title: Primeval procreative comet pond.
abstract: It is speculated that life originated in a small, shallow body of water containing concentrated prebiotic organic feedstocks, inorganic compounds, and catalytic agents in a diversity of microenvironments. This pond was formed by an improbable, fortuitous soft-landing of a cometary nucleus, or fragment thereof, on the surface of a suitable planet with an atmosphere in an appropriate thermodynamic state, such as Earth.
authors.affiliation: Planetary Sciences Laboratory, Martin Marietta Astronautics, Denver, CO 80201.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers; D008834:Microclimate; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014131:Trace Elements; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D014131:Trace Elements; D014867:Water