Volcanoes, Fluids, and Life at Mid-Ocean Ridge Spreading Centers

▪ Abstract The recent recognition of a potentially vast, unexplored hot microbial biosphere associated with active volcanism along the global mid-ocean ridge network has fundamentally shifted concepts of how planets and life coevolve. Many processes intrinsic to the dynamics of the spreading center volcanic system provide partial or complete nutritional fluxes that support diverse microbial communities that thrive under extreme conditions on and...