New Chemistry by Glaciers

Glaciers are formidable structures known to crush bedrock and sculpture the underlying landscape. Until recently, it was not realized that under these massive glaciers radicals like hydroxyl (OH) and gases like molecular hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4), and ammonia (NH3) are formed. The combination of free radicals and gases produced by crushing at the glacier bed make it likely that simple organic molecules of biological utility are formed. Hence the key questions: Can this glacier crushing produce the building blocks of life? The glaciers provide all the key ingredients, molecules and energy, but can amino acids, sugars and other organic molecules form? Can amino acids concentrate and polymerize? We will particularly focus on discovering the reaction mechanisms leading to formation of amino acids from the ingredients present in the glacial bed. Inclusion of glacial biogeochemical processes could redefine the origin of life theories and our understanding of past and future geochemical cycles.