Abstract
The discovery of hydrothermal vents at oceanic ridge crests and the appreciation of their importance in the element balance of the oceans is an important recent advance in marine geochemistry. It is likely that such vents were present in the oceans of the primitive earth, and more water may have flowed through them than at present because of the greater heat flow from the interior of the primitive earth. Submarine vents must have played a role in the chemistry of the primitive ocean in at least two areas: a) the regulation of the concentration of some elements in the ocean; and b) the decomposition of the organic compounds synthesized in the atmosphere and oceans of the primitive earth. The steady state of oceanic synthesis and vent destruction can be used to estimate the concentration of amino acids in the primitive ocean (Stribling and Miller, 1988).
Published Version
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