic crust under these conditions. Our calculations show that a hydrated primary crust forms, resulting in shallow oceans and enabling felsic magmatism. Together, this facilitated the emergence of land and established environments conducive to prebiotic chemistry, such as lakes and lagoons, rapidly after magma-ocean solidification. We propose that a planet’s initial water content and the interactions between the atmosphere and geosphere governs the emergence of habitable surface environments on early Earth and, potentially, rocky exoplanets.