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Chemocline

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

Definition

The chemocline is the vertical chemical gradient or cline, which is produced in a mass of water having restricted circulation (e.g., meromictic lakes where water layers do not intermix). Local conditions of circulation provoke the formation of bottom anoxic waters – where only anaerobic organisms exist – overlain by oxygenated waters, where aerobic photosynthetic life flourishes. At the contact between these two zones, photosynthetic communities of anaerobic purple sulfur bacteria develop, taking advantage of both the sunlight from above and the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) produced below. In astrobiology, this zone of the chemocline is studied because it could be an analogue of Archean niches of life where limited oxygenated waters developed over an anoxic Archean ocean.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geotop, Research Centre for the Dynamics of the Earth System, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Daniele L. Pinti

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  1. Daniele L. Pinti
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Correspondence to Daniele L. Pinti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    William M. Irvine

  3. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  6. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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Pinti, D.L. (2022). Chemocline. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5157-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5157-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Chemocline
    Published:
    16 November 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5157-3

  2. Original

    Chemocline
    Published:
    04 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5157-2

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