César Menor Salván
Astrobiologist and lecturer of Biochemistry at the University of Alcalá
In this work, the authors demonstrate how ‘microelectric discharges’ due to the formation of small water droplets in the atmosphere can induce chemical reactions.
The authors take advantage of a well-known effect, used in mass spectrometry, which is that of electrospray. When very small droplets are dispersed, they become electrically charged. This could occur naturally in the atmosphere. For example, when waves break against rocks, or in waterfalls, droplets of water are injected into the atmosphere at high speed.
On the early Earth, this effect could have contributed to the generation of organic compounds. I find this interesting, because in previous work in our laboratory, we observed that the injection of aerosols in simulations of the early atmosphere improved the formation of organic compounds. Perhaps this effect could have contributed.
The study is sound, however, the main limitation I see is that it has required complex apparatus and highly controlled conditions for its verification. Is it extrapolatable to natural conditions? The authors provide no evidence on this and I have not seen any so far. If so, it would be an effect to bear in mind for atmospheric chemistry, not only with regard to studies on prebiotic chemistry (origin of life), but also to understand the transformations of organic pollutants in today's atmosphere