ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH - SELF-ORGANIZING VESICLE-LIKE STRUCTURES IN CORDIERITE-ROCKS FROM SOTO (ARGENTINA)

At Orcoyana, in the Soto region (Argentina), two types of cordieritic rocks outcrop: a light variety and a dark variety. Both of these conta in, in very different quantities, very peculiar structures considered in literature as porphyroblasts. In order to gain insight into their o rigin, a petrologic and geochemical study was carried out. In the ligh t of the new ordering principle, called ''order through fluctuation'', we applied the basic principles of self-organization dynamics to the Argentine structures. They appear to have ''self-organized'' as colloi dal dissipative structures which formed in a self-organizing basic flu id. According to us, the origin of the Argentine structures involved a phase separation process ensuing from spontaneous density fluctuation s in critical conditions. As the phase separation proceeded the fluid comprised immiscible portions in a state of emulsion. When the segrega ted phase was very concentrated, the Argentine fluid exhibited three d istinguishable phases. From a thermodynamic point of view, there was a three-phase system, like a vesicle, with an interior, barrier and ext erior.