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Diverse geochemical conditions for prebiotic chemistry in shallow-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents

Nature Geoscience volume 15, pages 976–981 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Hydrothermal systems, where geothermally heated water discharges through a planet’s crust, occur on land or underwater. Hydrothermal systems have been proposed as environments that could support the emergence of life, with particular attention given to deep-sea vents and on-land hot springs. We propose that alkaline hydrothermal vents in shallow waters (<200 m depth), high-energy environments that display diverse and variable geochemistry, should also be considered in origin-of-life scenarios for the early Earth. Two active alkaline shallow vents—the Strytan Hydrothermal Field in Iceland and the Prony Hydrothermal Field in New Caledonia—provide examples of the conditions found in shallow-sea vents that may be relevant for facilitating prebiotic chemical reactions. These conditions include wet–dry cycling, temperature variations, and influxes of both saltwater and freshwater. We argue that the spatial and temporal geochemical variability in shallow-vent hydrothermal systems can support a range of prebiotic chemical reactions required for the emergence of life.

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Fig. 1: The Prony and Strytan Hydrothermal Fields provide examples of alkaline shallow-sea vents that might be analogous to prebiotically relevant early Earth environments.
Fig. 2: Hydrothermal chimneys at the Kaori site, Prony Hydrothermal Field, are exposed to the air during low tide.
Fig. 3: A shallow vent on the early Earth could have provided various different environments for prebiotic chemistry.

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Acknowledgements

We thank L. Rodriguez for very helpful comments on this manuscript. L.M.B.’s work was carried out at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. L.M.B. and R.E.P. were supported by NASA Habitable Worlds, grant no. 80NSSC20K0228 and NASA PSTAR, grant no. 80NSSC18K1651. L.M.B. was also supported by the NASA-NSF Ideas Lab for the Origins of Life. R.E.P. also received support from the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study, Delmenhorst, Germany. R.E.P. thanks the HydroProny research group for valuable collaboration and insights related to Prony.

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  1. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Laura M. Barge

  2. Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Roy E. Price

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R.E.P. conducted field work at hydrothermal sites. L.M.B. and R.E.P wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Laura M. Barge.

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Barge, L.M., Price, R.E. Diverse geochemical conditions for prebiotic chemistry in shallow-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents. Nat. Geosci. 15, 976–981 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01067-1

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