Magnesium silicate chimneys at the Strytan...
URL: https://progearthplanetsci.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40645-023-00603-w
Title: Magnesium silicate chimneys at the Strytan hydrothermal field, Iceland, as analogues for prebiotic chemistry at alkaline submarine hydrothermal vents on the early Earth
Author(s): Carlos Gutiérrez-Ariza, Laura M. Barge, Yang Ding, Silvana S. S. Cardoso, Shawn Erin McGlynn, Ryuhei Nakamura, Donato Giovanelli, Roy Price, Hye Eun Lee, F. Javier Huertas, C. Ignacio Sainz-Díaz & Julyan H. E. Cartwright
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-023-00603-w
Publication Date: 29 February 2024
Resource Type: Link
Format: Research paper
Working Group: WG1-WG2- WG3
Affiliation(s): 1) Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC–UGR, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain; 2) NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; 3) Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB3 0AS, UK; 4) Earth Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2 12 1 Ookayama, Meguro ku, Tokyo 152 8550, Japan; 5) Center for Sustainable Resource Science, RIKEN, 2 1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351 0198, Japan; 6) Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II”, Monte Sant’Angelo, Edifcio 7, Stanza 1D 22, 80126 Naples, Italy; 7) School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 5000, USA; 8) Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Access Status: Open
Keywords:
Description: The Strytan Hydrothermal Field (SHF) in basaltic terrain in Iceland is one of the extant alkaline submarine hydrothermal vent systems favoured as analogues for where life on Earth may have begun. To test this hypothesis we analyse the composition, structure, and mineralogy of samples from hydrothermal chimneys generated at the SHF. We find that the chimney precipitates are composed of Mg-silicates including clays of the saponite-stevensite group (high Mg and Si, low Fe and Al), Ca-carbonates and Ca-sulfates. The chimneys comprise permeable structures with pores sizes down to 1 µm or less. Their complex interiors as observed with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and X-ray CT (computed tomography scanning), exhibit high internal surface areas. EDX (energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) analysis reveals an increase in the Mg/Si ratio toward the chimney exteriors. Chemical garden analogue experiments produce similar Mg–silicate chimneys with porous internal structures, indicating that injection-precipitation experiments can be high-fidelity analogues for natural hydrothermal chimneys at the SHF. We conclude that SHF chimneys could have facilitated prebiotic reactions comparable to those proposed for clays and silica gels at putative Hadean to Eoarchean alkaline vents. Analysis of the fluid dynamics shows that these chimneys are intermediate in growth rate compared to faster black smokers though slower than those at Lost City. The SHF is proposed as a prebiotic alkaline vent analogue for basaltic terrains on the early Earth.
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Informazioni supplementari
| Campo | Valore |
|---|---|
| Data last updated | 31 ottobre 2025 |
| Metadata last updated | 31 ottobre 2025 |
| Creato | 31 ottobre 2025 |
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| Licenza | Licenza non specificata |
| Id | 152c3ac0-7fd6-4aa1-9ae1-e16596ff256c |
| Package id | 46c24fbe-8177-4fb5-b962-e10b09cfb982 |
| Position | 12 |
| State | active |