Origin of Life at the Air–Sea Interface: A Boundary-Driven, Energy-Coupled Membrane Emergence Model

This work presents a boundary-driven framework for the emergence of life at the air–sea interface on the early Earth. While many origin-of-life models have emphasized bulk aqueous environments such as hydrothermal systems or primordial ponds, this study identifies the air–water boundary as a uniquely dynamic, energy-coupled, and chemically enriched setting for prebiotic organization. The proposed model focuses on amphiphilic molecules concentrated at the sea surface microlayer, where repeated hydration–dehydration cycling, aerosolization, and exposure to electrical phenomena (including lightning and micro-discharges) can promote the spontaneous formation and persistence of proto-membrane compartments. These compartments are treated as open, far-from-equilibrium systems whose structural stability and internal chemical organization are maintained through continuous coupling to environmental energy fluxes. By framing primitive membranes as dissipative structures exhibiting attractor-like dynamics, this work argues that stable, self-maintaining boundaries could emerge prior to genetic replication and enzymatic metabolism. The air–sea interface is thus proposed as a physically and thermodynamically plausible environment bridging non-living chemistry and early cellular systems. Experimental, computational, and observational strategies are outlined to evaluate key predictions of the model.