Diagram for redox chemistry driven by mechanical processes in the deep basement on rocky planets. (A) The formation of habitable environments in the basement as a crust of silicate is reworked by various geological processes such as the deformation of the crusts, the tectonics of the plates and the plumes of the coat. (B) Microbes use energy and electrons for cell growth and division in fracture systems where redox gradients exist. (C) Mineral water reactions convert mechanical energy into chemical energy and cause redo iron cycling in the deep biosphere. Credit: Dr Wu Xiao
Chinese researchers have recently challenged the longtime conviction that “all life depends on sunlight”. In a study published in Scientific advancesResearchers have identified how microbes in deep underground areas can derive from the energy of chemical reactions caused by crustal flaws, offering critical information about life deep below the surface of the earth.
Research was carried out by Professor He Hongping, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Professor Zhu Jianxi, both of the Guangzhou of Case Geochemistry Institute.
For a long time as an inhospitable due to the absence of sun and organic matter, the deep subsoil has proven in recent years to accommodate a large-scale and very active biosphere full of various micro-organisms. These microbes derive energy from abiotic redox reactions during water-rock interactions. Hydrogen (H₂) serves as a main energy source and oxidants are also essential for metabolic activities, but their origins were not well understood.
To fight against this mystery, the research team simulated crustal fault activities and discovered that free radicals produced during rocky fracturing can decompose water, generate both hydrogen and oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide (h₂o₂). These substances create a distinct redox gradient in fracture systems, which can react more with iron (FE) in groundwater and rocks – oxidizing ferrous iron (Fe²⁺) with ferric iron (fe³⁺) or by reducing ferric iron (fe³⁺) to ferrous iron (fe²⁺), as a function of local redox conditions.
In fractures rich in microbes, the production of hydrogen driven by flaws linked to earthquakes has proven to be up to 100,000 times that of other known ways, such as serpentinization and radiolysis. The team has shown that this process effectively leads to Iron’s redox cycle, which in turn influences the geochemical processes of elements such as carbon, nitrogen and sulfur – microbial metabolism in the deep biosphere.
This study puts new light on energy sources and the ecological diversity of the biosphere of deep subsurpation. Props. He and Zhu also noted that fracture systems on other land-shaped planets could potentially provide habitable conditions for extraterrestrial life, offering a new avenue for the search for life beyond the earth.
More information:
Xiao Wu et al, Crustal Fauling leads to biological redox cycling in the deep basement, Scientific advances (2025). Two: 10.1126 / SCIADV.ADX5372. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adx5372
Supplied by the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Quote: DEEP Life survival secret: Crustal Faels generates key energy sources, shows the study (2025, July 18) recovered on July 18, 2025 from https://phys.org/News/2025-07-deep-life-survival-secret-cristal.html
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