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Early Earth environments provide key insights into Earth’s biological evolution. Ascertaining Earth’s past geochemical conditions help understand their potential impact on origins and evolution of life on Earth. A variety of early Earth environments are known to host and sustain life. Understanding both abiotic and biotic components of such environments and their interdependence is critical.

The sedimentary rock record provides a fantastic avenue to probe a variety of early Earth environments. Furthermore, a range of cutting-edge analytical techniques allow us to undertake geochemical analyses that can be used to infer past trends in redox conditions, nutrient availability and changes in depositional environment. So did life start out as a relatively simple set of autocatalytic reactions?

The transition of a simple cell into a complex one, billions of years ago, is the reason we share the planet with millions of species today. Dr Indrani Mukherjee is a lecturer at UNSW at the School of BEES, and her research focuses on “what drove that biological transition?” The approach involves a nuanced understanding of ancient marine environments, via novel and cutting-edge geochemical techniques. Her research questions key concepts, and explores links between early Earth evolution, the origin of complex life and formation of precious mineral deposits.