Mariana Trench is the deepest part of Earth's Hydrosphere. However, researchers have discovered the trace of organic material in rock fragments from mud volcanoes in this region. Scientists presume that the materials could have a sign of unknown living organism.
However, the location of alien organic material is the lowest point of Mariana Trench at 10 km below the sea floor. Regarding a detailed study, this trench is formed due to the Pacific tectonic plate sliding beneath the Philippines plate, making it a subduction zone.
Though the team did not find intact microbes, they did discover tantalizing traces of organic material. However, this organic material has clue about the survivability of alien life in hostile of environments like subduction zone.
Oliver Plümper, lead researcher at the Netherlands' Utrecht University said Life may be able to survive in deepest subduction zones. He emphasizes that subduction zones are relatively cool. This is because magma doesn't hit the sinking crust until it reaches a lower point in the mantle. However, the related study is shared through a journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Moreover, the whole exploration of alien organic material in Mariana trench is conducted by an underwater pilotless craft called Remotely Operated Vehicles. Using ROV researchers are extracted forty-six samples of serpentine from the ocean floor near the South Chamorro mud volcano. Therefore they brought back those samples to their lab for analysis.
Furthermore, serpentine is a mineral, formed when olivine in the upper mantle reacts with water pushed up from the subduction zone. Therefore this organic reaction Known as serpentinization produced hydrogen and methane gas, which microbes can use as food. Besides, it's also creating habitats for microbes elsewhere, including at seafloor hydrothermal vents.
According to their study, the researcher cannot identify the exact origin of the organic matter. However, chemical analysis of the constituents resembles molecular signatures of the microbial life in deep within the mud volcano. As per National geography, outcomes of the lab tests show only the hydrocarbons and lipids. These organic components are highly similar to waste material produced by other bacteria.
However, this organic material gives the strong evidence of extraterrestrial life elsewhere in the solar system. There are two potential candidates for alien life, like Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus. Both moons are covered in ice and possibly have briny liquid oceans extending deep below their surfaces.
According to Research lead Oliver Plümper study, Enceladus shows some kind of tectonic activity which creates subduction zones. They also presumed that rocky moons may produce Olivine. Regarding this, Plümper pointed that wherever olivine occurs, serpentinization probably occurs. It hinted at the possibilities of alien life in outside planets.
