Quantifying hydrothermal ammonium mobilization from sediment and implications for the marine biosphere: a case study from the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California.

ABSTRACT: Fluid-rock interactions in hydrothermal systems are capable of liberating ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) from sedimentary organic material and making it bioavailable for benthic and pelagic microbial communities. Hydrothermal systems in organic-rich sedimentary basins are therefore thought to have played a key role in supplying bioavailable nitrogen to the early biosphere. To place new quantitative bounds on this process, we examined sediments from active hydrothermal systems in the Guaymas Basin, a young oceanic spreading center in the Gulf of California. We analysed four shallow sediment cores that were taken in the Guaymas Basin's hydrothermally-active Southern Trough. We used a combination of isotopic tracers (δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) and elemental abundances to explor

SUBMITTER: Rochelle-Bates N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12309410 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature