Do space microbes like radioactive waste?
Your name is mud. Don’t worry — it’s a good thing
Water molecules, as most people know, are composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Nature, like middle school science students, can breakwatermolecules into their component parts. They can also be split by naturally-occurring radiation, in a process calledradiolysis, providing a source of energy for microbes.
This new study shows that sediment on the seafloor can raise the production ofhydrogenand oxidants by up to 30 times compared to typical production in pure water.
“The marine sediment actually amplifies the production of these usable chemicals. If you have the same amount of irradiation in pure water and in wet sediment, you get a lot more hydrogen from wet sediment. The sediment makes the production of hydrogen much more effective,” Steven D’Hondt, professor of oceanography at URL explains.
Why marine sediment has this effect on radiolysis remains a question. However, D’Hondt speculates that minerals within the sediment may behave like a semiconductor, increasing production of the products of this molecular breakdown.
Waterworld is not as bad as you remember
“Radiolytic H2 has been identified as the primary electron donor (food) for microorganisms in continental aquifers kilometers below Earth’s surface. Radiolytic products may also be significant for sustaining life in subseafloor sediment and subsurface environments of other planets,” researchers describe in an article detailing the study, published inNature Communications.
Our solar system — and galaxy — are replete with water worlds. This process might also take place on other planets and moons, providing an essential store of energy for alien microbes, researchers suggest.
ThePerseverance roverwhich recently landed on Mars, has a primary mission of collecting samples on Mars to be returned by future missions. Once on Earth, those samples will be intensely studied by researchers around the globe.
“Some of the same minerals are present on Mars, and as long as you have those wet catalytic minerals, you’re going to have this process. If you can catalyze production of radiolytic chemicals at high rates in the wet Martian subsurface, you could potentially sustain life at the same levels that it’s sustained in marine sediment,” said D’Hondt.
In the video above, watch our interview with Steven D’Hondt on his work discovering a 100million-year-oldcolony of marine organisms. (Video credit: The Cosmic Companion)
Europa— one of the largest moons of Jupiter holds far more water than Earth, making this Jovian moon an exciting stage to study how radiolysis might feed alien microbes on this alien world.
This finding could also have implications for nuclear waste disposal, and nuclear accidents, are handled. Nuclear waste stored in rock or sediment could generate hydrogen and oxidants at a significantly higher rate than the same deposits in pure water. These environments would be far more corrosive on storage systems than previously believed.
The team will continue to study how this process might behave on other planets, includingMars. Further examination of microbes will help the team better understand how microbes survive and behave when living off the products of the radioactive splitting of water.
Story byThe Cosmic Companion
Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time.Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time.
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