The discovery not only changes our understanding of underground ecosystems on Earth, but also hints that similar life could exist on other planets where there is no access to sunlight.
Scientists believed that sunlight was the basis for all life on Earth, but now researchers have discovered a completely different way of life, one that doesn’t require light at all.
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Subscribe to the NewsletterScientists have discovered that microorganisms living deep beneath the Earth’s surface can obtain energy from special chemical reactions that occur due to cracks in the rocks caused by the movement of tectonic plates.
This process of cracking the Earth’s crust creates faults that allow water and gases to circulate, enabling chemical reactions that don’t require sunlight. This discovery indicates that similar microorganisms may live on other planets where sunlight is not available. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
The study’s authors wanted to find out how microorganisms living deep underground gain access to both energy and oxidants, two essential components needed for the chemical energy that sustains life.
Previous studies had shown that microorganisms could use hydrogen as an energy source, but the origin of the necessary oxidizers remained unclear. To solve this mystery, the scientists recreated in the lab the process by which cracks form in rocks, which typically occur along underground fault lines.
The researchers applied pressure to different types of rock to simulate the effects of crustal movement. As the rocks cracked, reactive molecules known as free radicals were released.
“We propose that crustal faulting can generate various redox pairs and drive Fe redox cycling, thereby providing a sustained energy source for subsurface life on Earth and potentially on other planetary bodies,” the authors note.
These radicals then reacted with water to form hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide, an oxidizing agent. Together, these substances form an energy-rich chemical environment. But the scientists discovered something even more important.
It turns out that cracks in rocks produce 100,000 times more hydrogen than other known processes, such as the reaction of water with certain minerals or fission by natural radiation.
The experiment showed that hydrogen and oxidizers changed the form of iron in the surrounding water and rock, triggering a cycle of iron from an oxidized to a reduced state. This redox cycle also supports reactions involving other elements important for life, such as carbon and nitrogen.
Scientists believe that earthquakes or even minor tremors can create chemical conditions that microorganisms use to survive, without the need for sunlight.
To survive in the deepest parts of the Earth, microorganisms use energy obtained from oxidation-reduction reactions, scientists say.
The discovery changes our understanding of where life can exist. The study shows that geological activity, even without sunlight, can provide enough energy for ecosystems to survive underground.
If such chemical reactions can support life on Earth, similar conditions may exist on other rocky planets or moons of planets with active geological processes, scientists say.
