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Abiotic hydrogen (H2) sources and sinks near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) with implications for the subseafloor biosphere.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Worman, SL; Pratson, LF; Karson, JA; Schlesinger, WH
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
June 2020

Free hydrogen (H2) is a basal energy source underlying chemosynthetic activity within igneous ocean crust. In an attempt to systematically account for all H2 within young oceanic lithosphere (<10 Ma) near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR), we construct a box model of this environment. Within this control volume, we assess abiotic H2 sources (∼6 × 1012 mol H2/y) and sinks (∼4 × 1012 mol H2/y) and then attribute the net difference (∼2 × 1012 mol H2/y) to microbial consumption in order to balance the H2 budget. Despite poorly constrained details and large uncertainties, our analytical framework allows us to synthesize a vast body of pertinent but currently disparate information in order to propose an initial global estimate for microbial H2 consumption within young ocean crust that is tractable and can be iteratively improved upon as new data and studies become available. Our preliminary investigation suggests that microbes beneath the MOR may be consuming a sizeable portion (at least ∼30%) of all produced H2, supporting the widely held notion that subseafloor microbes voraciously consume H2 and play a fundamental role in the geochemistry of Earth's ocean-atmosphere system.

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Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

June 2020

Volume

117

Issue

24

Start / End Page

13283 / 13293
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Worman, S. L., Pratson, L. F., Karson, J. A., & Schlesinger, W. H. (2020). Abiotic hydrogen (H2) sources and sinks near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) with implications for the subseafloor biosphere. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(24), 13283–13293. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2002619117
Worman, Stacey L., Lincoln F. Pratson, Jeffrey A. Karson, and William H. Schlesinger. “Abiotic hydrogen (H2) sources and sinks near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) with implications for the subseafloor biosphere.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 117, no. 24 (June 2020): 13283–93. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2002619117.
Worman SL, Pratson LF, Karson JA, Schlesinger WH. Abiotic hydrogen (H2) sources and sinks near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) with implications for the subseafloor biosphere. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2020 Jun;117(24):13283–93.
Worman, Stacey L., et al. “Abiotic hydrogen (H2) sources and sinks near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) with implications for the subseafloor biosphere.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 117, no. 24, June 2020, pp. 13283–93. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.2002619117.
Worman SL, Pratson LF, Karson JA, Schlesinger WH. Abiotic hydrogen (H2) sources and sinks near the Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) with implications for the subseafloor biosphere. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2020 Jun;117(24):13283–13293.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

June 2020

Volume

117

Issue

24

Start / End Page

13283 / 13293