Privileged Planet: where nitrogen is stored (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, May 29, 2018, 20:53 (2370 days ago) @ David Turell

It is hidden in rocks, a site not recognized before. Basic amino acids have carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, often sulfur, as basic parts of the molecule:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mystery-of-earths-missing-nitrogen-solved/?u...

"Experts used to think nearly all nitrogen in soil came directly from the atmosphere, sequestered by microbes or dissolved in rain. But it turns out scientists have been overlooking another major source of this element, which is crucial to plant growth: up to a quarter of the nitrogen in soil and plants seeps out of bedrock,

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"Beginning in the 1970s, a few studies showed that several types of sedimentary rock contain nitrogen from long-dead plants, algae and animals deposited on the ancient seafloor. A handful of papers suggested the element might leach into soil in certain places. But scientists did not follow up on these findings, and the amount of nitrogen released as rocks weather was thought to be insignificant.

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" In their new study, Houlton and his colleagues used California as a model geologic system because the state contains most of the planet’s rock types. They measured nitrogen levels in nearly 1,000 Californian samples and in others from around the globe. They then developed a computer model to calculate how quickly the earth’s rocks break down and release nitrogen into the soil.

"Nitrogen liberated by weathering processes eventually makes its way to the ocean, where it is deposited in rocks as they form on the seafloor. Tectonic plate movement lifts up the rocks; they degrade and release their nitrogen, which gets absorbed by plants and animals and trapped in rocks again—perpetuating the cycle. Weathering can involve both physical breakdown—which is accelerated when rocks are thrust upward and exposed to the elements as mountain ranges—and chemical dissolution, such as when acidic rainwater reacts with compounds in rocks."

Comment: Another way the Earth is designed to produce protein-based life. Looking at this in the reverse, can life appear if a planet isn't set up like the Earth?