<p>The <em>fascinating</em> New York Times article <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/science/flames-chimaera-turkey-methane.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Gas That Makes a Mountain Breathe Fire Is Turning Up Around the World</a> talks about the <em>Flames of Chimaera</em> and the <em>Deep Carbon Observatory</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And a series of studies published by a group of international scientists known as the <a href="https://deepcarbon.net/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Deep Carbon Observatory</a> is showing that this source of gas is more common on our planet than previously known.</p>
<p>“We have discovered these <strong>unusual types of methane</strong> in many, many sites. It’s not a rare phenomenon,” said <a href="http://roma2.rm.ingv.it/en/staff/77/giuseppe_etiope" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Giuseppe Etiope</a>, a member of the group who helped discover <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gfl.12106" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the cause of the flames of Chimaera in 2014</a>. (emphasis added)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This question is about the possible sources of hydrogen that resulted in what the NYTimes calls  &quot;unusual types of methane&quot;:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For years, Deep Carbon Observatory researchers have collected and analyzed gas samples from hundreds of diverse sites. And using special tools to figure out where the methane came from, they’ve discovered Earth’s basic recipe: Take hydrogen from water. Mix with inorganic carbon from minerals or gas. Add another metal-rich mineral to get the process going, and voilà — abiotic methane.</p>
<p>The hydrogen often comes from serpentinization, when water percolates usually through rocks from the mantle. But the recipe varies. Different sites may use different minerals or carbons sourced from their environments: <strong>Hydrogen may come from friction, or radiolysis, instead of serpentinization.</strong> Temperatures may range from below 250 degrees Fahrenheit, which can still support life, to some 900 degrees Fahrenheit, which can’t. (emphasis added)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>Serpentinization</em> is nicely explained in @Gimelist's <a href="https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/a/12958/6031">excellent answer</a> to the question <em>What is serpentinization, in the context of disappearance of surface water on Mars?</em></p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> How can the hydrogen in this abiotic methane come from</p>
<ol>
<li><em>Friction</em></li>
<li><em>Radiolysis</em></li>
</ol>
<p>Possibly helpful (Open Access):</p>
<ul>
<li>Etiope, G. and Whiticar, M. J. 2019 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883292719300204" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Abiotic methane in continental ultramafic rock systems: Towards a genetic model</a></li>
<li>Etiope, G. and Ionescu, A. 2014 <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gfl.12106" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Low‐temperature catalytic CO2 hydrogenation with geological quantities of ruthenium: a possible abiotic CH4 source in chromitite‐rich serpentinized rocks</a></li>
</ul>

<geochemistry><hydrogeology>
How does friction and radiolysis provide hydrogen for "unusual types of methane"?
uhoh
# How does friction and radiolysis provide hydrogen for "unusual types of methane"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-07)

The *fascinating* New York Times article [Gas That Makes a Mountain Breathe Fire Is Turning Up Around the World](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/science/flames-chimaera-turkey-methane.html) talks about the *Flames of Chimaera* and the *Deep Carbon Observatory*:

> And a series of studies published by a group of international scientists known as the [Deep Carbon Observatory](https://deepcarbon.net/) is showing that this source of gas is more common on our planet than previously known.
>
> “We have discovered these **unusual types of methane** in many, many sites. It’s not a rare phenomenon,” said [Giuseppe Etiope](http://roma2.rm.ingv.it/en/staff/77/giuseppe_etiope), a member of the group who helped discover [the cause of the flames of Chimaera in 2014](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gfl.12106). (emphasis added)

This question is about the possible sources of hydrogen that resulted in what the NYTimes calls "unusual types of methane":

> For years, Deep Carbon Observatory researchers have collected and analyzed gas samples from hundreds of diverse sites. And using special tools to figure out where the methane came from, they’ve discovered Earth’s basic recipe: Take hydrogen from water. Mix with inorganic carbon from minerals or gas. Add another metal-rich mineral to get the process going, and voilà — abiotic methane.
>
> The hydrogen often comes from serpentinization, when water percolates usually through rocks from the mantle. But the recipe varies. Different sites may use different minerals or carbons sourced from their environments: **Hydrogen may come from friction, or radiolysis, instead of serpentinization.** Temperatures may range from below 250 degrees Fahrenheit, which can still support life, to some 900 degrees Fahrenheit, which can’t. (emphasis added)

*Serpentinization* is nicely explained in @Gimelist's [excellent answer](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/a/12958/6031) to the question *What is serpentinization, in the context of disappearance of surface water on Mars?*

**Question:** How can the hydrogen in this abiotic methane come from

1. *Friction*
2. *Radiolysis*

Possibly helpful (Open Access):

* Etiope, G. and Whiticar, M. J. 2019 [Abiotic methane in continental ultramafic rock systems: Towards a genetic model](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883292719300204)
* Etiope, G. and Ionescu, A. 2014 [Low‐temperature catalytic CO2 hydrogenation with geological quantities of ruthenium: a possible abiotic CH4 source in chromitite‐rich serpentinized rocks](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gfl.12106)

**Tags:** geochemistry, hydrogeology


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