Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Chemical Composition and Climatology of the Earth’s Early Atmosphere

  • Conference paper
Book cover Cosmochemistry and the Origin of Life

Part of the book series: NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series ((ASIC,volume 101))

Abstract

The unique system which comprises the Earth’s climate is examined and seven fundamental characteristics derived. The surprisingly robust nature of the climate which is revealed seems to be a direct result of the existence of a global hydrosphere. Analysis of the chemical and physical processes operating within the Earth’s atmosphere--surface environment around the critical period of the origin and earliest evolution of life suggests that the likely global conditions result in hospitable physical environment whilst also permitting local chemical inhomogeneities. The length of time required for the earliest stages of evolution may be critical.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Abelson, P.H.: 1966, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 55, p. 1365.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ahrens, T.J. and O’Keefe, J.D.: 1972, The Moon 4, p. 214.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Arrhenius, G. de B.R. and Alfven, H.: 1974, in E.D. Goldberg (ed.), The Sea vol. 5, “Marine Chemistry.” Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bacastow, R.B.: 1976, Nature 261, p. 116.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bada, J.L. and Miller, S.L.: 1968, Science 159, p. 423.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Benlow, A. and Meadows, A.J.: 1977, Astrophys. Space Sci. 46, p. 293.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Berger, A.: 1979, Geophys. Surveys 3, p. 351.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Berner, W. H., Oeschger, H. and Stauffer, B.: 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bickley, R. I., Vishwanathan, V.: 1979, Nature 280, p. 306.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Brancazio, P. J., Cameron, A.G.W. (eds.): 1964, The Origin and Evolution of Atmospheres and Oceans, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Bray, J. R.: 1979, Quat. Res. 12, p. 204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Broecker, W. S.: 1981, in C. I. M.A.S. Symp., E. Kraus (ed.), Univ. of Miami.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Budyko, M. I.: 1969, Tellus 21, p. 611.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Campbell, C. G., Vonder Haar, T. H.: 1980, Atmos. Sci. Paper 323, Colorado State Univ., 74 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Cess, R. D.: 1976, J. Atmos. Sci. 33, p. 1831.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Cess, R.D., Briegleb, B.P. and Lian, M.S.: 1981, J. Atmos. Sci.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Chameides, W. L., Walker, J. C. G., Nagy, A. F.: 1979, Nature 280, p. 820.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Chang, S., Des Marais, D., Mack, R., Miller, S. L., Strathearn, G.: 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Clark, D. H., McCrea, W. H., Stephenson, F. R.: 1977, Nature 265, p. 318.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Cloud, P. E.: 1968, Science 160, p. 729.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Cogley, J. G.: 1979, Nature 279, p. 712.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Crafoord, C., Kallen, E.: 1978, J. Atmos. Sci. 35, p. 1123.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Craig, H., Lupton, J. E.: 1979, in The Sea Vol. 7, “The Oceanic Lithosphere.” Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Ellis, J. S.: 1978, “Cloudiness, the Planetary Radiation and Climate,” Ph.D. Thesis, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Enhalt, D. H.: 1974, Tellus 26, p. 58.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Ferris, J. P., Nicodem, D. E.: 1972, Nature 238, p. 268.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Frakes, L. A.: 1979, Climates Throughout Geologic Time, Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Ghil, M.: 1976, J. Atmos. Sci. 33, p. 3.

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hansen, J. E., Johnson, D., Lacis, A., Lebedeff, S., Lee, P., Rind, D., Russell, G.: 1981, Nature.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Hargrave, R. B.: 1976, Science 193, p. 363.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. Hart, M. H.: 1978, Icarus 33, p. 23.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Haselgrove, C. B., Hoyle, F.: 1959, Monthly Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 119, p. 112.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. Henderson-Sellers, A.: 1977, Atmos. Env. 11, p. 864.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Henderson-Sellers, A.: 1978, J. Geophys. Res. 83, p. 5057.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Henderson-Sellers, A.: 1979, Nature 279, p. 786.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Henderson-Sellers, A.: 1980, S. Afr. J. Sci. 76, p. 373.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Henderson-Sellers, A.: 1981, Geophys. Surveys 4, p. 297.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. Henderson-Sellers, A., Meadows, A. J.: 1976, Planet. Space Sci. 24, p. 41.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. Henderson-Sellers, A., Meadows, A. J.: 1977, Nature 270 p. 589.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. Henderson-Sellers, A., Meadows, A. J.: 1979, Planet. Space Sci. 27, p. 1095.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. Henderson-Sellers, A., Schwartz, A. W.; 1980, Nature 287, p. 526.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. Henderson-Sellers, A., Benlow, A., Meadows, A. J.: 1980, Q. J. R. Astr. Soc. 21, p. 74.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. Henderson-Sellers, B. Henderson-Sellers, A.: 1978, Nature 272, p. 439.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. Holland, H. D.: 1962, Petrologic Studies: Geol. Soc. Amer., a volume in honour of A,F. Buddington, p. 447.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Holland, H. D.: 1972, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 36, p. 637.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. Holland, H. D.: 1978, The Chemistry of the Atmosphere and Oceans, Wiley, New York, p. 351.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Hunten, D. M.: 1973, J. Atmos. Sci. 30, p. 1481.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  48. Kasting, J. F., Walker, J. C. G.: 1981, J. Geophys. Res. 86, p. 1147.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  49. Kaula, W. M.: 1980, in The Continental Crust and Its Mineral Deposits, D.W. Strangway (ed.), Geolog. Assoc. Canada. Spec. Pap. 20, p. 26.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Knauth, L. P., Epstein, S.: 1976, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 40, p. 1095.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. Kuhn, W. R., Atreya, S. K.: 1979, Icarus 37, p. 207.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. Lahav, N., White, D. H., Chang, S.: 1978, Science 201, p. 67.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. Lahav, N., White, D. H.; 1980, J. Mol. Evol. 16.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Lazcano-Arujo, A. R., Oro, J.: 1981, Fifth College Park Colloquium on Chemical Evolution, Comets and the Origin of Life1, C. Ponnamperuma, ed., D. Reidel, Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Levine, J. S., Hays, P. B., Walker, J. C. G.: 1979, Icarus 39, p. 295.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  56. Lovelock, J. E.: 1979, Gaia. A New Look at Life on Earth, Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Manabe, S., Wetherald, R. T.: 1967, J. Atmos. Sci. 24, p. 241.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  58. McCrea, W. H.: 1975, Nature 255, p. 607.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  59. McCrea, W. H.: 1981, Proc. Roy. Soc. London A 375, p. 1.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  60. Miller, S. L., Orgel, L. E.: 1974, The Origins of Life on the Earth, Prentice-Hall, N.J.

    Google Scholar 

  61. Moorbath, S., O’Nions, R. K., Pankhurst, R. J.: 1973, Nature 245, p. 138.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  62. Newman, M. J., Rood, R. T.: 1977, Science 198, p. 1035.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  63. North, G. R.: 1975, J. Atmos. Sci. 32, p. 2033.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  64. Oort, A. H., Vonder Haar, T. H.: 1976, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 6, p. 781.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  65. Owen, T.: 1978, in Evolution of Planetary Atmospheres and Climatology of the Earth, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France, p. 1.

    Google Scholar 

  66. Owen, T., Cess, R. D., Ramanathan, V.: 1979, Nature 277, p. 640.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  67. Rasool, S. I., De Bergh, C.: 1970, Nature 266, p. 1037.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  68. Raulin, F.: 1980, in The Origins and Early Evolution of Life, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France.

    Google Scholar 

  69. Roads, J. O.: 1978, J. Atmos. Sci. 35, p. 1450.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  70. Rubey, W. W.: 1951, Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull. 62, p. 1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Sagan, C., Mullen, G.: 1972, Science 177, p. 52.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  72. Sanchez, R. A., Ferris, J. P., Orgel, L. E.: 1966, Science 154, p. 784.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  73. Sanchez, R. A., Ferris, J. P., Orgel, L. E.: 1967, J. Mol. Biol. 30, p. 223.

    Google Scholar 

  74. Schidlowski, M.: 1979, in B. Ralph, R. A. Trudinger, and M. R. Walter (eds.), Antiquity of Photosynthesis: Possible Constraints from Archaen Carbon Isotope Record, Proc. 4th Int. Symp. Environ., Biogeochem., Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  75. Schidlowski, M., Appel, P. W. U., Eichman, R., Junge, C. E.: 1979, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 43, p. 189.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  76. Schidlowski, M.: 1980, “The Atmosphere,” in The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry Vol. 1, Part A, O. Hutsinger (ed.) Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  77. Schneider, S. H., Mass, C.: 1975, Science 190, p. 741.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  78. Schneider, S. H., Thompson, S. L.: 1980, Icarus 41, p. 456.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  79. Schrauzer, G. N.: 1978, Chem. Eng. News (Nov. 13, 1978) and personal communication.

    Google Scholar 

  80. Schrauzer, G. N., Guth, T. D.: 1977, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 99, p. 7188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Schwartz, A. W.: 1981, in E.K. Duursma and R. Dawson (eds.), Organic Chemistry of Sea Water, Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  82. Sellers, W. D.: 1969, J. Appl. Meteorol. 8, p. 392.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  83. Toupance, G., Raulin, F., Buvet, R.: 1975, Origins of Life 6, p. 83.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  84. Toupance, G., Mourey, D., Raulin, F.: 1978, in Evolution or Planetary Atmospheres and Climatology of the Earth, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France, p. 31.

    Google Scholar 

  85. Walker, J. C. G.: 1976, in B. F. Windley (ed.), The Early History of the Earth, p. 537, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  86. Walker, J. C. G.: 1977, Evolution of the Atmosphere, MacMillan, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  87. Walker, J. C. G.: 1978, Pageoph. 116, p. 222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  88. Walker, J. C. F.: 1978, “Atmospheric Constraints on the Evolution of Metabolism,” presented at 4th College Park Symposium on Chemical Evolution, Univ. of Maryland, Oct. 18–20.

    Google Scholar 

  89. Walker, J. C. G.: 1979, Pageoph, 117, p. 498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  90. Wang, W.-C., Rossow, W. B., Yao, M.-S., Wolfson, M.: 1981, J. Atmos. Sci.

    Google Scholar 

  91. Warren, S. G., Schneider, S. H.: 1979, J. Atmos. Sci. 36, p. 1377.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  92. Wetheraid, R. T., Manabe, S.: 1980, J. Atmos. Sci. 37, p. 1485.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  93. Williams, I. P.: 1975, The Origin of the Planets, Adam Hilger, London.

    Google Scholar 

  94. Windley, B. F. (ed.): 1976, The Early History of the Earth, J. Wiley, London.

    Google Scholar 

  95. Winston, J. S., Gruber, A., Gray, T. I., Varadove, M. S., Earnest, C. L., Mannello, L. P.: 1979, Earth-Atmosphere Radiation Budget Analyses Derived from NOAA Satellite Data, June 1974-February 1978, Vols. 1 & 2, NOAA/NESS.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    A. Henderson-Sellers

  2. Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, N.Y., USA

    A. Henderson-Sellers

Authors
  1. A. Henderson-Sellers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

    Cyril Ponnamperuma

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1983 D. Reidel Publishing Company

About this paper

Cite this paper

Henderson-Sellers, A. (1983). The Chemical Composition and Climatology of the Earth’s Early Atmosphere. In: Ponnamperuma, C. (eds) Cosmochemistry and the Origin of Life. NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series, vol 101. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7072-4_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7072-4_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-009-7074-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-7072-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation