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A rock record of H2 production in the ancient Earth

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H2, which is formed by the oxidation of iron in rocks, was likely a critical source of energy for early life. Analysis of natural rock samples from 3.5–2.7 billion-year-old komatiites, combined with geochemical data from a global database, quantifies the amount of H2 likely to have been produced in Earth’s ancient oceans.

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Fig. 1: Analyses of geochemical data from komatiites and komatiitic basalts.

References

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This is a summary of: Tamblyn, R. & Hermann, J. Geological evidence for high H2 production from komatiites in the Archaean. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/10.1038/s41561-023-01316-x (2023).

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A rock record of H2 production in the ancient Earth. Nat. Geosci. 16, 1086–1087 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01321-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01321-0

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