Widespread abiotic methane in chromitites.

ABSTRACT: Recurring discoveries of abiotic methane in gas seeps and springs in ophiolites and peridotite massifs worldwide raised the question of where, in which rocks, methane was generated. Answers will impact the theories on life origin related to serpentinization of ultramafic rocks, and the origin of methane on rocky planets. Here we document, through molecular and isotopic analyses of gas liberated by rock crushing, that among the several mafic and ultramafic rocks composing classic ophiolites in Greece, i.e., serpentinite, peridotite, chromitite, gabbro, rodingite and basalt, only chromitites, characterized by high concentrations of chromium and ruthenium, host considerable amounts of ¹³C-enriched methane, hydrogen and heavier hydrocarbons with inverse isotopic trend, which is typi

SUBMITTER: Etiope G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5992163 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature