Fate of (metal)organics under extreme conditions: survival and relevance for prebiotic chemistry (P02)

• Subject Area: Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 364653263

The presence and the stability of organics and metalorganics at geological phases are a vast source of information on the potential for extraterrestrial versus terrestrial sources of essential ingredients for the genesis of prebiotic chemistries. Carbon-based molecules in meteorites can survive harsh extraterrestrial conditions within the asteroid parent body´s history, during atmospheric entry to the Earth’s surface and during their residency on a highly energetic early Earth´s surface. The survival of specific organic matter when exposed to electrical, thermal and shock stresses, must have played a major role in the early prebiotic chemistry and the emergence of life on Earth. This project focuses on the stability of metalorganics in experimental conditions mimicking such systems.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 235: Emergence of Life: exploring mechanisms with cross-disciplinary experiments
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Donald Bruce Dingwell; Professor Dr. Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin