Through unremitting field-investigation, Chinese scientists have finally found intact submarine black chimneys for the first time in the world. These chimneys, living on the ocean floor billions of years ago, not only spewed out plumes of superheated mineral-rich fluids which formed giant ore bodies, but also might be related to the origin of life on Earth.
This remarkable result was lately published on the front cover of Acta Petrologica Sinica, the only Chinese geological publication serving as a periodical source to SCI, an authoritative US scientific magazine.
The discovery of modern undersea black smoker sulfide chimneys is regarded as a most significant scientific achievement among the global oceanic-geological survey during the past 10 years. Due to its close relation to the formation process of submarine minerals and life origins on Earth, the discovery even stands at the forefront of science. However, few countries but the United States, Canada, Germany, France and Japan have the capability to conduct corresponding study on modern black chimneys, because they are mainly scattered on the seabed. Thus, scientists have shifted their attention to fossils on Earth. Yet, no major breakthrough has been made so far except some black smokers segments dating back to 300 to 400 million years ago in Russia and Ireland.
Coupled with the discovery of ancient ocean crusts segments two years ago, Li Jiang study group with Peking University first found segments of submarine black smoker chimneys in Wutai Mountain area in 2002, later in October 2002 they found well-preserved ancient black chimneys with a preliminary estimation of about 1.43 billion years.
Experts described: 1.4 billion years ago, North China area remained a vast sea, while Xinglong Hebei parts lied on the deepest seabed of continental rift-valley. Circulation of heated seawater dissolved and transported many interior mineral elements including pyrite, sphalerite and galena, carrying them to the sea floor through these two-three-centimeter-high black chimneys, thereby flourishing colonies of microbes assembling around these chimneys.
Presently, the study group, in cooperation with British and American scientists, are conducting research on microbe fossils and probing life activities under extreme conditions in order to further explore the origin of life on Earth eons ago.
(People's Daily February 27, 2003)
