Projektnummer

0071452

Zusammenfassung

Manganese nodules cover large areas of the deep-sea floor. Their structure, composition, growth rates and even parts of their microbiology have been described quite well. Why they form, however is still unclear. Two new findings now allow a new hypothesis with potentially far-reaching implications. Firstly, the presence of a "deep biosphere" that extends far into the Earth's crust has been demonstrated recently. This life is at least partially dependent on the presence of minute amounts of hydrogen. Secondly, it has been shown that the outermost layer of manganese nodules is extremely ...