Earliest life may have arisen in ponds, not oceans. Primitive ponds may have provided a suitable environment for brewing up Earth's first life forms, more so than oceans, a new study finds. Researchers report that shallow bodies of water, on the order of 10 centimeters deep, could have held high concentrations of what many scientists believe to be a key ingredient for jump-starting life on Earth: nitrogen. Source 5o.
If I understand correctly, according to the article it is said that life started through ponds; which contained concentrations of nitrogen which was the key component to the existence of life! Quite interesting.