A groundbreaking study published on July 19 in the prestigious journal Science Advances by researchers from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reveals that chemical energy released instantaneously during crustal fractures can serve as “alternative fuel” to sunlight for underground microorganisms. This discovery not only rewrites the energy narrative of Earth’s deep ecosystems but also provides a realistic blueprint for the “dark life” hypothesis on planets like Mars and Europa (Jupiter’s moon).
The research team used a “fracture-reaction” experimental platform to simulate fault activities several kilometers underground. When rocks break, creating fresh surfaces, the fractured chemical bonds (free radicals) instantly interact with water, generating substantial amounts of hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide. “In fault systems where underground life congregates, the amount of hydrogen produced by rock fractures is at least 100,000 times higher than that from known serpentinization or radiolysis processes,” explained project leader Professor Zhu Jianxi. “Tectonic activities like earthquakes—intense crustal fracture processes—act like engines, continuously converting mechanical energy into chemical energy.”
More crucially, the coupling of hydrogen free radicals and hydrogen peroxide drives the iron redox cycle—iron atoms repeatedly “cycle” between two states (+2 and +3 valence), continuously releasing electrons. These electrons further flow between essential life elements such as carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen, forming an invisible “underground power grid” that provides directly accessible energy for microorganisms. “They don’t need photosynthesis; they can survive simply by ‘charging’ along the electron gradient,” noted Research Associate Wu Xiao and Professor Lin Mang.
Calculations show that the annual hydrogen flux generated by earthquakes on fracture surfaces can reach 737.2 moles per square meter—energy far exceeding the needs of microbial communities, allowing life to thrive and reproduce rapidly. Academician He Hongping commented, “This energy mechanism could even operate in ancient Martian faults or cracks in Europa’s icy crust, providing a long-term ‘battery’ for ‘dark life’ in the solar system.” Future extraterrestrial life detection missions should pay special attention to redox signals near fault zones, as these may indicate signs of life.
Norm Sleep, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, noted in a commentary on the paper: “This study excellently reconstructs the real physicochemical processes of fracture activities, providing an explanation for the rise and fall of deep subsurface microbial communities.”
It is reported that the research team will continue collaborating with Professors Kurt O. Konhauser and Barbara Sherwood Lollar from Canada to participate in the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s “4D Earth: Science and Exploration of the Subsurface World” research program. This initiative will investigate more processes of hydrogen production from rocks, further verifying the universality of this light-independent life model.
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