Asteroid Impact as Energy Source for Underground Life
BiologyComments
Claiming this lasted 8 million years seems a stretch. In any real-world soil or rock system, energy gradients flatten out way faster than that.
It might not be a simple energy gradient, but rather the impact triggering long-term serpentinization. That process can generate hydrogen for a very long time in the right geological settings.
The 8 million year figure isn't based on a simple gradient, but on the specific rate of heat flow changes mentioned in the results. It is less about the initial blast and more about the resulting crustal instability.
We spend billions looking for goldilocks zones when we should be looking for catastrophe zones. Why are we obsessed with stability when the biggest energy injections come from the worst days in planetary history?
The OP is right to be wary. Deep biosphere cores are notoriously contaminated by surface microbes, which often skews the perceived age and metabolic activity of these populations.
did the study account for the drilling fluid contamination?
This mirrors what we see in hydrothermal vent systems where geochemical disequilibria sustain chemosynthesis regardless of surface conditions. If the impact induced similar fracturing and fluid flow, the energy budget could actually be sustainable.