Neighbor News
Stony Brook Southampton, Marine Science Lecture
Roy Price Stony Brook University "Searching for the origins of life in the modern ocean"
Many researchers have considered deep-sea hydrothermal vents as potential sites for early-Earth, origin of life environments. The focus has recently shifted away from black smoker type vents due to their extreme temperatures and acidity, and energetic calculations indicate that serpentinite-hosted vents, located some distance away from the spreading axis of mid-ocean ridges, may be much more relevant for origin of life scenarios. For example, the Lost City Hydrothermal Field (off-axis of the mid-Atlantic ridge), generates extremely high pH (up to 11) and results in elevated concentrations of dissolved H2- and CH4, characteristics thought to be important for abiogenesis - the natural process of life arising from non-living matter. Shallow-sea hydrothermal vents are defined as occurring in less than 200 meters water depth, and there is no reason these vents should not also be considered for possible origin of life environments. Shallow-sea vents display many similar geological, geochemical, and biological characteristics compared to their deep-sea counterparts. They are found off the flanks of volcanoes, on the tops of seamounts, and in coastal environments where there is an adequate heat source (e.g., by faulting or exothermic serpentinization reactions). However, they differ significantly from deep-sea vents in that they occur at much lower pressures, within the photic zone, and can be sourced in meteorically derived groundwater. This presentation will highlight some of my research at shallow-sea vents. I will focus on and discuss 2 sites in particular: The Prony Hydrothermal Field (PHF) is located off the south coast of New Caledonia (South Pacific). There, serpentinization creates warm (up to 41°C), alkaline (pH up to 11.2), H2- and CH4-enriched fluids of meteoric origin which discharge into the marine environment of the lagoon. The second site is the Strýtan Hydrothermal Field (SHF), located in Eyjafjord, northern Iceland. This site is off-axis of the mid-ocean spreading ridge, and low temperature alteration of mafic basalts (i.e., not serpentinization) also results in alkaline, H2- and CH4-enriched fluids. Could simple alteration of ocean crust lead to conditions amenable to the origin of life?
