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Hot spring

A spring produced by geothermally heated groundwater.

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Hot spring

Continental Stereoscopic Company · Public domain

The water often contains high levels of dissolved minerals and can support communities of extremophile microorganisms.[1] Geothermal heat from Earth's interior warms the water that emerges from hot springs.[2] No single definition of a hot spring is accepted by all sources.[3]

Key facts and history

Much of the Earth's internal heat comes from the decay of radioactive elements such as potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232.[4] The chemistry of hot springs ranges from acid sulfate (pH as low as 0.8) to alkaline chloride to bicarbonate to iron-rich types.[1][5] Alkaline chloride springs have nearly neutral pH and deposit silica as geyserite upon cooling.[6] Bicarbonate springs precipitate travertine when carbon dioxide is lost at the surface.[7]

Some hot springs are hot enough to cause scalding or death.[8][9] The Dalhousie Springs complex in Australia had a peak total flow of over 23,000 liters per second in 1915.[10] Acid sulfate springs result when hydrogen sulfide oxidizes into sulfuric acid, which then alters rock into clay and leaves a silica residue.[11]

What the research sources say

A 2016 study by Santaloia et al. describes coastal thermal springs in Italy where marine groundwater flows through fractures and karstic rock.[12][13] Research by Damer and Deamer proposes that hot springs may have been the site of life's origin, with wet-dry cycles promoting biopolymer formation.[14][15][16] Mulkidjanian et al. found that the ionic composition of hot spring fluids matches that of modern cell cytoplasm.[17][15] A 1987 study by Shanker et al. identifies the Tattapani thermal springs in India as a potential geothermal energy reservoir.[18][13]

According to a source on Geology (10 February 2020), hot springs located in active volcanic zones can produce water hot enough to cause injury or death.[2]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Farmer, "Hydrothermal systems: doorways to early biosphere evolution", GSA Today, 2000, p. 1–9; Des Marais, "Terrestrial Hot Spring Systems: Introduction", Astrobiology, 2019-12-01, p. 1419–1432 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Hot Springs/Geothermal Features", Geology, 10 February 2020. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
  3. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "MSN Encarta definition of hot spring"; Miriam-Webster Online dictionary definition of hot spring; Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, article on hot spring; Wordsmyth definition of hot spring; American Heritage dictionary, fourth edition (2000) definition of hot spring; "What is a hot spring?", Can. J. Earth Sci., 2003, p. 1443–6; Infoplease definition of hot spring; Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. definition of hot spring (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Turcotte, "Geodynamics", Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 136–7; Anuta, "Probing Question: What heats the earth's core?", physorg.com, 2006-03-30; Johnston, "Radioactive decay accounts for half of Earth's heat", PhysicsWorld.com, 19 July 2011; Sanders, "Radioactive potassium may be major heat source in Earth's core", UC Berkeley News, 2003-12-10; Philpotts, "Principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology", Cambridge University Press, 2009, p. 6–13 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Drake, "Evolution of a dynamic paleo-hydrothermal system at Mangatete, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand", Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, August 2014, p. 19–35; Des Marais Walter 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: White, "Silica in hot-spring waters", Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, August 1956, p. 27–59; Drake Campbell Rowland Guido 2014; Des Marais Walter 2019; White, "Rocks, structure, and geologic history of Steamboat Springs thermal area, Washoe County, Nevada", U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1964 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Drake Campbell Rowland Guido 2014; Des Marais Walter 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hot Springs/Geothermal Features - Geology (U.S. National Park Service)", www.nps.gov (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Safety", Yellowstone National Park, 8 June 2021; Almasy, "Man severely burned after falling into Yellowstone hot spring", CNN, 15 June 2017; Andrews, "This Is What Happens When You Fall Into One Of Yellowstone's Hot Springs", Forbes, 30 December 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: W. F. Ponder, "Desert Springs of Great Australian Arterial Basin", Conference Proceedings. Spring-fed Wetlands: Important Scientific and Cultural Resources of the Intermountain Region, 2002 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Drake Campbell Rowland Guido 2014; Cox, "The transition to microbial photosynthesis in hot spring ecosystems", Chemical Geology, January 2011, p. 344–351; Des Marais Walter 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. F. Santaloia, "Coastal thermal springs in a foreland setting: The Santa Cesarea Terme system (Italy)", Geothermics (2016), doi:10.1016/j.geothermics.2016.06.013. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Santaloia, "Coastal thermal springs in a foreland setting: The Santa Cesarea Terme system (Italy)", Geothermics, 2016-11-01, p. 344–361; "Geothermal studies at Tattapani hot spring area, Sarguja district, central India", Geothermics, 1987, p. 61–76; "Geochemistry of Tattapani thermal springs, Himachal Pradesh, India—field and experimental investigations", Geothermics, August 1995, p. 553–9; Skok, "Silica deposits in the Nili Patera caldera on the Syrtis Major volcanic complex on Mars", Nature Geoscience, December 2010, p. 838–841 (we also re en.wikipedia.org
  14. Bruce Damer, "The Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life", Astrobiology (2019), doi:10.1089/ast.2019.2045. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  15. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kompanichenko, "Exploring the Kamchatka Geothermal Region in the Context of Life's Beginning", Life, May 16, 2019, p. 41; Mulkidjanian, "Origin of first cells at terrestrial, anoxic geothermal fields", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012-04-03, p. E821-30; Mulkidjanian, "Origin of first cells at terrestrial, anoxic geothermal fields", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012-04-03, p. E821-30; Damer, "Coupled Phases and Combinatorial Selection in Fluctuating Hydrothermal Pools: A Scenario to Guide Experimental en.wikipedia.org
  16. Wikipedia, "Hot spring" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Damer, "The Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life", Astrobiology, 2020-04-01, p. 429–452; Deamer, "Where Did Life Begin? Testing Ideas in Prebiotic Analogue Conditions", Life, February 10, 2021, p. 134; Milshteyn, "Amphiphilic Compounds Assemble into Membranous Vesicles in Hydrothermal Hot Spring Water but Not in Seawater", Life, May 10, 2018, p. 11; Damer, "The Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life", Astrobiology, 2020-04-01, p. 429–452 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  17. Armen Y. Mulkidjanian, "Origin of first cells at terrestrial, anoxic geothermal fields", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2012), doi:10.1073/pnas.1117774109. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  18. Ravi Shanker, "Geothermal studies at Tattapani hot spring area, Sarguja district, central India", Geothermics (1987), doi:10.1016/0375-6505(87)90079-4. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hot spring (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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