Accumulation of molecular hydrogen in geologic systems can create conditions energetically favorable to transform inorganic carbon into methane and other organic compounds. Although hydrocarbons with a potentially abiotic origin have been proposed to form in a number of crustal settings, the ubiquitous presence of organic compounds derived from biological organic matter presents a challenge for unambiguously identifying abiotic organic molecules. In recent years, extensive analysis of methane and other organics in diverse geologic fluids, combined with novel isotope analyses and laboratory simulations, have, however, yielded insights into the distribution of specific abiotic organic molecules in Earth’s lithosphere and the likely conditions and pathways under which they form.
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Research Article|
February 01, 2020
Abiotic Synthesis of Methane and Organic Compounds in Earth’s Lithosphere
Eoghan P. Reeves;
University of Bergen, Department of Earth Science & K.G. Jebsen Centre, for Deep Sea Research, N-5007 Norway
E-mail: eoghan.reeves@uib.no
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Jens Fiebig
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Institut für Geowissenschaften, D-60438 Germany
E-mail: Jens.Fiebig@em.uni-frankfurt.de
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Elements (2020) 16 (1): 25–31.
Article history
first online:
05 Mar 2020
Citation
Eoghan P. Reeves, Jens Fiebig; Abiotic Synthesis of Methane and Organic Compounds in Earth’s Lithosphere. Elements 2020;; 16 (1): 25–31. doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.16.1.25
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- aliphatic hydrocarbons
- alkanes
- C-13/C-12
- C-14
- carbon
- chemical reactions
- cratons
- D/H
- experimental studies
- fluid inclusions
- hydrocarbons
- hydrogen
- hydrothermal vents
- igneous rocks
- inclusions
- inorganic materials
- isotope ratios
- isotopes
- laboratory studies
- life origin
- lithosphere
- metasomatism
- methane
- ophiolite
- organic compounds
- oxidation
- plutonic rocks
- radioactive isotopes
- serpentinization
- stable isotopes
- synthesis
- temperature
- ultramafics
- volcanism
- molecular hydrogen
- thermogenesis
- abiotic processes
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