Abstract

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Author(s):: ZHANG Ming-feng; WANG Xian-bin; TUO Jin-cai; WU Chen-jun; Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources of Gansu Province/Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource Research of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China

Keywords:: mafic-ultramafic rock; water-rock interaction; serpentinization; hydrogen; methane; abiotic gas; organic compound

Abstract:: Serpentinization may be the driving force of hydrothermal system and can produce methane and hydrogen, the molecular hydrogen formed may be used as an energy and electron source by microbial communities. The abiogenic hydrocarbons and other organic compounds formed through the serpentinization of ultramafic rocks provide energy and raw materials to support chemosynthetic microbial communities, which are probably the most important hydration reaction for the origin and early evolution of life. Serpentinized ultramafic rocks related to hydrothermal system, are important geological process in ocean system. Serpentinization may be the driving force of hydrothermal system and can produce methane and hydrogen. Using carbon isotope analyses of hydrocarbons abiogenic methane, a clear distinction between abiogenic and thermogenic hydrocarbons is shown. Serpentinization is considered as an important mechanism for forming abiotic alkane in earth interior. By studying water-rock interactions that occur in ophiolite terranes on Earth, the biological signitures on Mars are found. Important implications are the active serpentinization processes at low-temperature in Mars’ past, which may contribute to the production of CH₄, which is a suitable energy source for chemosynthetic microbial life.