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Published Online April 1, 2004
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1096033

Reports

Submitted on January 26, 2004
Accepted on March 11, 2004

Hydrocarbons in Hydrothermal Vent Fluids: The Role of Chrome-Bearing Catalysts

Dionysis I. Foustoukos 1* William E. Seyfried, Jr. 1

1 Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Dionysis I. Foustoukos , E-mail: fous0009{at}umn.edu

Fischer-Tropsch Type synthesis has long been proposed to account for the existence of hydrocarbons in hydrothermal fluids. Here we show that Fe and Cr bearing minerals catalyze abiotic formation of hydrocarbons. In addition to production of methane (CH4aq), we report abiotic generation of ethane (C2H6aq) and propane (C3H8aq) by mineral catalysed hydrothermal reactions at 390°C, 400 bars. Results suggest that the chromium component in ultramafic rocks could be an important factor for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis during water-rock interaction in mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal systems. This, in turn could help support microbial communities now recognized in the subsurface at deep-sea vents.


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