Dartnell, LR;
(2011)
Ionizing Radiation and Life.
Astrobiology
, 11
(6)
551 - 582.
10.1089/ast.2010.0528.
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Abstract
Ionizing radiation is a ubiquitous feature of the Cosmos, from exogenous cosmic rays (CR) to the intrinsic mineral radioactivity of a habitable world, and its influences on the emergence and persistence of life are wide-ranging and profound. Much attention has already been focused on the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation on organisms and the complex molecules of life, but ionizing radiation also performs many crucial functions in the generation of habitable planetary environments and the origins of life. This review surveys the role of CR and mineral radioactivity in star formation, generation of biogenic elements, and the synthesis of organic molecules and driving of prebiotic chemistry. Another major theme is the multiple layers of shielding of planetary surfaces from the flux of cosmic radiation and the various effects on a biosphere of violent but rare astrophysical events such as supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. The influences of CR can also be duplicitous, such as limiting the survival of surface life on Mars while potentially supporting a subsurface biosphere in the ocean of Europa. This review highlights the common thread that ionizing radiation forms between the disparate component disciplines of astrobiology.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Ionizing Radiation and Life |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1089/ast.2010.0528 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2010.0528 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is a copy of an article (Lewis R. Dartnell. Astrobiology. July/August 2011, 11(6): 551-582. doi:10.1089/ast.2010.0528.) published in Astriobiology © 2011 [copyright Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.]; Astrobiology is available online at: http://www.liebertpub.com/ast |
| Keywords: | Cosmic rays, Solar energetic particles, Radioactivity, Ultraviolet, Supernova, Gamma-ray burst, Magnetosphere, Panspermia, Biosignature, GAMMA-RAY BURSTS, GALACTIC COSMIC-RAYS, SOLAR-PROTON EVENTS, EARTH-LIKE PLANETS, BACTERIUM DEINOCOCCUS-RADIODURANS, NEARBY SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS, NATURAL FISSION REACTORS, LOWER VENUS ATMOSPHERE, SEA HYDROTHERMAL VENT, HIGH-ENERGY PARTICLES |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Science and Technology Studies |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1318827 |
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