Seafloor fluid at hydrothermal vents supports a chemosynthetic ecosystem with microbial metabolisms that rely on energy derived from water-rock geochemical interactions. In certain key cases, as found along slow and ultra-slow spreading ridges, venting gives rise to such chemically reducing environments that hydrogen-rich fluids arise and conditions develop for the spontaneous abiotic synthesis of organic compounds. This realization on Earth gives rise to a new hypothesis that similar conditions for habitability exist on other Ocean Worlds in our outer solar system, where saltwater oceans are in contact with a rocky seafloor.

In this talk, Chris German will review the current state of knowledge for venting in the Atlantic and Arctic Ocean basins and introduce a new 2019 NASA initiative that will seek to harness our nation’s capabilities in ocean exploration to inform future space missions as NASA searches for life beyond Earth.