Molecular hydrogen (H2), methane, and hydrocarbons with an apparent abiotic origin have been observed in a variety of geologic settings, including serpentinized ultramafic rocks, hydrothermal fluids, and deep fractures within ancient cratons. Molecular hydrogen is also observed in vapor plumes emanating from the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and methane has been detected in the atmosphere of Mars. Geologic production of these compounds has been the subject of increasing scientific attention due to their use by chemosynthetic biological communities. These compounds are also of interest as possible energy resources. This issue summarizes the geological sources of abiotic H2 and hydrocarbons on Earth and elsewhere and examines their impact on microbial life and energy resources.
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February 01, 2020
Hydrogen and Abiotic Hydrocarbons: Molecules that Change the World
Laurent Truche;
University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, ISTerre, CS 40700, 38058 Grenoble, France
E-mail: [email protected]
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Thomas M. McCollom;
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
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Isabelle Martinez
Université de Paris, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France
E-mail: [email protected]
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Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
First Online:
05 Mar 2020
Online ISSN: 1811-5217
Print ISSN: 1811-5209
Copyright © 2020 by the Mineralogical Society of America
Mineralogical Society of America
Elements (2020) 16 (1): 13–18.
Article history
First Online:
05 Mar 2020
Citation
Laurent Truche, Thomas M. McCollom, Isabelle Martinez; Hydrogen and Abiotic Hydrocarbons: Molecules that Change the World. Elements 2020;; 16 (1): 13–18. doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.16.1.13
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- aliphatic hydrocarbons
- alkanes
- carbon cycle
- chemical reactions
- chemosynthesis
- cratons
- Eh
- Enceladus Satellite
- energy sources
- gas seeps
- gases
- geochemical cycle
- hydrocarbons
- hydrogen
- hydrothermal vents
- icy satellites
- igneous rocks
- life origin
- Mars
- metabolism
- metasomatism
- methane
- natural gas
- ophiolite
- organic compounds
- petroleum
- planets
- plutonic rocks
- potential deposits
- radioactive waste
- satellites
- serpentinization
- terrestrial planets
- ultramafics
- underground storage
- waste disposal
- molecular hydrogen
- abiotic processes
- prebiotic chemistry
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