Geochemical constraints on primary productivity in submarine hydrothermal vent plumes

The amount of metabolic energy available for primary production by chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms in a submarine hydrothermal plume is evaluated using geochemical models. Oxidation of elemental sulfur and metal sulfides precipitated in the hydrothermal plume represent the largest potential sources of metabolic energy in the plume (∼600 cal/kg vent fluid from each source). Among dissolved substrates, oxidation of H2 potentially provides the greatest amount of energy (∼160 cal/kg). Smaller, but still significant, amounts of energy are also available from sulfate reduction (54 cal/kg), methanogenesis (17 cal/kg), and methanotrophy (13 cal/kg). Only negligible amounts of energy are available from oxidation of Fe(II) or Mn(II) compounds or Fe3+ reduction (<1 cal/kg vent fluid). The models suggest that most primary production in the plume should occur in the early stages of plume development from sulfur- and H2-oxidizers entrained in the plume or colonizing the surfaces of minerals settling from the plume. The total primary productivity potential in the plume is estimated to be about 50 mg dry wt biomass/kg vent fluid. This translates to a global annual biomass production in hydrothermal plumes on the order of 1012 g dry wt/yr, which represents only a small fraction of the total photosynthetic biomass production in the oceans (∼1017 g dry wt/yr). Nevertheless, biomass generated in hydrothermal plumes may represent a significant fraction of the organic matter in the deep ocean as well as that deposited in sediments in ocean basins.