Reactive phosphorus via simulated lightning discharge: A role for fulgurites in pre-biotic chemistry

Çalışkanoğlu, A. Zeynep; Dingwell, Donald B.; Cimarelli, Corrado; Camara, Alessandra S. B.; Breitzke, Hergen; Buntkowsky, Gerd; Pasek, Matthew A.; Braun, Dieter; Scheu, Bettina; Molaverdikhani, Karan

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121343

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The fulgurites present on Earth form by cloud-to-ground lightning strikes (by either thunderstorms or volcanic eruptions) or as a result of accidents involving electric transmission lines 3,4,5 . Natural fulgurites have been explored in terms of their morphological and chemical states 6,7,8,9 , including the description of high-temperature mineralization 10 , reconstruction of paleoecology 11 , and evaluation of the availability of chemical sources for pre-biotic chemistry 12,13,14 Experimentally generated fulgurites have also been brie y described in some preliminary feasibility studies 15,16,17,18,19,20 . These valuable pioneering scienti c inquiries have generally not been subject to the standard protocols of the natural lightning research community and generally lack the reproducibility and precision of a systematic approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental generation of fulgurite under realistic lightning discharge conditions

Çalışkanoğlu

Camara

Cimarelli

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Fulgurites have been documented in geological deposits from throughout Earth's history. They have also been assigned a potential role in prebiotic chemistry as a source of reactants. Fulgurites are generated in nature by cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. The unpredictability in space and time of the occurrence of lightning events has limited the investigation of both the mechanisms by, and the conditions under, which fulgurites form. A laboratory-based approach can ameliorate this. Here, we describe experimentally generated fulgurites generated from Laacher See volcanic ash. We employ a DC source with a trigger-pulse setup in a high voltage laboratory, whose capabilities enable experimental conditions that correspond closely to the electrical characteristics of natural lightning strikes. The experimentally generated fulgurites closely resemble naturally-occurring fulgurites in both state and texture. These experimental investigations yield a high reproducibility of the characteristic of fulgurites generated under well-constrained conditions, enabling some inferences to be made regarding the processes involved in the generation of fulgurites in nature. This work provides a basis for a systematic characterization of experimental fulgurites and the characteristic of lightning discharges.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental generation of fulgurite under realistic lightning discharge conditions

Çalışkanoğlu

Camara

Cimarelli

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…However, VL is also a phenomenon that has likely accompanied the Earth since its earliest beginnings and might have played a crucial role in the occurrence of the first organic molecules [Bada 2004;Navarro-González and Segura 2004;Bada 2023], synthesis of ATP components [Chu and Zhang 2023], and phosphorus reduction [e.g. Hess et al 2021;Çalışkanoğlu et al 2023]. Electrostatic discharges also represent an energy source to promote chemical reactions on the involved material such as, for example, the amorphization of S and Cl salts [Wang et al 2020].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

gas-tight shock tube apparatus for laboratory volcanic lightning under varying atmospheric conditions

Springsklee,

Scheu,

Seifert

et al. 2023

Volcanica

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Explosive volcanic eruptions generate electrical discharges, a phenomenon termed volcanic lightning (VL). VL is increasingly well-investigated and monitored for modern eruptions, however volcanism has been active since Earth’s origin. Thus, investigating VL under different atmospheric conditions is relevant for studies of early atmospheric chemistry and potential prebiotic reactions. We developed an experimental setup to investigate VL in varying atmospheres. We present the first experiments of laboratory discharges in particle-laden jets in varying atmospheric conditions. The new experimental setup is a mobile fragmentation bomb erupting into a gas-tight particle collector tank. This setup enables the testing of different atmospheric conditions, changes in the carrier gas of the jet, changes in the pressure within the tank, monitoring of the jet behaviour, and sampling of the atmosphere together with the decompressed solid materials. We find that the number and magnitude of near-vent electrical discharge events are similar in CO2-CO and air atmospheres.

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Experimental generation of fulgurite under realistic lightning discharge conditions

Çalışkanoğlu

Camara

Cimarelli

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fulgurites have been documented in geological deposits from throughout Earth's history. They have also been assigned a potential role in prebiotic chemistry as a source of reactants. Fulgurites are generated in nature by cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. The unpredictability in space and time of the occurrence of lightning events has limited the investigation of both the mechanisms by, and the conditions under, which fulgurites form. A laboratory-based approach can mitigate these limitations. Here, we describe experimentally generated fulgurites generated from Laacher See volcanic ash. We employ a DC source with a trigger-pulse setup in a high voltage laboratory, whose capabilities enable experimental conditions that correspond closely to the electrical characteristics of natural lightning strikes. The experimentally generated fulgurites closely resemble naturally-occurring fulgurites in both state and texture. These experimental investigations yield a high reproducibility of the characteristic of fulgurites generated under well-constrained conditions, enabling some inferences to be made regarding the processes involved in the generation of fulgurites in nature. This work provides a basis for a systematic characterization of experimental fulgurites and the characteristic of lightning discharges.

show abstract

Reactive phosphorus via simulated lightning discharge: A role for fulgurites in pre-biotic chemistry

Cited by 5 publications

References 33 publications

Experimental generation of fulgurite under realistic lightning discharge conditions

Experimental generation of fulgurite under realistic lightning discharge conditions

gas-tight shock tube apparatus for laboratory volcanic lightning under varying atmospheric conditions

Experimental generation of fulgurite under realistic lightning discharge conditions

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