repoman
Contributor
http://earthsky.org/space/saturn-enceladus-cassini-habitable-hydrogen
On earth, what are the biological and geological production sources of hydrogen gas? How would that differ on a place like Enceladus assuming that there is no life?
If there is no life on Enceladus, why hasn't the hydrogen combined with something else more stable? I haven't looked at the thermodynamics and phase diagrams about this topic, very rusty on this. I do remember that when temperature and pressure increases that an unfavorable compound can become favored.
Essentially the deep heat has tweaked with some compounds (cooking and recombining them in a way that reflects the thermodynamics of higher temperature and pressure) that when they get to colder, lower pressure areas NOW these compounds have a thermodynamic energy gradient that living creatures can use through chemosynthesis. A simple example would be that CO2 is cooked out of rocks, but when "cold", limestone is very stable.
However, without life wouldn't slower abiotic mechanisms get these same compounds to change into ones that are in thermodynamic equilibrium with the colder, lower pressure environment above the vents?
Is hydrogen gas only/mostly replenished at hydrothermal vents?
Is the point of the article to say that hydrothermal vents likely exist on Enceladus and therefore chemosynthesis can, but not must happen?
On earth, what are the biological and geological production sources of hydrogen gas? How would that differ on a place like Enceladus assuming that there is no life?
If there is no life on Enceladus, why hasn't the hydrogen combined with something else more stable? I haven't looked at the thermodynamics and phase diagrams about this topic, very rusty on this. I do remember that when temperature and pressure increases that an unfavorable compound can become favored.
Essentially the deep heat has tweaked with some compounds (cooking and recombining them in a way that reflects the thermodynamics of higher temperature and pressure) that when they get to colder, lower pressure areas NOW these compounds have a thermodynamic energy gradient that living creatures can use through chemosynthesis. A simple example would be that CO2 is cooked out of rocks, but when "cold", limestone is very stable.
However, without life wouldn't slower abiotic mechanisms get these same compounds to change into ones that are in thermodynamic equilibrium with the colder, lower pressure environment above the vents?
Is hydrogen gas only/mostly replenished at hydrothermal vents?
Is the point of the article to say that hydrothermal vents likely exist on Enceladus and therefore chemosynthesis can, but not must happen?