The early Earth as an analogue for exoplanetary biogeochemistry

Abstract

Planet Earth has evolved from an entirely anoxic planet with possibly a different tectonic regime to the oxygenated world with horizontal plate tectonics that we know today. For most of this time, Earth has been inhabited by a purely microbial biosphere albeit with seemingly increasing complexity over time. A rich record of this geobiological evolution over most of Earth's history provides insights into the remote detectability of microbial life under a variety of planetary conditions. We leverage Earth's geobiological record with the aim of a) illustrating the current state of knowledge and key knowledge gaps about the early Earth as a reference point in exoplanet science research; b) compiling biotic and abiotic mechanisms that controlled the evolution of the atmosphere over time; and c) reviewing current constraints on the detectability of Earth's early biosphere with state-of-the-art telescope technology. We highlight that life may have originated on a planet with a different tectonic regime and strong hydrothermal activity, and under these conditions, biogenic CH$_4$ gas was perhaps the most detectable atmospheric biosignature. Oxygenic photosynthesis, which is responsible for essentially all O$_2$ gas in the modern atmosphere, appears to have emerged concurrently with the establishment of modern plate tectonics and the continental crust, but O$_2$ accumulation to modern levels only occurred late in Earth's history, perhaps tied to the rise of land plants. Nutrient limitation in anoxic oceans, promoted by hydrothermal Fe = fluxes, may have limited biological productivity and O$_2$ production. N$_2$O is an alternative biosignature that was perhaps significant on the redox-stratified Proterozoic Earth. We conclude that the detectability of atmospheric biosignatures on Earth was not only dependent on biological evolution but also strongly controlled by the evolving tectonic context.