dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaBiologically Enhanced Energy and Carbon Cycling on Titan?
| Authors | D. Schulze-Makuch, D. Grinspoon |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0501068 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0501068 |
Abstract
With the Cassini-Huygens Mission in orbit around Saturn, the large moon Titan, with its reducing atmosphere, rich organic chemistry, and heterogeneous surface, moves into the astrobiological spotlight. Environmental conditions on Titan and Earth were similar in many respects 4 billion years ago, the approximate time when life originated on Earth. Life may have originated on Titan during its warmer early history and then developed adaptation strategies to cope with the increasingly cold conditions. If organisms originated and persisted, metabolic strategies could exist that would provide sufficient energy for life to persist, even today. Metabolic reactions might include the catalytic hydrogenation of photochemically produced acetylene, or involve the recombination of radicals created in the atmosphere by UV radiation. Metabolic activity may even contribute to the apparent youth, smoothness, and high activity of the surface of Titan via biothermal energy.
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"abstract": "With the Cassini-Huygens Mission in orbit around Saturn, the large moon\nTitan, with its reducing atmosphere, rich organic chemistry, and heterogeneous\nsurface, moves into the astrobiological spotlight. Environmental conditions on\nTitan and Earth were similar in many respects 4 billion years ago, the\napproximate time when life originated on Earth. Life may have originated on\nTitan during its warmer early history and then developed adaptation strategies\nto cope with the increasingly cold conditions. If organisms originated and\npersisted, metabolic strategies could exist that would provide sufficient\nenergy for life to persist, even today. Metabolic reactions might include the\ncatalytic hydrogenation of photochemically produced acetylene, or involve the\nrecombination of radicals created in the atmosphere by UV radiation. Metabolic\nactivity may even contribute to the apparent youth, smoothness, and high\nactivity of the surface of Titan via biothermal energy.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0501068",
"authors": [
"D. Schulze-Makuch",
"D. Grinspoon"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"physics.chem-ph"
],
"title": "Biologically Enhanced Energy and Carbon Cycling on Titan?",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0501068"
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