Chemotrophic microorganisms gain energy for cellular functions by catalyzing oxidation–reduction (redox) reactions that are out of equilibrium. Calculations of the Gibbs energy (
The degassing of CO2and S from arc volcanoes is fundamentally important to global climate, eruption forecasting, ore deposits, and the cycling of volatiles through subduction zones. However, all existing thermodynamic/empirical models have difficulties reproducing CO2‐H2O‐S trends observed in melt inclusions and provide widely conflicting results regarding the relationships between pressure and CO2/SO2in the vapor. In this study, we develop an open‐source degassing model, Sulfur_X, to track the evolution of S, CO2, H2O, and redox states in melt and vapor in ascending mafic‐intermediate magma. Sulfur_X describes sulfur degassing by parameterizing experimentally derived sulfur partition coefficients for two equilibria: RxnI. FeS (
- PAR ID:
- 10404965
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
- Volume:
- 24
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1525-2027
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Summary ) can identify whether a reaction is thermodynamically favourable and quantify the accompanying energy yield at the temperature, pressure and chemical composition in the system of interest. Based on carefully calculated values ofΔG r , we predict a novel microbial metabolism – sulfur comproportionation (3H2S +ΔG r + 2H+ ⇌ 4S0+ 4H2O). We show that at elevated concentrations of sulfide and sulfate in acidic environments over a broad temperature range, this putative metabolism can be exergonic ( <0), yielding ~30–50 kJ mol−1. We suggest that this may be sufficient energy to support a chemolithotrophic metabolism currently missing from the literature. Other versions of this metabolism, comproportionation to thiosulfate (H2S +ΔG r ⇌ + H2O) and to sulfite (H2S + 3 ⇌ 4+ 2H+), are only moderately exergonic or endergonic even at ideal geochemical conditions. Natural and impacted environments, including sulfidic karst systems, shallow‐sea hydrothermal vents, sites of acid mine drainage, and acid–sulfate crater lakes, may be ideal hunting grounds for finding microbial sulfur comproportionators. -
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