Bio


I apply heat and mass transfer to physical processes within the Earth. I maintain interest in geodynamics and its applications to the modern Earth and conditions for the origin of life on the young Earth and Mars. I am concentrating on the microphysics of friction and nonlinear seismology. I am currently applying the results to nonlinear attenuation and ground damage by strong seismic waves. I have developed a self-consistent rheology for faults that are dynamically weakened by heating of real contact asperities. I am developing flow-law alternatives to the traditional geotechnical approach with Masing Rules and testing it with real data. I am also examining the records from the Denali earthquake for interaction of high frequency S waves with the low-frequency near-field velocity pulse

Academic Appointments


Administrative Appointments


  • Assistant Professor of Geophysics, Northwestern University (1973 - 1979)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1973 - 1973)
  • Associate Professor of Geophysics and Geology, Stanford University (1979 - 1984)
  • Professor of Geophysics and Geology, Stanford University (1984 - 1993)
  • Professor of Geophysics, Stanford University (1993 - Present)

Honors & Awards


  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union (1980)
  • James B. Macelwane Award, American Geophysical Union (1980)
  • Fellow, Geological Society of America (1984)
  • George P. Woollard Award, Geological Society of America (1991)
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993)
  • Wegener Medal, European Union of Geosciences (1997)
  • Walter H. Bucher Medal, American Geophysical Union (1998)
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences (1999)
  • Wollaston Medal, Geological Society of London (2008)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Panel member, National Science Foundation (2011 - 2011)
  • Member, Committee on Earth Resources, National Research Council (2009 - Present)
  • Senior editor, Astrobiology (2004 - Present)
  • Chancellor's invited speaker, Louisiana State University (2000 - 2000)
  • Chair of Reading Committees for Ph.D. orals in Engineering, Physics, Linguistics, Education, Geological and Environmental Sciences, and Geophysics, Stanford University (1992 - Present)
  • Outside Reviewer for Proposals from NSF, NASA, USGS, Petroleum Research Fund, and funding agencies in Israel, Australia, Czech Republic, France, Canada and the U.K., NSF, NASA, USGS, Petroleum Research Fund, and others (1992 - Present)
  • Associate editor, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (1989 - Present)
  • Member, Earth Sciences Library Committee, Stanford University (1984 - 2001)
  • Associate Editor, Tectonophysics (1981 - Present)

Professional Education


  • Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Geophysics (1973)
  • M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Geophysics (1969)
  • B.S., Michigan State University, Geology and Mathematics (1967)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Research
I apply heat and mass transfer to physical processes within the Earth. I am currently studying convection at the base of the lithosphere and the interaction of the lithosphere with mantle plume material. Hot plume material locally thins the lithosphere and ponds within preexisting regions of thin lithosphere. I am also investigating the microphysics of friction. I am currently applying the results to nonlinear attenuation and ground damage by strong seismic waves. I am currently considering pre-photosynthetic sources of energy for life (like hydrogen from serpentine and methanogenesis) and the effects of photosynthetic ecology on surface and tectonic processes.

Teaching
I am now emeritus and not actively teaching.

Professional Activities
2008 Wollaston Medal, Geological Society of London; Election, National Academy of Sciences (1999); Walter H. Bucher Medal, American Geophysical Union (1998); Wegener Medal, European Union of Geosciences (1997); fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993); George P. Woollard Award, Geological Society of America (1991); fellow, Geological Society of America (1984); James B. Macelwane Award (1980); fellow, American Geophysical Union (1980)

2023-24 Courses


All Publications


  • Mars as a time machine to Precambrian Earth Journal of the Geological Society Lapotre, M., Bishop, J., Ielpi, A., Lowe, D., Siebach, K., Sleep, N., Tikoo, S. 2022

    View details for DOI 10.1144/jgs2022-047

  • Evaluation of Seismic Hazard Models with Fragile Geologic Features SEISMOLOGICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Stirling, M. W., Oskin, M. E., Arrowsmith, J., Rood, A. H., Goulet, C. A., Ludwig, L., King, T. R., Kottke, A., Lozos, J. C., Madugo, C. M., McPhillips, D., Rood, D. H., Sleep, N. H., Wittich, C. E. 2021; 92 (1): 314–24

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0220200197

    View details for Web of Science ID 000606812500002

  • Mild Displacements of Boulders during the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquakes BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H., Hough, S. E. 2020; 110 (4): 1579–88

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120200029

    View details for Web of Science ID 000558543900013

  • Are We Alone? An Interview with Dr. Norman Sleep. Astrobiology Lineweaver, C. H., Sleep, N. n. 2020; 20 (5): 563–71

    View details for DOI 10.1089/ast.2020.0224

    View details for PubMedID 32364795

  • Nonlinear Suppression of High-Frequency S Waves by the Near-Field Velocity Pulse With Reference to the 2002 Denali Earthquake JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H., Liu, T. 2020; 125 (1)
  • Nonlinear Rheology at Shallow Depths with Reference to the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H., Nakata, N. 2019; 109 (6): 2674–90

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120180200

    View details for Web of Science ID 000499983200037

  • Nonlinear Interaction of High-Frequency Seismic Waves With Sliding Fault Planes JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 2019
  • Friction in Cold Ice Within Outer Solar System Satellites With Reference to Thermal Weakening at High Sliding Velocities JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS Sleep, N. H. 2019
  • Thermal Weakening of Asperity Tips on Fault Planes at High Sliding Velocities GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2019; 20 (2): 1164–88
  • Geological and Geochemical Constraints on the Origin and Evolution of Life. Astrobiology Sleep, N. H. 2018

    Abstract

    The traditional tree of life from molecular biology with last universal common ancestor (LUCA) branching into bacteria and archaea (though fuzzy) is likely formally valid enough to be a basis for discussion of geological processes on the early Earth. Biologists infer likely properties of nodal organisms within the tree and, hence, the environment they inhabited. Geologists both vet tenuous trees and putative origin of life scenarios for geological and ecological reasonability and conversely infer geological information from trees. The latter approach is valuable as geologists have only weakly constrained the time when the Earth became habitable and the later time when life actually existed to the long interval between 4.5 and 3.85 Ga where no intact surface rocks are known. With regard to vetting, origin and early evolution hypotheses from molecular biology have recently centered on serpentinite settings in marine and alternatively land settings that are exposed to ultraviolet sunlight. The existence of these niches on the Hadean Earth is virtually certain. With regard to inferring geological environment from genomics, nodes on the tree of life can arise from true bottlenecks implied by the marine serpentinite origin scenario and by asteroid impact. Innovation of a very useful trait through a threshold allows the successful organism to quickly become very abundant and later root a large clade. The origin of life itself, that is, the initial Darwinian ancestor, the bacterial and archaeal roots as free-living cellular organisms that independently escaped hydrothermal chimneys above marine serpentinite or alternatively from shallow pore-water environments on land, the Selabacteria root with anoxygenic photosynthesis, and the Terrabacteria root colonizing land are attractive examples that predate the geological record. Conversely, geological reasoning presents likely events for appraisal by biologists. Asteroid impacts may have produced bottlenecks by decimating life. Thermophile roots of bacteria and archaea as well as a thermophile LUCA are attractive.

    View details for PubMedID 30124324

  • Remote Faulting Triggered by Strong Seismic Waves from the Cretaceous-Paleogene Asteroid Impact SEISMOLOGICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Sleep, N. H., Olds, E. 2018; 89 (2): 570–76

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0220170223

    View details for Web of Science ID 000440575400032

  • Nonlinear body waves in the shallow subsurface, implications of flow-law rheologies. Proceedings of the 11th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering , Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA. Proceedings of the 11th National Conference in Earthquake Engineering , Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Sleep, N., Nakata, N. 2018
  • Cratonic basins with reference to the Michigan basin CRATONIC BASIN FORMATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE PARNAIBA BASIN OF BRAZIL Sleep, N. H., Daly, M. C., Fuck, R. A., Julia, J., MacDonald, D. I., Watts, A. B. 2018; 472: 17–35

    View details for DOI 10.1144/SP472.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000467836700003

  • Nonlinear Attenuation of S Waves by Frictional Failure at Shallow Depths BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H., Nakata, N. 2017; 107 (4): 1828–48

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120160334

    View details for Web of Science ID 000412904900017

  • Plate-tectonic evolution of the Earth: bottom-up and top-down mantle circulation1 CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES Ernst, W. G., Sleep, N. H., Tsujimori, T. 2016; 53 (11): 1103-1120
  • Nonlinear Suppression of High-Frequency S Waves by Strong Rayleigh Waves BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H., Nakata, N. 2016; 106 (5): 2302-2312

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120160105

    View details for Web of Science ID 000388365100031

  • Anoxic oxidation of chromium GEOLOGY Oze, C., Sleep, N. H., Coleman, R. G., Fendorf, S. 2016; 44 (7): 543-546

    View details for DOI 10.1130/G37844.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000379358300019

  • Asteroid bombardment and the core of Theia as possible sources for the Earth's late veneer component. Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems : G(3) Sleep, N. H. 2016; 17 (7): 2623-2642

    Abstract

    The silicate Earth contains Pt-group elements in roughly chondritic relative ratios, but with absolute concentrations <1% chondrite. This veneer implies addition of chondrite-like material with 0.3-0.7% mass of the Earth's mantle or an equivalent planet-wide thickness of 5-20 km. The veneer thickness, 200-300 m, within the lunar crust and mantle is much less. One hypothesis is that the terrestrial veneer arrived after the moon-forming impact within a few large asteroids that happened to miss the smaller Moon. Alternatively, most of terrestrial veneer came from the core of the moon-forming impactor, Theia. The Moon then likely contains iron from Theia's core. Mass balances lend plausibility. The lunar core mass is ~1.6 × 1021 kg and the excess FeO component in the lunar mantle is 1.3-3.5 × 1021 kg as Fe, totaling 3-5 × 1021 kg or a few percent of Theia's core. This mass is comparable to the excess Fe of 2.3-10 × 1021 kg in the Earth's mantle inferred from the veneer component. Chemically in this hypothesis, Fe metal from Theia's core entered the Moon-forming disk. H2O and Fe2O3 in the disk oxidized part of the Fe, leaving the lunar mantle near a Fe-FeO buffer. The remaining iron metal condensed, gathered Pt-group elements eventually into the lunar core. The silicate Moon is strongly depleted in Pt-group elements. In contrast, the Earth's mantle contained excess oxidants, H2O and Fe2O3, which quantitatively oxidized the admixed Fe from Theia's core, retaining Pt-group elements. In this hypothesis, asteroid impacts were relatively benign with ~1 terrestrial event that left only thermophile survivors.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/2016gc006305

    View details for PubMedID 35095346

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8793101

  • Asteroid bombardment and the core of Theia as possible sources for the Earth's late veneer component GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2016; 17 (7): 2623-2642
  • Heat flow, strong near-fault seismic waves, and near-fault tectonics on the central San Andreas Fault GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2016; 17 (5): 1778-1798
  • The tethered Moon EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Zahnle, K. J., Lupu, R., Dobrovolskis, A., Sleep, N. H. 2015; 427: 74-82
  • Shallow S-Wave Well Logs as an Indicator of Past Strong Shaking from Earthquakes on the Newport-Inglewood Fault BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H. 2015; 105 (5): 2696-2703

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120150026

    View details for Web of Science ID 000362122600026

  • Nonlinear attenuation from the interaction between different types of seismic waves and interaction of seismic waves with shallow ambient tectonic stress GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Nakata, N. 2015; 16 (7): 2336-2363
  • Long-term deformation driven by small ambient tectonic stresses and strong oscillating tidal within Enceladus with analogy to rock behavior near the San Andreas Fault GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2015; 16 (5): 1670-1686
  • Terrestrial aftermath of the Moon-forming impact PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K. J., Lupu, R. E. 2014; 372 (2024)
  • Terrestrial aftermath of the Moon-forming impact. Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K. J., Lupu, R. E. 2014; 372 (2024)

    Abstract

    Much of the Earth's mantle was melted in the Moon-forming impact. Gases that were not partially soluble in the melt, such as water and CO2, formed a thick, deep atmosphere surrounding the post-impact Earth. This atmosphere was opaque to thermal radiation, allowing heat to escape to space only at the runaway greenhouse threshold of approximately 100 W m(-2). The duration of this runaway greenhouse stage was limited to approximately 10 Myr by the internal energy and tidal heating, ending with a partially crystalline uppermost mantle and a solid deep mantle. At this point, the crust was able to cool efficiently and solidified at the surface. After the condensation of the water ocean, approximately 100 bar of CO2 remained in the atmosphere, creating a solar-heated greenhouse, while the surface cooled to approximately 500 K. Almost all this CO2 had to be sequestered by subduction into the mantle by 3.8 Ga, when the geological record indicates the presence of life and hence a habitable environment. The deep CO2 sequestration into the mantle could be explained by a rapid subduction of the old oceanic crust, such that the top of the crust would remain cold and retain its CO2. Kinematically, these episodes would be required to have both fast subduction (and hence seafloor spreading) and old crust. Hadean oceanic crust that formed from hot mantle would have been thicker than modern crust, and therefore only old crust underlain by cool mantle lithosphere could subduct. Once subduction started, the basaltic crust would turn into dense eclogite, increasing the rate of subduction. The rapid subduction would stop when the young partially frozen crust from the rapidly spreading ridge entered the subduction zone.

    View details for DOI 10.1098/rsta.2013.0172

    View details for PubMedID 25114303

  • Ambient tectonic stress as fragile geological feature GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2014; 15 (9): 3628-3644
  • Effect of latent heat of freezing on crustal generation at low spreading rates GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Warren, J. M. 2014; 15 (8): 3161-3174
  • Physics of crustal fracturing and chert dike formation triggered by asteroid impact, similar to 3.26 Ga, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Lowe, D. R. 2014; 15 (4): 1054-1070
  • Nonlinear attenuation of S-waves and Love waves within ambient rock GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Erickson, B. A. 2014; 15 (4): 1419-1440
  • BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS ON THE SOURCE OF GEONEUTRINOS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MODERN PHYSICS A Sleep, N. H., Bird, D. K., Rosing, M. T. 2013; 28 (30)
  • Self-organization of elastic moduli in the rock above blind faults GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2013; 14 (3): 733-750

    View details for DOI 10.1002/ggge.20073

    View details for Web of Science ID 000317825000014

  • Microscopic elasticity and rate and state friction evolution laws GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2012; 13
  • Life: Asteroid Target, Witness from the Early Earth, and Ubiquitous Effect on Global Geology ASTROBIOLOGY Sleep, N. H. 2012; 12 (12): 1163-1164

    View details for DOI 10.1089/ast.2012.1031

    View details for Web of Science ID 000312561600009

    View details for PubMedID 23151301

  • Maintenance of permeable habitable subsurface environments by earthquakes and tidal stresses INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ASTROBIOLOGY Sleep, N. H. 2012; 11 (4): 257-268
  • Site Resonance from Strong Ground Motions at Lucerne, California, during the 1992 Landers Mainshock BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H. 2012; 102 (4): 1505-1513

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120110267

    View details for Web of Science ID 000307277100016

  • Explosive eruption of coal and basalt and the end-Permian mass extinction PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Ogden, D. E., Sleep, N. H. 2012; 109 (1): 59-62

    Abstract

    The end-Permian extinction decimated up to 95% of carbonate shell-bearing marine species and 80% of land animals. Isotopic excursions, dissolution of shallow marine carbonates, and the demise of carbonate shell-bearing organisms suggest global warming and ocean acidification. The temporal association of the extinction with the Siberia flood basalts at approximately 250 Ma is well known, and recent evidence suggests these flood basalts may have mobilized carbon in thick deposits of organic-rich sediments. Large isotopic excursions recorded in this period are potentially explained by rapid venting of coal-derived methane, which has primarily been attributed to metamorphism of coal by basaltic intrusion. However, recently discovered contemporaneous deposits of fly ash in northern Canada suggest large-scale combustion of coal as an additional mechanism for rapid release of carbon. This massive coal combustion may have resulted from explosive interaction with basalt sills of the Siberian Traps. Here we present physical analysis of explosive eruption of coal and basalt, demonstrating that it is a viable mechanism for global extinction. We describe and constrain the physics of this process including necessary magnitudes of basaltic intrusion, mixing and mobilization of coal and basalt, ascent to the surface, explosive combustion, and the atmospheric rise necessary for global distribution.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1118675109

    View details for Web of Science ID 000298876500018

    View details for PubMedID 22184229

  • Constraint on the recurrence of great outer-rise earthquakes from seafloor bathymetry EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE Sleep, N. H. 2012; 64 (12): 1245-1246
  • Paleontology of Earth's Mantle ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, VOL 40 Sleep, N. H., Bird, D. K., Pope, E. 2012; 40: 277-300
  • Seismically damaged regolith as self-organized fragile geological feature GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2011; 12
  • Deep-seated downslope slip during strong seismic shaking GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2011; 12
  • Serpentinite and the dawn of life PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Sleep, N. H., Bird, D. K., Pope, E. C. 2011; 366 (1580): 2857-2869

    Abstract

    Submarine hydrothermal vents above serpentinite produce chemical potential gradients of aqueous and ionic hydrogen, thus providing a very attractive venue for the origin of life. This environment was most favourable before Earth's massive CO(2) atmosphere was subducted into the mantle, which occurred tens to approximately 100 Myr after the moon-forming impact; thermophile to clement conditions persisted for several million years while atmospheric pCO(2) dropped from approximately 25 bar to below 1 bar. The ocean was weakly acid (pH ∼ 6), and a large pH gradient existed for nascent life with pH 9-11 fluids venting from serpentinite on the seafloor. Total CO(2) in water was significant so the vent environment was not carbon limited. Biologically important phosphate and Fe(II) were somewhat soluble during this period, which occurred well before the earliest record of preserved surface rocks approximately 3.8 billion years ago (Ga) when photosynthetic life teemed on the Earth and the oceanic pH was the modern value of approximately 8. Serpentinite existed by 3.9 Ga, but older rocks that might retain evidence of its presence have not been found. Earth's sequesters extensive evidence of Archaean and younger subducted biological material, but has yet to be exploited for the Hadean record.

    View details for DOI 10.1098/rstb.2011.0129

    View details for Web of Science ID 000294993100002

    View details for PubMedID 21930576

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3158911

  • Seismically observable features of mature stagnant-lid convection at the base of the lithosphere: Some scaling relationships GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2011; 12
  • Habitable Zone Limits for Dry Planets ASTROBIOLOGY Abe, Y., Abe-Ouchi, A., Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K. J. 2011; 11 (5): 443-460

    Abstract

    Most discussion of habitable planets has focused on Earth-like planets with globally abundant liquid water. For an "aqua planet" like Earth, the surface freezes if far from its sun, and the water vapor greenhouse effect runs away if too close. Here we show that "land planets" (desert worlds with limited surface water) have wider habitable zones than aqua planets. For planets at the inner edge of the habitable zone, a land planet has two advantages over an aqua planet: (i) the tropics can emit longwave radiation at rates above the traditional runaway limit because the air is unsaturated and (ii) the dry air creates a dry stratosphere that limits hydrogen escape. At the outer limits of the habitable zone, the land planet better resists global freezing because there is less water for clouds, snow, and ice. Here we describe a series of numerical experiments using a simple three-dimensional global climate model for Earth-sized planets. Other things (CO(2), rotation rate, surface pressure) unchanged, we found that liquid water remains stable at the poles of a low-obliquity land planet until net insolation exceeds 415 W/m(2) (170% that of modern Earth), compared to 330 W/m(2) (135%) for the aqua planet. At the outer limits, we found that a low-obliquity land planet freezes at 77%, while the aqua planet freezes at 90%. High-obliquity land and aqua planets freeze at 58% and 72%, respectively, with the poles offering the last refuge. We show that it is possible that, as the Sun brightens, an aqua planet like Earth can lose most of its hydrogen and become a land planet without first passing through a sterilizing runaway greenhouse. It is possible that Venus was a habitable land planet as recently as 1 billion years ago.

    View details for DOI 10.1089/ast.2010.0545

    View details for Web of Science ID 000292086900005

    View details for PubMedID 21707386

  • Small-scale convection beneath oceans and continents CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN Sleep, N. H. 2011; 56 (13): 1292-1317
  • Strong seismic shaking of randomly prestressed brittle rocks, rock damage, and nonlinear attenuation GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2010; 11
  • Sudden and gradual compaction of shallow brittle porous rocks JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 2010; 115
  • The Hadean-Archaean Environment COLD SPRING HARBOR PERSPECTIVES IN BIOLOGY Sleep, N. H. 2010; 2 (6)

    Abstract

    A sparse geological record combined with physics and molecular phylogeny constrains the environmental conditions on the early Earth. The Earth began hot after the moon-forming impact and cooled to the point where liquid water was present in approximately 10 million years. Subsequently, a few asteroid impacts may have briefly heated surface environments, leaving only thermophile survivors in kilometer-deep rocks. A warm 500 K, 100 bar CO(2) greenhouse persisted until subducted oceanic crust sequestered CO(2) into the mantle. It is not known whether the Earth's surface lingered in a approximately 70 degrees C thermophile environment well into the Archaean or cooled to clement or freezing conditions in the Hadean. Recently discovered approximately 4.3 Ga rocks near Hudson Bay may have formed during the warm greenhouse. Alkalic rocks in India indicate carbonate subduction by 4.26 Ga. The presence of 3.8 Ga black shales in Greenland indicates that S-based photosynthesis had evolved in the oceans and likely Fe-based photosynthesis and efficient chemical weathering on land. Overall, mantle derived rocks, especially kimberlites and similar CO(2)-rich magmas, preserve evidence of subducted upper oceanic crust, ancient surface environments, and biosignatures of photosynthesis.

    View details for DOI 10.1101/cshperspect.a002527

    View details for Web of Science ID 000279882800011

    View details for PubMedID 20516134

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2869525

  • Application of rate and state friction formalism and flash melting to thin permanent slip zones of major faults GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2010; 11
  • Nonlinear Behavior of Strong Surface Waves Trapped in Sedimentary Basins BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H. 2010; 100 (2): 826-832

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120090150

    View details for Web of Science ID 000275597200031

  • No climate paradox under the faint early Sun NATURE Rosing, M. T., Bird, D. K., Sleep, N. H., Bjerrum, C. J. 2010; 464 (7289): 744-U117

    Abstract

    Environmental niches in which life first emerged and later evolved on the Earth have undergone dramatic changes in response to evolving tectonic/geochemical cycles and to biologic interventions, as well as increases in the Sun's luminosity of about 25 to 30 per cent over the Earth's history. It has been inferred that the greenhouse effect of atmospheric CO(2) and/or CH(4) compensated for the lower solar luminosity and dictated an Archaean climate in which liquid water was stable in the hydrosphere. Here we demonstrate, however, that the mineralogy of Archaean sediments, particularly the ubiquitous presence of mixed-valence Fe(II-III) oxides (magnetite) in banded iron formations is inconsistent with such high concentrations of greenhouse gases and the metabolic constraints of extant methanogens. Prompted by this, and the absence of geologic evidence for very high greenhouse-gas concentrations, we hypothesize that a lower albedo on the Earth, owing to considerably less continental area and to the lack of biologically induced cloud condensation nuclei, made an important contribution to moderating surface temperature in the Archaean eon. Our model calculations suggest that the lower albedo of the early Earth provided environmental conditions above the freezing point of water, thus alleviating the need for extreme greenhouse-gas concentrations to satisfy the faint early Sun paradox.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nature08955

    View details for Web of Science ID 000276205000042

    View details for PubMedID 20360739

  • The Eons of Chaos and Hades SOLID EARTH Goldblatt, C., Zahnle, K. J., Sleep, N. H., Nisbet, E. G. 2010; 1 (1): 1-3
  • Stagnant lid convection and the thermal subsidence of sedimentary basins with reference to Michigan GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2009; 10
  • Stagnant lid convection and carbonate metasomatism of the deep continental lithosphere GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2009; 10
  • Depth of Rock Damage from Strong Seismic Ground Motions near the 2004 Parkfield Mainshock BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H. 2009; 99 (5): 3067-3076

    View details for DOI 10.1785/0120090065

    View details for Web of Science ID 000270857800030

  • The Bent Hawaiian-Emperor Hotspot Track: Inheriting the Mantle Wind SCIENCE Tarduno, J., Bunge, H., Sleep, N., Hansen, U. 2009; 324 (5923): 50-53

    Abstract

    Bends in volcanic hotspot lineaments, best represented by the large elbow in the Hawaiian-Emperor chain, were thought to directly record changes in plate motion. Several lines of geophysical inquiry now suggest that a change in the locus of upwelling in the mantle induced by mantle dynamics causes bends in hotspot tracks. Inverse modeling suggests that although deep flow near the core-mantle boundary may have played a role in the Hawaiian-Emperor bend, capture of a plume by a ridge, followed by changes in sub-Pacific mantle flow, can better explain the observations. Thus, hotspot tracks can reveal patterns of past mantle circulation.

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.1161256

    View details for Web of Science ID 000264802100027

    View details for PubMedID 19342579

  • Anthropic Knots and the Rise of Life ASTROBIOLOGY Sleep, N. H. 2009; 9 (2): 251-252

    View details for DOI 10.1089/ast.2008.0927

    View details for Web of Science ID 000265707200009

    View details for PubMedID 19371164

  • Scaling relationships for chemical lid convection with applications to cratonal lithosphere GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Jellinek, A. M. 2008; 9
  • Nonlinear attenuation and rock damage during strong seismic ground motions GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Hagin, P. 2008; 9
  • Evolutionary ecology during the rise of dioxygen in the Earth's atmosphere PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Sleep, N. H., Bird, D. K. 2008; 363 (1504): 2651-2664

    Abstract

    Pre-photosynthetic niches were meagre with a productivity of much less than 10(-4) of modern photosynthesis. Serpentinization, arc volcanism and ridge-axis volcanism reliably provided H(2). Methanogens and acetogens reacted CO(2) with H(2) to obtain energy and make organic matter. These skills pre-adapted a bacterium for anoxygenic photosynthesis, probably starting with H(2) in lieu of an oxygen 'acceptor'. Use of ferrous iron and sulphide followed as abundant oxygen acceptors, allowing productivity to approach modern levels. The 'photobacterium' proliferated rooting much of the bacterial tree. Land photosynthetic microbes faced a dearth of oxygen acceptors and nutrients. A consortium of photosynthetic and soil bacteria aided weathering and access to ferrous iron. Biologically enhanced weathering led to the formation of shales and, ultimately, to granitic rocks. Already oxidized iron-poor sedimentary rocks and low-iron granites provided scant oxygen acceptors, as did freshwater in their drainages. Cyanobacteria evolved dioxygen production that relieved them of these vicissitudes. They did not immediately dominate the planet. Eventually, anoxygenic and oxygenic photosynthesis oxidized much of the Earth's crust and supplied sulphate to the ocean. Anoxygenic photosynthesis remained important until there was enough O(2) in downwelling seawater to quantitatively oxidize massive sulphides at mid-ocean ridge axes.

    View details for DOI 10.1098/rstb.2008.0018

    View details for Web of Science ID 000257571100004

    View details for PubMedID 18468980

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2606762

  • Channeling at the base of the lithosphere during the lateral flow of plume material beneath flow line hot spots GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2008; 9
  • Production of brief extreme ground acceleration pulses by nonlinear mechanisms in the shallow subsurface GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H., Ma, S. 2008; 9
  • Edge-modulated stagnant-lid convection and volcanic passive margins GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2007; 8
  • Did earthquakes keep the early crust habitable? ASTROBIOLOGY Sleep, N. H., Zoback, M. D. 2007; 7 (6): 1023-1032

    Abstract

    The shallow habitable region of cratonal crust deforms with a strain rate on the order of approximately 10(19) s(1). This is rapid enough that small seismic events are expected on one-kilometer spatial scales and one-million-year timescales. Rock faulting has the potential to release batches of biological substrate, such as dissolved H(2), permitting transient blooms. In addition, the steady-state deformation of the brittle crust causes numerous small faults to be permeable enough (on the order of approximately 10(15) m(2)) for water to flow on a kilometer scale over relatively short geological times ( approximately 10(5) yr). Hence, active faults act as concentrated niches capable of episodically tapping resources in the bulk volume of the rock. Radiolysis and ferrous iron are potentially bases of sustainable hard-rock niches.

    View details for DOI 10.1089/ast.2006.0091

    View details for Web of Science ID 000252268300013

    View details for PubMedID 18163876

  • Weak thermal convection within tilted plume conduits GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2007; 8
  • Niches of the pre-photosynthetic biosphere and geologic preservation of Earth's earliest ecology GEOBIOLOGY Sleep, N. H., Bird, D. K. 2007; 5 (2): 101-117
  • Application of rate-and-state friction laws to creep compaction of unconsolidated sand under hydrostatic loading conditions JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Hagin, P., Sleep, N. H., Zoback, M. D. 2007; 112 (B5)
  • Emergence of a habitable planet Workshop on Geology and Habitability of Terrestrial Planets Zahnle, K., Arndt, N., Cockell, C. S., Halliday, A., Nisbet, E., Selsis, F., Sleep, N. H. SPRINGER. 2007: 35–78
  • Reply to a comment by D. R. Lowe on "Weathering of quartz as an archean climatic indicator" by N. H. Sleep and A. M. Hessler EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Hessler, A. M., Sleep, N. H. 2007; 253 (3-4): 534-535
  • Plate tectonics through time Treatise on Geophysics, Volume 9 Sleep, N. H. edited by Schubert, G. Elsevier, Oxford. 2007: 101–117
  • Emergence of a Habitable Planet Workshop on Geology and Habitability of Terrestrial Planets Zahnle, K., Arndt, N., Cockell, C., Halliday, A., Nisbet, E., Selsis, F., Sleep, N. H. SPRINGER. 2007: 35–78
  • TOPS: A small space telescope using phase induced-amplitude apodization (PIAA) to image rocky and giant exo-planets Conference on Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets III Guyon, O., Angel, J. R., Bowers, C., Burge, J., Burrows, A., Codona, J., Greene, T., Iye, M., Kasting, J., Martin, H., McCarthy, D. W., Meadows, V., Meyer, M., Pluzhnik, E. A., Sleep, N., Tamura, M., Tenerelli, D., Vanderbei, R., Woodgate, B., Woodruff, R. A., Woolf, N. J. SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. 2007

    View details for DOI 10.1117/12.735160

    View details for Web of Science ID 000252361500017

  • Origins of the plume hypothesis and some of its implications Geological Society of America Special Paper Sleep, N. edited by Foulger, G. R., Jurdy, D. M. Geological Society of America. 2007: 29–45
  • Strategy for applying neutrino geophysics to the earth sciences including planetary habitability Conference on Neutrino Geophysics Sleep, N. H. SPRINGER. 2006: 343–58
  • Frictional dilatancy GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2006; 7
  • The astrobiology primer: An outline of general knowledge - Version 1, 2006 ASTROBIOLOGY Mix, L. J., Armstrong, J. C., Mandell, A. M., Mosier, A. C., Raymond, J., Raymond, S. N., Stewart, F. J., von Braun, K., Zhaxybayeva, O., Billings, L., Cameron, V., Claire, M., Dick, G. J., Domagal-Goldman, S. D., Javaux, E. J., Johnson, O. J., Laws, C., Race, M. S., Rask, J., Rummel, J. D., Schelble, R. T., Vance, S., Adam, Z., Backus, P., Beegle, L., Bishop, J., Boering, K., Briley, M., Calvin, W., Catling, D., Cleland, C., Dodson, K. E., Fletcher, J., de la Fuente Acosta, E., de Zwart, I., Eigenbrode, J., Farmer, J., Frank, S., Gogarten, P., Goolish, E., Grymes, R., Haghighipour, N., Hudson, T., Ivkovic, V., Jahangeer, M., Jakosky, B., Kenyon, S., Kilston, S., Knoll, A., Korpela, E., Lamb, D., Lazio, J., Lenski, R., Link, L., Lloyd, K., Lunine, J., Manga, M., McCoy, T., Meech, K., Mello, G., Mojzsis, S., Morrison, D., Morton, O., Moser, D., Nealson, K., Nimno, F., Norris, R., Offerdahl, E., Olien, T., Pace, N., Pfiffner, S., Philips, C., Rao, S., Rodriquez, D., Rummel, J., Schopf, B., Seager, S., Sleep, N., Sogin, M., Solovaya, N., Sullivan, W., Thomas, B., Thorsteinsson, T., Tomow, C., Wevrick, M., Woolf, N., Yamaguchi, K., Zerella, M. 2006; 6 (5): 735-813

    Abstract

    The Astrobiology Primer has been created as a reference tool for those who are interested in the interdisciplinary field of astrobiology. The field incorporates many diverse research endeavors, but it is our hope that this slim volume will present the reader with all he or she needs to know to become involved and to understand, at least at a fundamental level, the state of the art. Each section includes a brief overview of a topic and a short list of readable and important literature for those interested in deeper knowledge. Because of the great diversity of material, each section was written by a different author with a different expertise. Contributors, authors, and editors are listed at the beginning, along with a list of those chapters and sections for which they were responsible. We are deeply indebted to the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), in particular to Estelle Dodson, David Morrison, Ed Goolish, Krisstina Wilmoth, and Rose Grymes for their continued enthusiasm and support. The Primer came about in large part because of NAI support for graduate student research, collaboration, and inclusion as well as direct funding. We have entitled the Primer version 1 in hope that it will be only the first in a series, whose future volumes will be produced every 3-5 years. This way we can insure that the Primer keeps up with the current state of research. We hope that it will be a great resource for anyone trying to stay abreast of an ever-changing field.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000241636900003

    View details for PubMedID 17067259

  • Real contacts and evolution laws for rate and state friction GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2006; 7
  • Mantle plumes from top to bottom EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS Sleep, N. H. 2006; 77 (4): 231-271
  • The rise of continents - An essay on the geologic consequences of photosynthesis PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY Rosing, M. T., Bird, D. K., Sleep, N. H., Glassley, W., Albarede, F. 2006; 232 (2-4): 99-113
  • Weathering of quartz as an Archean climatic indicator EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Sleep, N. H., Hessler, A. M. 2006; 241 (3-4): 594-602
  • Impacts and the early evolution of life Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life Zahnle, K. J., Sleep, N. H. edited by Thomas, P. J., Hicks, R. D., Chyba, C. F., McKay, C. P. Springer, New York. 2006; 2nd: 207–251
  • Telescope to Observe Planetary Systems (TOPS): a high throughput 1.2-m visible telescope with a small inner working angle Conference on Space Telescopes and Instrumentation I - Optical, Infrared and Millimeter Guyon, O., Angel, J. R., Bowers, C., Burge, J., Burrows, A., Codona, J., Greene, T., Iye, M., Kasting, J., Martin, H., McCarthy, D. W., Meadows, V., Meyer, M., Pluzhnik, E. A., Sleep, N., Spears, T., Tamura, M., Tenerelli, D., Vanderbei, R., Woodgate, B., Woodruff, R. A., Woolf, N. J. SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. 2006

    View details for DOI 10.1117/12.672498

    View details for Web of Science ID 000240025400052

  • Physical basis of evolution laws for rate and state friction GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2005; 6
  • Cutting anthropic knots and the rise of O-2 ASTROBIOLOGY Sleep, N. H. 2005; 5 (3): 331-332

    View details for Web of Science ID 000229789000001

    View details for PubMedID 15941379

  • Evolution of the continental lithosphere ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES Sleep, N. H. 2005; 33: 369-393
  • Dioxygen over geological time BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES OF ELEMENTS Sleep, N. H. 2005; 43: 49-73

    View details for PubMedID 16370114

  • Dioxygen over geological time Biogeochemical Cycles of Elements Sleep, N. H. edited by Sigel, A., Sigel, H., Sigel, R. O. Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL. 2005: 49–73
  • Integrated laboratory compaction data with numerical fault models: a Beyesian framework Baynesian Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering Fitzenz, D. D., Jalobeanu, A., Hickman, S. H., Sleep, N. H. edited by Knuth, K. H., Abbas, A. E., Morris, R. D., Castle, J. P. American Institute of Physics. 2005: 483–490
  • Models for noble gases in mantle geochemistry: Some observations and alternatives Plates, plumes, and paradigms Meibom, A., Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K., Anderson, D. L., Anderson, D. L. edited by Foulger, G. R., Natland, J. H., Presnall, D. C. 2005: 347–363
  • Dioxygen over geological time Biogeochemical Cycles of Elements Sleep, N. H. edited by Sigel, A., Sigel, H., Sigel, R. O. Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL. 2005: 49–73
  • Evolution of continental lithosphere Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences Sleep, N. H. 2005; 33: 369-393
  • Palaeoclimatology - Archaean palaeosols and Archaean air NATURE Sleep, N. H. 2004; 432 (7016)

    Abstract

    Ferrous carbonate, as the mineral siderite, occurs in Archaean palaeosols (ancient soils). Ohmoto et al. contend that siderite was not in equilibrium with the oxygen in Archaean air and that its presence in palaeosols provides little constraint on the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in Archaean air. But their argument is invalid because it fails to distinguish the different behaviours of the trivial component oxygen and the significant component carbon dioxide in the partly closed system of soil waters. The presence or absence of siderite in ancient soils is a valid constraint on the carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) in ancient atmospheres.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nature03167

    View details for Web of Science ID 000225322100034

    View details for PubMedID 15584096

  • H-2-rich fluids from serpentinization: Geochemical and biotic implications PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H., Meibom, A., Fridriksson, T., Coleman, R. G., Bird, D. K. 2004; 101 (35): 12818-12823

    Abstract

    Metamorphic hydration and oxidation of ultramafic rocks produces serpentinites, composed of serpentine group minerals and varying amounts of brucite, magnetite, and/or FeNi alloys. These minerals buffer metamorphic fluids to extremely reducing conditions that are capable of producing hydrogen gas. Awaruite, FeNi3, forms early in this process when the serpentinite minerals are Fe-rich. Olivine with the current mantle Fe/Mg ratio was oxidized during serpentinization after the Moon-forming impact. This process formed some of the ferric iron in the Earth's mantle. For the rest of Earth's history, serpentinites covered only a small fraction of the Earth's surface but were an important prebiotic and biotic environment. Extant methanogens react H2 with CO2 to form methane. This is a likely habitable environment on large silicate planets. The catalytic properties of FeNi3 allow complex organic compounds to form within serpentinite and, when mixed with atmospherically produced complex organic matter and waters that circulated through basalts, constitutes an attractive prebiotic substrate. Conversely, inorganic catalysis of methane by FeNi3 competes with nascent and extant life.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0405289101

    View details for Web of Science ID 000223694700010

    View details for PubMedID 15326313

  • Earth science - Kinks and circuits NATURE Sleep, N. H. 2004; 430 (6996): 151-153

    View details for DOI 10.1038/430151a

    View details for Web of Science ID 000222470600026

    View details for PubMedID 15241397

  • Osmium isotopic compositions of Os-rich platinum group element alloys from the Klamath and Siskiyou Mountains JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Meibom, A., Frei, R., Sleep, N. H. 2004; 109 (B2)
  • Thermal haloes around plume tails GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL Sleep, N. H. 2004; 156 (2): 359-362
  • Long lasting epeirogenic uplift from mantle plumes and the origin of the Southern African Plateau GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Nyblade, A. A., Sleep, N. H. 2003; 4
  • Geodynamic implications of xenolith geotherms GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2003; 4
  • Fate of mantle plume material trapped within a lithospheric catchment with reference to Brazil GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2003; 4
  • Survival of Archean cratonal lithosphere JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 2003; 108 (B6)
  • Are high He-3/He-4 ratios in oceanic basalts an indicator of deep-mantle plume components? EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Meibom, A., Anderson, D. L., Sleep, N. H., Frei, R., CHAMBERLAIN, C. P., Hren, M. T., Wooden, J. L. 2003; 208 (3-4): 197-204
  • Mantle plumes? ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS Sleep, N. H. 2003; 44 (1): 11-U3
  • Simple features of mantle-wide convection and the interpretation of lower-mantle tomograms COMPTES RENDUS GEOSCIENCE Sleep, N. H. 2003; 335 (1): 9-22
  • The Physical Setting for Early Life Evolution on Planet Earth Nisbet, E. G., Sleep, N. H. edited by Rothschild, L. J., Lister, A. M. Academic Press, Amsterdam. 2003: 3–34
  • Local lithospheric relief associated with fracture zones and ponded plume material GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2002; 3
  • Ridge-crossing mantle plumes and gaps in tracks GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS Sleep, N. H. 2002; 3
  • Re-Os isotopic evidence for long-lived heterogeneity and equilibration processes in the Earth's upper mantle NATURE Meibom, A., Sleep, N. H., CHAMBERLAIN, C. P., Coleman, R. G., Frei, R., Hren, M. T., Wooden, J. L. 2002; 419 (6908): 705-708

    Abstract

    The geochemical composition of the Earth's upper mantle is thought to reflect 4.5 billion years of melt extraction, as well as the recycling of crustal materials. The fractionation of rhenium and osmium during partial melting in the upper mantle makes the Re-Os isotopic system well suited for tracing the extraction of melt and recycling of the resulting mid-ocean-ridge basalt. Here we report osmium isotope compositions of more than 700 osmium-rich platinum-group element alloys derived from the upper mantle. The osmium isotopic data form a wide, essentially gaussian distribution, demonstrating that, with respect to Re-Os isotope systematics, the upper mantle is extremely heterogeneous. As depleted and enriched domains can apparently remain unequilibrated on a timescale of billions of years, effective equilibration seems to require high degrees of partial melting, such as occur under mid-ocean ridges or in back-arc settings, where percolating melts enhance the mobility of both osmium and rhenium. We infer that the gaussian shape of the osmium isotope distribution is the signature of a random mixing process between depleted and enriched domains, resulting from a 'plum pudding' distribution in the upper mantle, rather than from individual melt depletion events.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nature01067

    View details for Web of Science ID 000178615200036

    View details for PubMedID 12384694

  • Self-organization of crustal faulting and tectonics INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW Sleep, N. H. 2002; 44 (1): 83-96
  • Defection of mantle plume material by cratonic keels The Early Earth: Physical, Chemical and Biological Development Sleep, N. H., Ebinger, C. J., Kendall, J. edited by Fowler et al. Geological Society, London. 2002: 135–150
  • Carbon dioxide cycling through the mantle and implications for the climate of ancient Earth The Early Earth: Physical, Chemical and Biological Development Zahnle, K., Sleep, N. H. edited by Fowler et al. Geological Society of London. 2002: 231–258
  • Initiation of clement surface conditions on the earliest Earth PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K., Neuhoff, P. S. 2001; 98 (7): 3666-3672

    Abstract

    In the beginning the surface of the Earth was extremely hot, because the Earth as we know it is the product of a collision between two planets, a collision that also created the Moon. Most of the heat within the very young Earth was lost quickly to space while the surface was still quite hot. As it cooled, the Earth's surface passed monotonically through every temperature regime between silicate vapor to liquid water and perhaps even to ice, eventually reaching an equilibrium with sunlight. Inevitably the surface passed through a time when the temperature was around 100 degrees C at which modern thermophile organisms live. How long this warm epoch lasted depends on how long a thick greenhouse atmosphere can be maintained by heat flow from the Earth's interior, either directly as a supplement to insolation, or indirectly through its influence on the nascent carbonate cycle. In both cases, the duration of the warm epoch would have been controlled by processes within the Earth's interior where buffering by surface conditions played little part. A potentially evolutionarily significant warm period of between 10(5) and 10(7) years seems likely, which nonetheless was brief compared to the vast expanse of geological time.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000167833700012

    View details for PubMedID 11259665

  • Biogeochemistry - Oxygenating the atmosphere NATURE Sleep, N. H. 2001; 410 (6826): 317-319

    View details for Web of Science ID 000167464100028

    View details for PubMedID 11268188

  • The habitat and nature of early life NATURE Nisbet, E. G., Sleep, N. H. 2001; 409 (6823): 1083-1091

    Abstract

    Earth is over 4,500 million years old. Massive bombardment of the planet took place for the first 500-700 million years, and the largest impacts would have been capable of sterilizing the planet. Probably until 4,000 million years ago or later, occasional impacts might have heated the ocean over 100 degrees C. Life on Earth dates from before about 3,800 million years ago, and is likely to have gone through one or more hot-ocean 'bottlenecks'. Only hyperthermophiles (organisms optimally living in water at 80-110 degrees C) would have survived. It is possible that early life diversified near hydrothermal vents, but hypotheses that life first occupied other pre-bottleneck habitats are tenable (including transfer from Mars on ejecta from impacts there). Early hyperthermophile life, probably near hydrothermal systems, may have been non-photosynthetic, and many housekeeping proteins and biochemical processes may have an original hydrothermal heritage. The development of anoxygenic and then oxygenic photosynthesis would have allowed life to escape the hydrothermal setting. By about 3,500 million years ago, most of the principal biochemical pathways that sustain the modern biosphere had evolved, and were global in scope.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000167148800056

    View details for PubMedID 11234022

  • Carbon dioxide cycling and implications for climate on ancient Earth JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K. 2001; 106 (E1): 1373-1399
  • Physics of friction and strain rate localization in synthetic fault gouge JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H., Richardson, E., Marone, C. 2000; 105 (B11): 25875-25890
  • Evolution of the mode of convection within terrestrial planets JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS Sleep, N. H. 2000; 105 (E7): 17563-17578
  • Effects of the extrusion of fault gouge on frictional sliding JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1999; 104 (B10): 23023-23032
  • Rate- and state-dependent friction of intact rock and gouge JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1999; 104 (B8): 17847-17855
  • Refugia from asteroid impacts on early Mars and the early Earth JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K. 1998; 103 (E12): 28529-28544
  • Cenozoic magmatism throughout east Africa resulting from impact of a single plume NATURE Ebinger, C. J., Sleep, N. H. 1998; 395 (6704): 788-791
  • Rake dependent rate and state friction JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1998; 103 (B4): 7111-7119
  • Earth science - The puzzle of the South Pacific NATURE Sleep, N. 1997; 389 (6650): 439-440
  • Who needs astronauts? ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS Sleep, N. 1997; 38 (5): 5-5
  • The nature of oceanic lower crust and shallow mantle emplaced at low spreading rates TECTONOPHYSICS Sleep, N. H., Barth, G. A. 1997; 279 (1-4): 181-191
  • Lateral flow and ponding of starting plume material JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1997; 102 (B5): 10001-10012
  • Application of a unified rate and state friction theory to the mechanics of fault zones with strain localization JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1997; 102 (B2): 2875-2895
  • Lateral flow of hot plume material ponded at sublithospheric depths JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1996; 101 (B12): 28065-28083
  • GEOPHYSICS - A WAYWARD PLUME NATURE Sleep, N. H. 1995; 378 (6552): 19-20
  • FRICTIONAL HEATING AND THE STABILITY OF RATE AND STATE-DEPENDENT FRICTIONAL SLIDING GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Sleep, N. H. 1995; 22 (20): 2785-2788
  • DUCTILE CREEP, COMPACTION, AND RATE AND STATE-DEPENDENT FRICTION WITHIN MAJOR FAULT ZONES JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1995; 100 (B7): 13065-13080
  • PLATE-TECTONICS AND THE EVOLUTION OF CLIMATE REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS Sleep, N. H. 1995; 33: 199-203
  • LITHOSPHERIC THINNING BY MIDPLATE MANTLE PLUMES AND THE THERMAL HISTORY OF HOT PLUME MATERIAL PONDED AT SUBLITHOSPHERIC DEPTHS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1994; 99 (B5): 9327-9343
  • MARTIAN PLATE-TECTONICS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS Sleep, N. H. 1994; 99 (E3): 5639-5655
  • MANTLE PLUME INFLUENCE ON THE NEOGENE UPLIFT AND EXTENSION OF THE UNITED-STATES WESTERN CORDILLERA GEOLOGY Parsons, T., Thompson, G. A., Sleep, N. H. 1994; 22 (1): 83-86
  • GRAIN-SIZE AND CHEMICAL CONTROLS ON THE DUCTILE PROPERTIES OF MOSTLY FRICTIONAL FAULTS AT LOW-TEMPERATURE HYDROTHERMAL CONDITIONS PURE AND APPLIED GEOPHYSICS Sleep, N. H. 1994; 143 (1-3): 41-60
  • DUCTILE CREEP AND COMPACTION - A MECHANISM FOR TRANSIENTLY INCREASING FLUID PRESSURE IN MOSTLY SEALED FAULT ZONES PURE AND APPLIED GEOPHYSICS Sleep, N. H., Blanpied, M. L. 1994; 143 (1-3): 9-40
  • TECTONICS - UPWELLING BENEATH OCEAN RIDGES NATURE Sleep, N. H. 1993; 366 (6456): 635-636
  • PLANETARY SCIENCE - TOP-DOWN CONVECTION NATURE Sleep, N. H. 1993; 366 (6454): 410-411
  • TIME-DEPENDENCE OF MANTLE PLUMES - SOME SIMPLE THEORY JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Sleep, N. H. 1992; 97 (B13): 20007-20019
  • HOST ROCK RHEOLOGY CONTROLS ON THE EMPLACEMENT OF TABULAR INTRUSIONS - IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERPLATING OF EXTENDING CRUST TECTONICS Parsons, T., Sleep, N. H., Thompson, G. A. 1992; 11 (6): 1348-1356
  • CREEP, COMPACTION AND THE WEAK RHEOLOGY OF MAJOR FAULTS NATURE Sleep, N. H., Blanpied, M. L. 1992; 359 (6397): 687-692
  • MAGMATISM AND EXTENSION - THE THERMAL AND MECHANICAL EFFECTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE HOTSPOT JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH Anders, M. H., Sleep, N. H. 1992; 97 (B11): 15379-15393
  • ALVIN INVESTIGATION OF AN ACTIVE PROPAGATING RIFT SYSTEM, GALAPAGOS 95.5-DEGREES-W MARINE GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCHES HEY, R. N., Sinton, J. M., KLEINROCK, M. C., Yonover, R. N., Macdonald, K. C., Miller, S. P., Searle, R. C., Christie, D. M., ATWATER, T. M., Sleep, N. H., Johnson, H. P., Neal, C. A. 1992; 14 (3): 207-226
  • HOTSPOT VOLCANISM AND MANTLE PLUMES ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES Sleep, N. H. 1992; 20: 19-43
  • HYDROTHERMAL CIRCULATION, ANHYDRITE PRECIPITATION, AND THERMAL STRUCTURE AT RIDGE AXES JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Sleep, N. H. 1991; 96 (B2): 2375-2387
  • A REEXAMINATION OF THE SEISMICITY OF MICHIGAN TECTONOPHYSICS Fujita, K., Sleep, N. H. 1991; 186 (1-2): 75-106
  • HIGH-MG, LOW-AL BULK COMPOSITION OF THE TALKEETNA ISLAND-ARC, ALASKA - IMPLICATIONS FOR PRIMARY MAGMAS AND THE NATURE OF ARC CRUST GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN DeBari, S. M., Sleep, N. H. 1991; 103 (1): 37-47
  • MONTEREGIAN HOTSPOT TRACK - A LONG-LIVED MANTLE PLUME JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Sleep, N. H. 1990; 95 (B13): 21983-21990
  • GEOLOGY - A REPRIEVE FOR OCEAN CRUST NATURE Sleep, N. H. 1990; 347 (6293): 518-519
  • FAST INSTANTANEOUS OCEANIC PLATE VELOCITIES RECORDED BY THE CRETACEOUS LAYTONVILLE LIMESTONE - PALEOMAGNETIC ANALYSIS AND KINEMATIC IMPLICATIONS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Tarduno, J. A., MCWILLAMS, M., Sleep, N. 1990; 95 (B10): 15503-15527
  • HOTSPOTS AND MANTLE PLUMES - SOME PHENOMENOLOGY JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Sleep, N. H. 1990; 95 (B5): 6715-6736
  • PERMANENT UPLIFT IN MAGMATIC SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATION TO THE THARSIS REGION OF MARS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Phillips, R. J., Sleep, N. H., Banerdt, W. B. 1990; 95 (B4): 5089-5100
  • MASS BALANCE CALCULATIONS FOR 2 SECTIONS OF ISLAND-ARC CRUST AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF CONTINENTS EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS PEARCY, L. G., DeBari, S. M., Sleep, N. H. 1990; 96 (3-4): 427-442
  • ANNIHILATION OF ECOSYSTEMS BY LARGE ASTEROID IMPACTS ON THE EARLY EARTH NATURE Sleep, N. H., Zahnle, K. J., Kasting, J. F., Morowitz, H. J. 1989; 342 (6246): 139-142

    Abstract

    Large asteroid impacts produced globally lethal conditions by evaporating large volumes of ocean water on the early Earth. The Earth may have been continuously habitable by ecosystems that did not depend on photosynthesis as early as 4.44 Gyr BP (before present). Only a brief interval after 3.8 Gyr exists between the time when obligate photosynthetic organisms could continuously evolve and the time when the palaeontological record indicates highly evolved photosynthetic ecosystems.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1989AY73900055

    View details for PubMedID 11536616

  • MORE ABOUT THE MOMENT OF INERTIA OF MARS GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Kaula, W. M., Sleep, N. H., Phillips, R. J. 1989; 16 (11): 1333-1336
  • GRADUAL ENTRAINMENT OF A CHEMICAL LAYER AT THE BASE OF THE MANTLE BY OVERLYING CONVECTION GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL-OXFORD Sleep, N. H. 1988; 95 (3): 437-447
  • IMPLICATIONS OF MAGMA CONVECTION FOR THE SIZE AND TEMPERATURE OF MAGMA CHAMBERS AT FAST SPREADING RIDGES JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Wilson, D. S., CLAGUE, D. A., Sleep, N. H., Morton, J. L. 1988; 93 (B10): 11974-11984
  • TAPPING OF MELT BY VEINS AND DIKES JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Sleep, N. H. 1988; 93 (B9): 10255-10272
  • RELIC MAGMA CHAMBER STRUCTURES PRESERVED WITHIN THE MESOZOIC NORTH-ATLANTIC CRUST GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN McCarthy, J., Mutter, J. C., Morton, J. L., Sleep, N. H., Thompson, G. A. 1988; 100 (9): 1423-1436
  • DYNAMICALLY SUPPORTED GEOID HIGHS OVER HOTSPOTS - OBSERVATION AND THEORY JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Richards, M. A., Hager, B. H., Sleep, N. H. 1988; 93 (B7): 7690-7708
  • ONSET OF MANTLE PLUMES IN THE PRESENCE OF PREEXISTING CONVECTION JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Sleep, N. H., Richards, M. A., Hager, B. H. 1988; 93 (B7): 7672-7689
  • STRUCTURE OF THE SOUTHERN JUAN-DE-FUCA RIDGE FROM SEISMIC-REFLECTION RECORDS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Morton, J. L., Sleep, N. H., Normark, W. R., TOMPKINS, D. H. 1987; 92 (B11): 11315-11326
  • LITHOSPHERIC HEATING BY MANTLE PLUMES GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Sleep, N. H. 1987; 91 (1): 1-11
  • AN ANALYTIC MODEL FOR A MANTLE PLUME FED BY A BOUNDARY-LAYER GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Sleep, N. H. 1987; 90 (1): 119-128
  • THERMAL SUBSIDENCE AND GENERATION OF HYDROCARBONS IN MICHIGAN BASIN - REPLY AAPG BULLETIN Nunn, J. A., Sleep, N. H., Moore, W. E. 1985; 69 (9): 1404-1404
  • GRAVITY AND LITHOSPHERIC STRESS ON THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS WITH REFERENCE TO THE THARSIS REGION OF MARS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Sleep, N. H., Phillips, R. J. 1985; 90 (NB6): 4469-4489
  • A MID-OCEAN RIDGE THERMAL-MODEL - CONSTRAINTS ON THE VOLUME OF AXIAL HYDROTHERMAL HEAT-FLUX JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS Morton, J. L., Sleep, N. H. 1985; 90 (NB13): 1345-1353
  • THERMAL CONTRACTION AND FLEXURE OF INTRACRATONAL BASINS - A 3-DIMENSIONAL STUDY OF THE MICHIGAN BASIN GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Nunn, J. A., Sleep, N. H. 1984; 76 (3): 587-635
  • THERMAL SUBSIDENCE AND GENERATION OF HYDROCARBONS IN MICHIGAN BASIN AAPG BULLETIN-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS Nunn, J. A., Sleep, N. H., Moore, W. E. 1984; 68 (3): 296-315
  • TAPPING OF MAGMAS FROM UBIQUITOUS MANTLE HETEROGENEITIES - AN ALTERNATIVE TO MANTLE PLUMES JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH Sleep, N. H. 1984; 89 (NB12): 29-41
  • CONTRACTION AND STRETCHING IN BASIN FORMATION NATURE Sleep, N. H. 1984; 308 (5962): 771-771
  • ARCHEAN PLATE-TECTONICS - CONSTRAINTS AND INFERENCES JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY Sleep, N. H., Windley, B. F. 1982; 90 (4): 363-379
  • A KINEMATIC THERMAL HISTORY OF THE EARTHS MANTLE JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH Langan, R. T., Sleep, N. H. 1982; 87 (NB11): 9225-9235
  • REINTERPRETATION OF SEISMIC-REFLECTION DATA OVER THE EAST PACIFIC RISE JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH HALE, L. D., Morton, C. J., Sleep, N. H. 1982; 87 (NB9): 7707-7717
  • THICK SHELL TECTONICS ON ONE-PLATE PLANETS - APPLICATIONS TO MARS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH Banerdt, W. B., Phillips, R. J., Sleep, N. H., SAUNDERS, R. S. 1982; 87 (NB12): 9723-9733
  • ANTLER OROGENY AND FORELAND BASIN - A MODEL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN Speed, R. C., Sleep, N. H. 1982; 93 (9): 815-828
  • A CONSTRAINT ON THE EARTHS LATERAL HETEROGENEITY FROM THE SCATTERING OF SPHEROIDAL MODE Q-1 MEASUREMENTS BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Sleep, N. H., Geller, R. J., Stein, S. 1981; 71 (1): 183-197
  • SUBDUCTION ZONE CALIBRATION AND TELESEISMIC RELOCATION OF THRUST ZONE EVENTS IN THE CENTRAL ALEUTIAN ISLANDS BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Fujita, K., Engdahl, E. R., Sleep, N. H. 1981; 71 (6): 1805-1828
  • THERMAL EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH - SOME RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ADVANCES IN GEOPHYSICS Sleep, N. H., Langan, R. T. 1981; 23: 1-23
  • PLATFORM BASINS ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES Sleep, N. H., Nunn, J. A., Chou, L. 1980; 8: 17-34
  • USE OF THE MINIMUM-DISSIPATION PRINCIPLE IN TECTONOPHYSICS - COMMENT EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS Sleep, N. H., Stein, S., Geller, R. J., Gordon, R. G. 1979; 45 (1): 218-220
  • EARTHQUAKES ALONG THE PASSIVE MARGIN OF EASTERN CANADA GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Stein, S., Sleep, N. H., Geller, R. J., Wang, S. C., KROEGER, G. C. 1979; 6 (7): 537-540
  • ISOSTATIC MODEL FOR THE THARSIS PROVINCE, MARS GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Sleep, N. H., Phillips, R. J. 1979; 6 (10): 803-806
  • MEMBRANE STRESSES NEAR MID-OCEAN RIDGE-TRANSFORM INTERSECTIONS TECTONOPHYSICS Fujita, K., Sleep, N. H. 1978; 50 (2-3): 207-221
  • PLATE EFFECTS IN NORTH PACIFIC SUBDUCTION ZONES TECTONOPHYSICS Engdahl, E. R., Sleep, N. H., Lin, M. T. 1977; 37 (1-3): 95-116