The Earliest Life on Earth

Tue 22 January 2019

St Edmund's College

Abstract:
The geological record tells us that life did not emerge on Earth until about 1 billion years after the planet formed and even then it existed in its most primitive state for another 3 billion years. Only after the Cambrian explosion of life at ca 540 Ma did abundant life exist on our planet. This talk

1. surveys the history of life on Earth from 3.5 billion years to the present;
2. examines the evidence for the first life on Earth in 3.7-3.8 billion year-old rocks from west Greenland;
3. discusses the chaotic nature of the very early Earth and explores how the first life might have appeared, perhaps quite rapidly;

These findings demonstrate that the emergence of carbon-based life in the Universe was a long, slow process and raises theological questions about the nature of the God’s creative work. They also raise the question of how special is the Earth relative to other planetary bodies in the Universe and whether or not our planet is ‘fine-tuned’ for life.

Cost: Free