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Updated: Aug 11, 2025
06:29
Simulation of Early Earth Hydrothermal Chimneys in a Thermal Gradient Environment
Published on: February 27, 2021
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Relatively oxidized fluids fed Earth's earliest hydrothermal systems
Dustin Trail1, Thomas M McCollom2
1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|February 9, 2023
Summary
Early Earth
Area of Science:
- Geochemistry
- Astrobiology
- Early Earth Science
Background:
- Properties of early Earth's lithospheric fluids are crucial for understanding the origin of life.
- These fluids acted as a conduit between Earth's interior and surface hydrothermal systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To infer the characteristics of lithospheric fluids from approximately 4 billion years ago.
- To model the solubility and transport of key metals relevant to the origin of life.
Main Methods:
- Utilized zircon chemistry analysis.
- Conducted laboratory experiments.
- Employed geochemical modeling.
Main Results:
- Constrained oxygen fugacity, chlorine content, and temperature of early lithospheric fluids.
- Determined that these fluids were more oxidized than the early terrestrial mantle.
- Identified interaction with near-surface aqueous systems, such as hydrothermal pools.
Conclusions:
- Early lithospheric fluids played a significant role in amplifying redox gradients in environments conducive to prebiotic chemistry.
- These findings support scenarios for the origin of life involving interactions between deep Earth fluids and surface hydrothermal systems.
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