Revisiting the oldest evidence for life on Earth
Revisiting the oldest evidence for life on Earth
Name of applicant
Kristoffer Szilas
Title
Associate Professor
Institution
University of Copenhagen
Amount
DKK 95,000
Year
2024
Type of grant
Field Trips / Research Stays < 100,000
Summary
This travel grant supports fieldwork at Isua, Greenland. The aim of the trip is to collect samples across the locality that hosts the oldest (>3.7 Ga) proposed evidence for life on Earth. A detailed investigation of the new samples, using geochemistry and thermodynamic modelling, will test the hypothesis that the organic matter at this site is far younger (~2.6 Ga) than previously assumed.