9730063 Hazen Life thrives in a remarkable variety of aqueous, high-pressure environments. Hydrothermal vents support rich ecosystems, while rock-bound microbes survive in deep aquifers associated with granite, basalt, and sediments. Life is generally sparse at depth, but it's potential Significance is great, for these habitats may represent a crustal volume exceeding a billion cubic kilometers. The extent to which high-pressure organisms exploit this vast volume will depend, in large measure, on the efficiency of high-pressure, hydrothermal organic synthesis. Modern organisms use enzymes to catalyze metabolic reactions, notabley steps by which molecules are enlarged through CO2 addition? In the proposed experiments mineral surfaces, including transition metal sulfices, will be investigated as possible catalysts for these reactions under high-pressure, hydrothermal conditions. This exploration will provide fundamental data on organic synthesis under geologically relevant conditions--data essential to future studies of life in extreme environments.
