On Nov 16, 1:07=A0am, Tom Hendricks <tom-hendri
...@att.net> wrote:
Did you read that article in Scientific American on the "Lost
City" vent system?
They just discovered a new type of vent system, different from the
"Black Smokers" vent system. The newest speculation is that OOL is
much more likely under the White Smoker conditions than the Black
Smoker.
These "White Smokers" are much cooler than the Black Smokers. The
white smokers are on the order of 90 C, whereas the Black Smokers were
more on the order of 400 K.
Here is a difference you may find dissappoint. The organisms that
currently live in the White Smokers are 100% isolated from sunlight
including UV. The ecosystem in the white smoker does not use any
oxygen, which is a product of the photosynthesis at the surface of the
earth. This makes it different from any other ecosystem in the world.
Yet, abiotic chemical processes in the White Smokers are forming most
of the simplest compounds necessary for the formation of life. Lipids,
proteins and other chemicals are being produced without a single
photon of light or UV. That also means no diurnal "cycle."
I was surprised to find that the organisms near the black smokers
do use sunlight, a little bit. They get most of their energy from the
sulfuric acid that is generated near the Black Smoke vent. However,
they also need oxygen. Oxygen is what comes from photosynthesis. The
white smokers (the "Lost City" type volcanic vent) don;t have any free
oxygen at all. So the organisms that currently live there, and which
have probably lived there since OOL, are completely solar free.
The organisms and abiotic chemistry of these regions has been
unchanged for the longest time. The low pH of the region keeps almost
all organisms away. These organisms have not had a change of
environment for billions of years. So the white smoke regions are the
closest thing to life without time. No doubt we human beings are going
to disrupt their existences, we always do |:-)
The organisms in these White Smokers are being genetically
studied. They seem to be near the base of the family tree of
organisms. At least the DNA in their ribosomes seem to be near the
base. There were probably more White Smokers 4 BYA than there are
today.
I finally have a system to show you that is a very plausible
candidate for OOL, but which does not seem to have any connection with
the diurnal cycle. Not UV, no daily cycle of light and dark, nor any
thermal cycle. The energy in the white smokers has no connection to
the sun. Zero. So I think your older model, that life needs the sun,
seems sunk.
Without the sun, the sea would probably freeze far from the vents.
However, both vent systems are being warmed by geothermal sources.
Even if the sea froze up, there would still be a little liquid water
in the vents. Both black smokers and white smokers would still have
liquid water. S
What is needed for exotic chemistry is a thermal gradient, and an
adsorbing surface. Maybe you should try tying in your anabolic-
catabolic duality to the newly discovered white smokers. Of course,
the organisms there are only the simplest. There is no sleep to speak
of, no nurturing, no protective, nothing but organic chemistry. But
that is really where the words anabolic and catabolic belong.
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