Unraveling Abiotic Organic Synthesis Pathways In The Mafic Crust Of Mid-ocean Ridges

The aqueous alteration of the oceanic lithosphere provides significant energy that impacts the synthesis and diversity of organic compounds, which are crucial for the deep carbon cycle and may have provided the first building blocks for life.

Although abiotic organic synthesis has been documented in mantle-derived rocks, the formation mechanisms and complexity of organic compounds in crustal rocks remain largely unknown.

Here, we show the specific association of aliphatic carbonaceous matter with Fe oxyhydroxides in mafic crustal rocks of the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). We determine potential Fe-based pathways for abiotic organic synthesis from CO₂ and H₂ using multimodal and molecular nano-geochemical tools.

Quantum mechanical modeling is further employed to constrain the catalytical activity of Fe oxyhydroxides, revealing that the catalytic cycle of hydrogen may play a key role in carbon–carbon bond formation. This approach offers the possibility of interpreting physicochemical organic formation and condensation mechanisms at an atomic scale.

The findings expand our knowledge of the existence of abiotic organic carbon in the oceanic crustal rocks and emphasize the mafic oceanic crust of the SWIR as a potential site for low-temperature abiotic organic synthesis.

Association of CCM with Fe oxyhydroxides in sample SY122-G06. (A) BSE image of the CCM on the unpolished sample surface, and their related Fe oxyhydroxides formed as a result of the oxidation of Fe(II)-bearing minerals in the basaltic matrix. (B) Corresponding energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry map of (A), showing the elemental distributions of carbon (orange) and iron (white). (C) Raman spectrum of CCM in (A). (arb.–arbitrary.) — PNAS

Unraveling abiotic organic synthesis pathways in the mafic crust of mid-ocean ridges, PNAS

Astrobiology