Volcanic rock rafts could have played a key role in the origins of life on Earth, a team of scientists suggests.
Researchers say the buoyant rock pumice has the right properties to have provided the conditions for early life to emerge more than 3.5bn years ago.
Pumice “rafts” are found today on shores of islands such as the volcanic Greek island of Santorini (Thera).
The team, from Oxford University and the University of Western Australia, calls for more research on the idea.
“During its life cycle, pumice is potentially exposed to – among other things – lightning associated with volcanic eruptions, oily hydrocarbons and metals produced by hydrothermal vents, and ultraviolet light from the Sun as it floats on water,” explained co-author Professor Martin Brasier from the University of Oxford.
“All these conditions have the potential to host, or even generate, the kind of chemical processes that we think created the first living cells.”
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