Earth's oldest groundwater holds life's powerhouse, researchers find

ANI |
Updated: 09 July 2022 20:19 IST

Toronto [Canada]July 9 (ANI): As per new research, scientists have now discovered 1.2 billion year old deep groundwater in gold and uranium mines in South Africa, shedding more light on how life is sustained beneath the earth’s surface and how it may have come about . survive in another world.
The findings of this study were published in the journal ‘Nature Communications’.
“For the first time, we have insight into how energy stored deep beneath the Earth’s surface may be released and distributed more widely through its crust over time,” said Oliver Warr, research associate in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto and lead author of the study. . “Think of it as Pandora’s Box of helium and hydrogen-producing forces, which we can learn how to harness to the benefit of the biosphere on a global scale.”
“Ten years ago, we discovered a billion-year-old groundwater from beneath the Canadian Shield — this is just the beginning, it seems,” said Barbara Sherwood Lollar, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto and correspondent author. “Now, 2.9 km below the earth’s surface at Moab Khotsong, we have discovered that the world’s water cycle outpost is wider than previously thought.”
Uranium and other radioactive elements occur naturally in the surrounding host rock containing mineral and ore deposits. These elements hold new information about the role of groundwater as a power generator for groups of chemolithotrophic, or rock-eating microorganisms, previously found beneath the earth’s surface.

When elements such as uranium, thorium, and potassium decay below the surface, the resulting alpha, beta, and gamma radiation has a ripple effect, triggering so-called radiogenic reactions in the surrounding rock and fluid.
At Moab Khotsong, researchers discovered large amounts of radiogenic helium, neon, argon and xenon, and an unprecedented discovery of the isotope krypton – a never-before-seen tracer of the history of this powerful reaction. Radiation also breaks down water molecules in a process called radiolysis, producing large concentrations of hydrogen, an important energy source for subsurface microbial communities deep within Earth that cannot access energy from the sun for photosynthesis.
Because of their very small masses, helium and neon are invaluable for identifying and measuring transport potential. While the extremely low porosity of the crystalline bedrock in which this water is found means the groundwater itself is largely isolated and rarely mixes, dating back 1.2 billion years, diffusion can still occur.
“Solid materials such as plastic, stainless steel, and even solid rock are eventually penetrated by the diffuse helium, much like the deflation of a helium-filled balloon,” Warr said. “Our results suggest that diffusion has provided a way for 75 to 82 percent of the helium and neon originally generated by the radiogenic reaction to be transported through the overlying crust.”
The researchers emphasize that the study’s new insights into how much helium diffuses from deep within the Earth is a critical step forward, as global helium reserves are depleted, and the transition to a more sustainable resource is gaining traction.
“Humans are not the only forms of life that rely on energy sources deep beneath the Earth’s surface,” said Warr. “Because radiogenic reactions produce helium and hydrogen, we can not only learn about the reservoir and transport of helium, but also calculate the hydrogen energy flux from the depths of the Earth that could sustain subsurface microbes on a global scale.”
Warr notes that these calculations are critical to understanding how subsurface life is maintained on Earth, and what energy might be available from radiogenic power on other planets and moons in the solar system and beyond, informing future missions to Mars, Titan, Enceladus. and Europe. (ANI)

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