Files in this item
Hydrothermal regeneration of ammonium as a basin-scale driver of primary productivity
Item metadata
dc.contributor.author | Stueeken, Eva Elisabeth | |
dc.contributor.author | Kirsimäe, K. | |
dc.contributor.author | Lepland, A. | |
dc.contributor.author | Prave, Tony | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2022-12-21T17:30:02Z | |
dc.date.available | 2022-12-21T17:30:02Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023-02-03 | |
dc.identifier | 282585297 | |
dc.identifier | b842ce10-5e85-4673-8255-1c9b522ae199 | |
dc.identifier | 000904605800001 | |
dc.identifier | 85147536394 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Stueeken , E E , Kirsimäe , K , Lepland , A & Prave , T 2023 , ' Hydrothermal regeneration of ammonium as a basin-scale driver of primary productivity ' , Astrobiology , vol. 23 , no. 3 , pp. 195-212 . https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2021.0203 | en |
dc.identifier.issn | 1531-1074 | |
dc.identifier.other | ORCID: /0000-0002-4614-3774/work/125631325 | |
dc.identifier.other | ORCID: /0000-0001-6861-2490/work/125631693 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10023/26642 | |
dc.description | Funding: This study was financially supported by a NERC research grant (NE/V010824/1), and Estonian Science Agency project PRG447 to K.K | en |
dc.description.abstract | Hydrothermal vents are important targets in the search for life on other planets due to their potential to generate key catalytic surfaces and organic compounds for biogenesis. Less well studied, however, is the role of hydrothermal circulation in maintaining a biosphere beyond its origin. Here we explored this question with analyses of organic carbon, nitrogen abundances, and isotopic ratios from the Paleoproterozoic Zaonega Formation (2.0 Ga), NW Russia, which is composed of interbedded sedimentary and mafic igneous rocks. Previous studies have documented mobilization of hydrocarbons, likely associated with magmatic intrusions into unconsolidated sediments. The igneous bodies are extensively hydrothermally altered. Our data reveal strong nitrogen enrichments of up to 0.6 wt.% in these altered igneous rocks, suggesting that the hydrothermal fluids carried ammonium concentrations in the millimolar range, which is consistent with some modern hydrothermal vents. Further, large isotopic offsets of approximately 10 ‰ between organic-bound and silicate-bound nitrogen are most parsimoniously explained by partial biological uptake of ammonium from the vent fluid. Our results, therefore, show that hydrothermal activity in ancient marine basins can provide a locally high flux of recycled nitrogen. Hydrothermal nutrient recycling may thus be an important mechanism for maintaining a large biosphere on anoxic worlds. | |
dc.format.extent | 18 | |
dc.format.extent | 4125792 | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.relation.ispartof | Astrobiology | en |
dc.subject | Hydrothermal circulation | en |
dc.subject | Nitrogen recycling | en |
dc.subject | Nutrient limitation | en |
dc.subject | Pecambrian | en |
dc.subject | QE Geology | en |
dc.subject | QH301 Biology | en |
dc.subject | DAS | en |
dc.subject | SDG 14 - Life Below Water | en |
dc.subject | MCC | en |
dc.subject.lcc | QE | en |
dc.subject.lcc | QH301 | en |
dc.title | Hydrothermal regeneration of ammonium as a basin-scale driver of primary productivity | en |
dc.type | Journal article | en |
dc.contributor.sponsor | NERC | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. School of Earth & Environmental Sciences | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. St Andrews Centre for Exoplanet Science | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. St Andrews Sustainability Institute | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. St Andrews Isotope Geochemistry | en |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1089/ast.2021.0203 | |
dc.description.status | Peer reviewed | en |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | NE/V010824/1 | en |
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.