39 MARCH 2025 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Earth’s Mantle May Hold the Secret to the Origins of Life Adapted from Information by The University of Queensland (UQ) In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists unearthed the deepest column of marine rock from the earth’s mantle, which could help reveal secrets about the dawn of life on earth. The rock core was extracted from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by an international team on the drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution, and is being analyzed by The University of Queensland’s (UQ’s) Professor Gordon Southam. “The core was collected during an International Ocean Discovery Project Expedition which managed for the first time to drill [about 4200 feet] below the seabed into mantle rocks,” Professor Southam said. “These samples will help improve our understanding of the links between the earth’s geology, water chemistry, gases, and microbiology. We will use these samples to investigate the limits of life in this deep subsurface marine ecosystem, improving our understanding of its origins, and help define the potential for life beyond earth.” Unearthed minerals will be examined using electron microscopes at UQ’s Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, and ANSTO’s X-ray fluorescent microscope at the Australian Synchrotron, to better understand the effect of seawater circulation on mineral carbonation. Investigating the reaction of olivine, an abundant mineral in mantle rocks, to seawater is crucial to understanding life’s journey on earth, which initiates a series of chemical reactions producing hydrogen and other life-sustaining molecules. “We are researching the role microbiology has in the transformation of carbon dioxide into stable carbonate minerals, and how we can reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere,” Southam said. Beyond looking at early life and better ways to sequester carbon, results from the expedition could also have major implications for understanding how magma is formed and leads to volcanism. “There are amazing discoveries still to be found deep in our earth, and the data from this expedition is just the start,” Southam said. “The results will be made public, so we’re hoping that other scientists and enthusiasts can contribute their discoveries about how our world works.” Photo courtesy of Lesley Anderson. A collection of mantle rock samples. Photo courtesy of John Lissenberg. ENV
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