{"id":684246,"date":"2026-05-21T13:57:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684246\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:57:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:57:13","slug":"extra-terrestrial-material-found-at-an-asteroid-crater-on-earth-discovery-could-reveal-how-our-planet-got-its-oxygen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684246\/","title":{"rendered":"Extra-terrestrial material found at an asteroid crater on Earth. Discovery could reveal how our planet got its oxygen"},"content":{"rendered":"

How did Earth get its oxygen? The more planets that we discover beyond our Solar System, the more it’s clear just how special Earth is.<\/p>\n

Our planet’s temperate climate, its ability to host liquid water on its surface and, of course, its oxygen, all have enabled life to thrive.<\/p>\n

But what makes Earth so special? Why did Earth evolve to produce the right amount of oxygen to enable the evolution of complex organisms on its surface?<\/p>\n

A discovery by a South Korean science team has found that one of the most destructive processes in our Solar System could be the very thing that fostered early oxygen-producing life on Earth.<\/p>\n

\"AMap of the seafloor using data from the SWOT satellite. Credit: Greg Shirah, David Sandwell, Yao Yu<\/p>\n

Asteroid impacts and early oxygen<\/p>\n

South Korean scientists say they’ve found evidence that could help explain how Earth\u2019s atmosphere became rich in oxygen.<\/p>\n

The findings, they say, offer insight into the Great Oxidation Event, when oxygen levels in Earth\u2019s atmosphere rose dramatically about 2.4 billion years ago.<\/p>\n

A team from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources have reported the discovery of stromatolites within the Hapcheon impact crater on the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n

The crater is about 7km in diameter and formed about 42,000 years ago when a large space rock smashed into our planet.<\/p>\n

Stromatolites are\u00a0layered, sedimentary structures formed by microbial communities, and scientists say they’re among the oldest known records of life on Earth.<\/p>\n

They’re formed by microorganisms like cyanobacteria, that produce oxygen through photosynthesis.<\/p>\n

\"AA view of the Hapcheon impact crater in South Korea, where scientists uncovered evidence of an ancient hydrothermal lake that could indicate how Earth got its oxygen. Credit: Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources(KIGAM)<\/p>\n

Fossil records date cyanobacteria back to at least 3.5 billion years ago. for reference, Earth is thought to be about 4.5 billion years old.<\/p>\n

In this case, the team say they’ve found evidence the stromatolites formed in a hydrothermal lake created by the asteroid impacting Earth.<\/p>\n

The evidence suggests heat from molten rock created during the asteroid impact kept the water warm and rich in minerals for long periods. That produced conditions suitable for microbial growth.<\/p>\n

The team found multiple stromatolites in the northwestern part of the Hapcheon crater, each measuring 10-20cm in diameter.<\/p>\n

\"SampleSample of stromatolite collected from the Hapcheon impact crater, along with the analytical position used to characterise its formation and composition. Credit: Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources(KIGAM)
\nA new view on the Great Oxidation Event?<\/p>\n

Could this discovery provide new clues about the Great Oxidation Event?<\/p>\n

The team say hydrothermal lakes produced by earlier asteroid impacts could have provided habitats for oxygen-producing microbes to thrive.<\/p>\n

Geochemical study of the stromatolites found signatures of extraterrestrial material and surrounding bedrock, as well as evidence that they had been altered by high-temperature water.<\/p>\n

\"DiagramDiagram from the study showing how the impact crater could have produced a hydrothermal lake and the development of localised oxygen. Credit: Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources(KIGAM)<\/p>\n

The team say the inner layers show stronger hydrothermal signals, which suggests they formed during an earlier, hotter phase.<\/p>\n

That means the stromatolites could have formed in a hydrothermal lake created by an asteroid impact, which then gradually cooled over time.<\/p>\n

What’s more, the team say similar environments may have existed on early Mars, which was much warmer and wetter in its early history than it is today.<\/p>\n

\"AA meteor impact crater on Mars. Could impact craters be key to finding evidence of ancient life on the Red Planet? Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/University of Arizona<\/p>\n

That could mean craters on Mars are key targets for finding evidence of past life on Mars.<\/p>\n

“This is the first comprehensive evidence suggesting that stromatolites could form in hydrothermal lakes created by asteroid impacts,” says Dr. Jaesoo Lim, lead author of the study.<\/p>\n

“Such environments may have provided favorable conditions for early microbial ecosystems.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How did Earth get its oxygen? The more planets that we discover beyond our Solar System, the more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[49,48,66],"class_list":["post-684246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}