An Ocean (and Bacteria) Run Through It

Abstract

Soon after new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges, it begins to be corroded by seawater. This alteration of the crust is important because it affects the chemistry of the oceans, and it also can affect the chemistry of Earth's mantle and even the formation of volcanoes when the hydrated crust is subducted. It has long been thought that alteration is primarily an inorganic reaction between seawater and fresh basalt glass, but recent work has found evidence for bacterial alteration.