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E L Shock

Publications and source records attributed to E L Shock.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Energetics of overall metabolic reactions of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic Archaea and bacteria.

Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic Archaea and Bacteria have been isolated from marine hydrothermal systems, heated sediments, continental solfataras, hot springs, water heaters, and industrial waste. They catalyze a tremendous array of widely varying metabolic processes. As determined in the laboratory, electron donors in thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microbial redox reactions include H2, Fe(2+), H2S, S, S2O3(2-), S4O6(2-), sulfide minerals, CH4, various mono-, di-, and hydroxy-carboxylic acids, alcohols, amino acids, and complex organic substrates; electron acceptors include O2, Fe(3+), CO2, CO, NO3(-), NO2(-), NO, N2O, SO4(2-), SO3(2-), S2O3(2-), and S. Although many assimilatory and dissimilatory metabolic reactions have been identified for these groups of microorganisms, little attention has been paid to the energetics of these reactions. In this review, standard molal Gibbs free energies (DeltaGr(0)) as a function of temperature to 200 degrees C are tabulated for 370 organic and inorganic redox, disproportionation, dissociation, hydrolysis, and solubility reactions directly or indirectly involved in microbial metabolism. To calculate values of DeltaGr(0) for these and countless other reactions, the apparent standard molal Gibbs free energies of formation (DeltaG(0)) at temperatures to 200 degrees C are given for 307 solids, liquids, gases, and aqueous solutes. It is shown that values of DeltaGr(0) for many microbially mediated reactions are highly temperature dependent, and that adopting values determined at 25 degrees C for systems at elevated temperatures introduces significant and unnecessary errors. The metabolic processes considered here involve compounds that belong to the following chemical systems: H-O, H-O-N, H-O-S, H-O-N-S, H-O-C(inorganic), H-O-C, H-O-N-C, H-O-S-C, H-O-N-S-C(amino acids), H-O-S-C-metals/minerals, and H-O-P. For four metabolic reactions of particular interest in thermophily and hyperthermophily (knallgas reaction, anaerobic sulfur and nitrate reduction, and autotrophic methanogenesis), values of the overall Gibbs free energy (DeltaGr) as a function of temperature are calculated for a wide range of chemical compositions likely to be present in near-surface and deep hydrothermal and geothermal systems.

Archaea↗
PubMed2000

A thermodynamic assessment of the potential synthesis of condensed hydrocarbons during cooling and dilution of volcanic gases.

The possibility for abiotic synthesis of condensed hydrocarbons in cooling/diluting terrestrial volcanic gases has been evaluated on the basis of the consideration of metastable chemical equilibria involving gaseous CO, CO2, H2 and H2O. The stabilities of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS) have been evaluated for several typical volcanic gas compositions under various conditions for cooling/diluting of quenched volcanic gas. The modeling shows that n-alkanes and PAHs have a thermodynamic potential to form metastably from H2 and CO below approximately 250 degrees C within the stability field of graphite. Despite the predominance of CO2 in volcanic gases, synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO2 and H2 is less favored energetically than from CO and H2. Both low temperature and a high H/C atomic ratio in volcanic gas generally favor stability of hydrocarbons with higher H/C ratios. PAHs are thermodynamically stable at temperatures approximately 10 degrees -50 degrees C higher than large n-alkanes; however, at lower temperatures, PAHs and n-alkanes have similar stabilities and are likely to form metastable mixtures. Both the energetic drive to form hydrocarbons and possible temperatures of formation increase as the oxidation state (fO2) of the volcanic gases decreases and as the cooling/dilution ratios of volcanic gases increase. Synthesis of hydrocarbons is energetically more likely in cooling trapped gases than in ashcloud eruptive columns. Mechanisms for hydrocarbon formation may include Fischer-Tropsch-type synthesis catalyzed by magnetite from solid volcanic products. On the early Earth, Mars, and Jupiter's satellite Europa, several factors would have provided more favorable conditions for hydrocarbon synthesis in volcanic gases than under current terrestrial conditions and might have contributed to the production of organic compounds required for the emergence of life.

Alkanes↗
PubMed2000

An abiotic origin for hydrocarbons in the Allan Hills 84001 martian meteorite through cooling of magmatic and impact-generated gases.

Thermodynamic calculations of metastable equilibria were used to evaluate the potential for abiotic synthesis of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001. The calculations show that PAHs and normal alkanes could form metastably from CO, CO2, and H2 below approximately 250-300 degrees C during rapid cooling of trapped magmatic or impact-generated gases. Depending on temperature, bulk composition, and oxidation-reduction conditions, PAHs and normal alkanes can form simultaneously or separately. Moreover, PAHs can form at lower H/C ratios, higher CO/CO2 ratios, and higher temperatures than normal alkanes. Dry conditions with H/C ratios less than approximately 0.01-0.001 together with high CO/CO2 ratios also favor the formation of unalkylated PAHs. The observed abundance of PAHs, their low alkylation, and a variable but high aromatic to aliphatic ratio in ALH 84001 all correspond to low H/C and high CO/CO2 ratios in magmatic and impact gases and can be used to deduce spatial variations of these ratios. Some hydrocarbons could have been formed from trapped magmatic gases, especially if the cooling was fast enough to prevent reequilibration. We propose that subsequent impact heating(s) in ALH 84001 could have led to dissociation of ferrous carbonates to yield fine-grain magnetite, formation of a CO-rich local gas phase, reduction of water vapor to H2, reequilibration of the trapped magmatic gases, aromatization of hydrocarbons formed previously, and overprinting of the synthesis from magmatic gases, if any. Rapid cooling and high-temperature quenching of CO-, H2-rich impact gases could have led to magnetite-catalyzed hydrocarbon synthesis.

Alkanes↗
PubMed1999

Volumes of aqueous alcohols, ethers, and ketones to T = 523 K and p = 28 MPa.

Densities of dilute aqueous solutions of isopropanol, 1,5-pentanediol, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, diethyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, acetone, and 2,5-hexanedione were measured by means of a vibrating-tube flow densimeter at temperatures near T = (302, 373, 423, 473, and 521) K at a pressure of p = 28 MPa. At the lowest and highest temperatures, measurements were also made close to the saturation vapour pressure of water to investigate the effect of pressure on the volumes of solutes. Apparent molar volumes were calculated for each solute and extrapolated to give partial molar volumes at infinite dilution. The variation of the volume with temperature, pressure, and structure of solute is discussed qualitatively, and group contributions are determined at the temperatures of measurements and p = 28 MPa. Several equations proposed in the literature for correlating the partial molar volumes at infinite dilution as a function of state parameters are tested. Parameters of one selected equation are tabulated allowing calculation of the partial molar volumes at infinite dilution at temperatures and pressures up to T = 573 K and p = 40 MPa. respectively.

2-Propanol↗
PubMed1998

Energetics of amino acid synthesis in hydrothermal ecosystems.

Thermodynamic calculations showed that the autotrophic synthesis of all 20 protein-forming amino acids was energetically favored in hot (100 degrees C), moderately reduced, submarine hydrothermal solutions relative to the synthesis in cold (18 degrees C), oxidized, surface seawater. The net synthesis reactions of 11 amino acids were exergonic in the hydrothermal solution, but all were endergonic in surface seawater. The synthesis of the requisite amino acids of nine thermophilic and hyperthermophilic proteins in a 100 degreesC hydrothermal solution yielded between 600 and 8000 kilojoules per mole of protein, which is energy that is available to drive the intracellular synthesis of enzymes and other biopolymers in hyperthermophiles thriving in these ecosystems.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1998

The biological potential of Mars, the early Earth, and Europa.

The potential biomass that could have existed on Mars is constrained by the total amount of energy available to construct it. From an inventory of the available geochemical sources of energy, we estimate that from the time of the onset of the visible geologic record 4 b.y. ago to the present, as much as 20 g cm-2 of biota could have been created. This is the same amount that could have been constructed on the early Earth in only 100 million years. This indicates that there likely was sufficient energy available to support an origin of life on Mars but not sufficient energy to create a ubiquitous and lush biosphere. Similar calculations for Europa suggest that even less would have been available there.

Biomass↗
PubMed1997

High-temperature life without photosynthesis as a model for Mars.

Discoveries in biology and developments in geochemistry over the past two decades have lead to a radical revision of concepts relating to the upper temperature at which life thrives, the genetic relationships among all life on Earth, links between organic and inorganic compounds in geologic processes, and the geochemical supply of metabolic energy. It is now apparent that given a source of geochemical energy, in the form of a mixture of compounds that is far from thermodynamic equilibrium, microorganisms can take advantage of the energy and thrive without the need for photosynthesis as a means of primary productivity. This means that life can exist in the subsurface of a planet such as Mars without necessarily exhibiting a surface expression. Theoretical calculations quantify the geochemically provided metabolic energy available to hyperthermophilic organisms in submarine hydrothermal systems on the Earth, and help to explain the enormous biological productivity of these systems. Efforts to place these models in the context of the early Earth reveal that substantial geochemical energy would have been available and that organic synthesis would have been thermodynamically favored as hydrothermal fluids mix with seawater.

Euryarchaeota↗
PubMed1997

Hydrothermal hydration of Martian crust: illustration via geochemical model calculations.

If hydrothermal Systems existed on Mars, hydration of crustal rocks may have had the potential to affect the water budget of the planet. We have conducted geochemical model calculations to investigate the relative roles of host rock composition, temperature, water-to-rock ratio, and initial fluid oxygen fugacity on the mineralogy of hydrothermal alteration assemblages, as well as the effectiveness of alteration to store water in the crust as hydrous minerals. In order to place calculations for Mars in perspective, models of hydrothermal alteration of three genetically related Icelandic volcanics (a basalt, andesite, and rhyolite) are presented, together with results for compositions based on SNC meteorite samples (Shergotty and Chassigny). Temperatures from 150 degrees C to 250 degrees C, water-to-rock ratios from 0.1 to 1000, and two initial fluid oxygen fugacities are considered in the models. Model results for water-to-rock ratios less than 10 are emphasized because they are likely to be more applicable to Mars. In accord with studies of low-grade alteration of terrestrial rocks, we find that the major controls on hydrous mineral production are host rock composition and temperature. Over the range of conditions considered, the alteration of Shergotty shows the greatest potential for storing water as hydrous minerals, and the alteration of Icelandic rhyolite has the lowest potential.

Evolution, Planetary↗
PubMed1997

Inorganic species in geologic fluids: correlations among standard molal thermodynamic properties of aqueous ions and hydroxide complexes.

Correlations among experimentally determined standard partial molal thermodynamic properties of inorganic aqueous species at 25 degrees C and 1 bar allow estimates of these properties for numerous monatomic cations and anions, polyatomic anions, oxyanions, acid oxyanions, neutral oxy-acid species, dissolved gases, and hydroxide complexes of metal cations. Combined with correlations among parameters in the revised Helgeson-Kirkham-Flowers (HKF) equation of state (Shock et al., 1992), these estimates permit predictions of standard partial molal volumes, heat capacities, and entropies, as well as apparent standard partial molal enthalpies and Gibbs free energies of formation to 1000 degrees C and 5 kb for hundreds of inorganic aqueous species of interest in geochemistry. Data and parameters for more than 300 inorganic aqueous species are presented. Close agreement between calculated and experimentally determined equilibrium constants for acid dissociation reactions and cation hydrolysis reactions supports the generality and validity of these predictive methods. These data facilitate the calculation of the speciation of major, minor, and trace elements in hydrothermal and metamorphic fluids throughout most of the crust of the Earth.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

Prediction of the thermodynamic properties of aqueous metal complexes to 1000 degrees C and 5 kb.

A large number of aqueous metal complexes contribute significantly to hydrothermal, metamorphic, and magmatic processes in the crust of the Earth. Nevertheless, relatively few thermodynamic data other than dissociation constants (K) for a few dozen of these complexes have been determined experimentally at elevated temperatures and pressures. The calculations summarized below are intended to supplement these experimental data by providing interim predictions of the thermodynamic properties of supercritical aqueous metal complexes using the revised HKF (Helgeson et al., 1981) equations of state for aqueous species (Tanger and Helgeson, 1988; Shock et al., 1992) and correlations among equations of state parameters and standard partial molal properties at 25 degrees C and 1 bar (Shock and Helgeson, 1988, 1990; Shock et al., 1989). These equations and correlations permit retrieval of the conventional standard partial molal entropies (mean S0), volumes (mean V0), and heat capacities (mean C0P) of aqueous metal complexes at 25 degrees C and 1 bar from published values of log K in the supercritical region and the limited number of experimental dissociation constants available in the literature over relatively short ranges of elevated temperature at PSAT (PSAT and SAT are used in the present communication to refer to pressures corresponding to liquid-vapor equilibrium for the system H2O except at temperatures <100 degrees C, where they refer to the reference pressure of 1 bar). The standard partial molal properties computed in this way can then be used to generate corresponding values of delta mean S0, delta mean V0, and delta mean C0P of association, which for similar complexes correlate linearly with mean S0, mean V0 and mean C0P, respectively, of the constituent cations and ligands at 25 degrees C and 1 bar. Generalizing these correlations and combining them with the equations of state permits prediction of the temperature and pressure dependence of log K and other thermodynamic properties of a large number of aqueous metal complexes. As a consequence, it is possible to retrieve values of log K at 25 degrees C and 1 bar from the results of hydrothermal experiments at higher temperatures and pressures or to predict values of log K at hydrothermal conditions when no experimental data are available at temperatures and pressures above 25 degrees C and 1 bar. Such predictions can be made for temperatures and pressures from 0 degrees C and 1 bar to 1000 degrees C and 5000 bars.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

Geochemical constraints on chemolithoautotrophic metabolism by microorganisms in seafloor hydrothermal systems.

Mixing of hydrothermal fluids and seawater at the ocean floor, combined with slow reaction kinetics for oxidation/reduction reactions, provides a source of metabolic energy for chemolithotrophic microorganisms which are the primary biomass producers for an extensive submarine ecosystem that is essentially independent of photosynthesis. Thermodynamic models are used to explore geochemical constraints on the amount of metabolic energy potentially available from chemosynthetic reactions involving S, C, Fe, and Mn compounds during mixing of hydrothermal fluids with seawater. For the vent fluid used in the calculations (EPR 21 degrees N OBS), the model indicates that mixing environments are favorable for oxidation of H2S, CH4, Fe2+ and Mn2+ only below approximately 38 degrees C, with methanogenesis and reduction of sulfate or S degrees favored at higher temperatures, suggesting that environments dominated by mixing provide habitats for mesophilic (but not thermophilic) aerobes and thermophilic (but not mesophilic) anaerobes. A maximum of approximately 760 cal per kilogram vent fluid is available from sulfide oxidation while between 8 and 35 cal/kg vent fluid is available from methanotrophy, methanogenesis, oxidation of Fe or Mn, or sulfate reduction. The total potential for chemosynthetic primary production at deep-sea hydrothermal vents globally is estimated to be about 10(13) g biomass per year, which represents approximately 0.02% of the global primary production by photosynthesis in the oceans. Thermophilic methanogens and sulfate- and S degree-reducers are likely to be the predominant organisms in the walls of vent chimneys and in the diffuse mixing zones beneath warm vents, where biological processes may contribute to the high methane concentrations of vent fluids and heavy 34S/32S ratios of vent sulfide minerals. The metabolic processes taking place in these systems may be analogs of the first living systems to evolve on the Earth.

Aerobiosis↗
PubMed1996

Hydrothermal systems as environments for the emergence of life.

Analysis of the chemical disequilibrium provided by the mixing of hydrothermal fluids and seawater in present-day systems indicates that organic synthesis from CO2 or carbonic acid is thermodynamically favoured in the conditions in which hyperthermophilic microorganisms are known to live. These organisms lower the Gibbs free energy of the chemical mixture by synthesizing many of the components of their cells. Primary productivity is enormous in hydrothermal systems because it depends only on catalysis of thermodynamically favourable, exergonic reactions. It follows that hydrothermal systems may be the most favourable environments for life on Earth. This fact makes hydrothermal systems logical candidates for the location of the emergence of life, a speculation that is supported by genetic evidence that modern hyperthermophilic organisms are closer to a common ancestor than any other forms of life. The presence of hydrothermal systems on the early Earth would correspond to the presence of liquid water. Evidence that hydrothermal systems existed early in the history of Mars raises the possibility that life may have emerged on Mars as well. Redox reactions between water and rock establish the potential for organic synthesis in and around hydrothermal systems. Therefore, the single most important parameter for modelling the geochemical emergence of life on the early Earth or Mars is the composition of the rock which hosts the hydrothermal system.

Carbon↗
PubMed1995

A geochemical model for the formation of hydrothermal carbonates on Mars.

It is often argued that substantially more carbon dioxide and water were degassed from the martian interior than can be found at present in the atmosphere, polar caps and regolith. Calculations have shown that atmospheric escape cannot account for all of the missing volatiles. Suggestions that carbon dioxide is stored as marine or lacustrine deposits, are challenged by Earth-based and spacecraft remote-sensing data. Moreover, recent modelling of the martian atmosphere suggests that rainfall or open bodies of water are in any case unlikely to have persisted for extended periods of time. Hydrothermal carbonates therefore provide a possible solution to this dilemma. Using an accessible terrestrial system (Iceland) as a guide to the underlying processes, and a host rock composition inferred from the least-altered martian meteorite, we present a geochemical model for the formation of carbonates in possible martian hydrothermal systems. Our results suggest that an extensive reservoir of carbonate minerals--equivalent to an atmospheric pressure of carbon dioxide of at least one bar--could have been sequestered beneath the surface by widespread hydrothermal activity in the martian past.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1995

Geochemical constraints on chemolithoautotrophic reactions in hydrothermal systems.

Thermodynamic calculations provide the means to quantify the chemical disequilibrium inherent in the mixing of reduced hydrothermal fluids with seawater. The chemical energy available for metabolic processes in these environments can be evaluated by taking into account the pressure and temperature dependence of the apparent standard Gibbs free energies of reactions in the S-H2-H2O system together with geochemical constraints on pH, activities of aqueous sulfur species and fugacities of H2 and/or O2. Using present-day mixing of hydrothermal fluids and seawater as a starting point, it is shown that each mole of H2S entering seawater from hydrothermal fluids represents about 200,000 calories of chemical energy for metabolic systems able to catalyze H2S oxidation. Extrapolating to the early Earth, which was likely to have had an atmosphere more reduced than at present, shows that this chemical energy may have been a factor of two or so less. Nevertheless, mixing of hydrothermal fluids with seawater would have been an abundant source of chemical energy, and an inevitable consequence of the presence of an ocean on an initially hot Earth. The amount of energy available was more than enough for organic synthesis from CO2 or CO, and/or polymer formation, indicating that the vicinity of hydrothermal systems at the sea floor was an ideal location for the emergence of the first chemolithoautotrophic metabolic systems.

Archaea↗
PubMed1995

Organic acids in hydrothermal solutions: standard molal thermodynamic properties of carboxylic acids and estimates of dissociation constants at high temperatures and pressures.

Experimental standard partial molal volumes, heat capacities, and entropies as well as apparent standard partial molal enthalpies and Gibbs free energies of mono- and dicarboxylic acids and their anions at low temperatures and pressures are used to generate correlations for predicting the same properties at high temperatures and pressures for 59 carboxylic and 18 hydroxyacid species with the revised Helgeson-Kirkham-Flowers (HKF) equation of state. Predicted equilibrium dissociation constants are compared with experimental values from the literature and tabulated as functions of pressure and temperature for 25 carboxylic acids and nine hydroxyacids. Close agreement between independent predictions and experimental data supports the generality of the computational techniques and the accuracy of predicted data. These results allow incorporation of a wide variety of organic acids into quantitative interpretations of geochemical processes.

Anions↗
PubMed1993

Hydrothermal processing of cometary volatiles--applications to Triton.

Subsequent to its capture by Neptune, Triton could have experienced an episode of tidal heating sufficient to melt its icy mantle and possibly its rocky core as well. This heating would have driven hydrothermal circulation at the core-rock/mantle-ocean boundary. We consider the chemical consequences of this hydrothermal reprocessing on Triton's volatile budget by assuming an initial cometary composition for the icy mantle and evaluating the effects of changes in temperature and oxidation state. We assume that the latter would have been controlled by mineral assemblages in the rock. Such reprocessing could explain the lack of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere of Triton and its depletion relative to N2 and (apparently) CO2 in the satellite's surface ices. Our calculations also show that whatever the original source of nitrogen in Triton, N2 and/or NH3 are likely abundant products of hydrothermal reprocessing. Depending on the temperature and prevailing oxidation state, acetic acid, ethanol, urea, methanol, and ethanamine are possible important components, in addition to ammonia, of the resulting mantle material. Triton may thus preserve the organic chemistry that might have led to the origin of life in early terrestrial hydrothermal systems.

Ammonia↗