Cited by 53Methane Hydrates and Related PhenomenaGeochemistry and Elemental AnalysisGeological and Geophysical Studies

A note on the fluxes of abiogenic methane and hydrogen from mid‐ocean ridges

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Keir, R. S.·2010·Geophysical Research Letters

Abstract

The concentrations of methane and hydrogen in hydrothermal vent fluids issuing from mid‐ocean ridges tend to fall into two groups, one with high concentrations of these gases in ultramafic‐hosted vent fields and a second group with relatively lower concentrations in basalt‐hosted vent fluids. Ultramafic‐hosted systems, however, appear to be restricted to slow‐spreading ridges and constitute only a fraction of the hydrothermal systems found there. In this note, the hydrothermal fluxes of methane and hydrogen have been calculated by estimating the percentages of the total subsurface hydrothermal circulation that circulate through each type of host rock. Even though the percentage of the total subsurface flow that is affected by serpentinization appears to be rather small (8%), it still appears that this process produces about 70% of the total mid‐ocean flux of these gases. The total production of methane and hydrogen is calculated to be about 20 × 10 9 mol yr−1 and 190 × 10 9 mol yr−1, respectively. The hydrogen flux is comparable to that most recently calculated on the basis of the rate of hydration of mantle rock in newly formed crust and the stoichiometry of the serpentinization reaction. This suggests that, except for the production of methane, a major portion of the hydrogen produced in the subsurface is not consumed before venting.

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Crossref · 10.1029/2010gl045362

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  • Empirically, H2/CH4 ratios in hydrothermal systems are highly variable, so the kinetic barriers to CH4 formation and CO2 limitations are generally present.

    “Empirically, H2/CH4 ratios in hydrothermal systems are highly variable (48), so it is clear that the kinetic barriers to CH4 formation and CO2 limitations are generally present.”
  • Most of the H2 produced from serpentinization is derived from ultramafic, slow-spreading crust, which only constitutes 24% of the total crustal production.

    “Most of the H2 produced from serpentinization is derived from ultramafic, slow-spreading crust, which only constitutes 24% of the total crustal production (48).”
  • On Earth, multiple lines of evidence suggest that the H2 production rate from serpentinization is around 0.2 Tmol/year.

    “On Earth, multiple lines of evidence suggest that the H2 production rate from serpentinization is around 0.2 Tmol/year (48, 49), which is 0.25% of the total FeO production, two orders of magnitude less than a one-third theoretical maximum from the stoichiometry of Eq. 7.”

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Authors
Keir, R. S.
Affiliations
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (DE)
Corresponding author
Keir, R. S.
Venue
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2010-12
Volume
37
Issue
24
ISSN
  • 0094-8276 (ISSN-L)
  • 1944-8007
OpenAlex
W1577592353
Cited by
53
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
FWCI
0.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Geophysical Research Letters (publishedVersion)
  • Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geology › Geological and Geophysical Studies
Keywords
hydrogen flux, mid-ocean ridge, hydrothermal vent fluids, serpentinization, ultramafic rocks, slow-spreading ridge, hydrogen production

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