Hydrogen from Radiolysis of Aqueous Fluid Inclusions during Diagenesis

John Parnell, Nigel Blamey
2017 Minerals  
A suite of Permian sylvite samples from Boulby potash mine, Yorkshire, UK, consistently yield traces of hydrogen upon analysis by a cold crush technique for liberating volatiles from entrapped fluid inclusions. In contrast, accompanying halite samples do not yield hydrogen. These data suggest the formation of hydrogen by radiolysis of water due to irradiation from potassium in the sylvite. The data indicate radiolysis as a mechanism for subsurface hydrogen generation, where it is available as an electron donor for a deep biosphere.
doi:10.3390/min7080130 fatcat:cehlkno7mbfc7nxlqa23ijrnqa