This is an interesting not fully resolved debate in geology/paleontology. This is a great article that discusses some of the need for the debate, and the comments on the article in later issues name some of the other major players. I think anyone interested in the question of life in the universe outside of our own little biosphere might enjoy reading this as an intro to the debate:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X1...

It's available on Research Gate, too.