Serpentinization-driven redox disequilibria in the Jezero paleolake as a potential energy source for primitive life on early Mars
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Gumbley, John J
Watson, Jonathan S
Sephton, Mark
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We propose fracture-localized serpentinization of the olivine-rich Seitah formation in Jezero crater on Mars could have delivered hydrogen to sustain a redox potential. Using Perseverance data, we calculate the formation could have generated 0.7–1.3 mol H₂ per kg of serpentinized rock. H₂-rich and CO₂-poor fluids introduced to Jezero's circumneutral paleolake bottom waters would have created a redox disequilibrium with dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). At this pH, carbonate equilibria maintain DIC predominantly as bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻, 80–95% of DIC) with dissolved CO₂(aq) suppressed (5–20%). Under low-temperature paleolake conditions (0–10 °C) the reaction is kinetically inhibited allowing H₂–CO₂ redox disequilibria to persist. We use a sensitivity-based kinetic framework to show H2-CO2 disequilibria lifetimes within Jezero extend from centuries to millions of years under representative activation energy bounds. Chemoautotrophs can exploit H₂–CO₂/HCO₃⁻ redox gradients. We apply an energy-flux framework, calculate chemical affinities of 10–30 kJ mol⁻¹ H₂ and estimate that individual serpentinization vent fields could support microbial populations of 10¹⁴–10¹⁶ cells. Our results demonstrate the paleolake possessed the conditions necessary to produce a redox battery that could power primitive life. Similar environments on early
Mars could have had the same potential.
Mars could have had the same potential.
Date Issued
2026-06-12
Date Acceptance
2026-05-15
Citation
npj Space Exploration, 2026, 2
ISSN
3059-3700
Publisher
Nature Research
Journal / Book Title
npj Space Exploration
Volume
2
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1038/s44453-026-00046-9
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTNN 27