Hydrothermal exploration and astrobiology: oases for life in distant oceans?

• Published in: International Journal of Astrobiology
• Main Author: German, Christopher R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2004
• Subjects: Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous); Space and Planetary Science; Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous); Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Gakkel Ridge; Indian; Mid-Atlantic Ridge; Atlantic Arctic; Atlantic-Arctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1473550404002009; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1473550404002009

High-temperature submarine hydrothermal fields on Earth's mid-ocean ridges play host to exotic ecosystems with fauna previously unknown to science. Because these systems draw significant energy from chemo synthesis rather than photo synthesis, it has been postulated that the study of such syste...