SPACE.com -- Plate Tectonics Could Be Essential for Alien Life

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SPACE.com -- Plate Tectonics Could Be Essential for Alien Life

Tilman Spohn of the German Space Research Centre postulates that a necessary precondition to life would be plate tectonics. For a planet to have plate tectonics, the near-surface rock must be weakened, indicating a likelihood that significant amounts of water are present. Plate tectonics are responsible for recycling carbon (helping to control atmospheric carbon dioxide levels) and are involved in the generation of a magnetic field like that which protects life on Earth. Finally, plate techtonics replenish the nutrients needed to support primitive life.