Genesis and Hydrogen Source
摘要
Natural hydrogen (H2), widely known as white hydrogen, is generated and accumulated through specific geological processes occurring within distinct tectonic settings (Zgonnik in Earth-Science Reviews 203, 2020). The key mechanisms including serpentinization, where peridotite and other ultramafic rocks react with water at elevated temperatures, releasing H2 as a byproduct, prevalent in geologically active regions like mid-ocean ridges, ophiolite complexes, and subduction zones, as well as radiolytic decomposition driven by ionizing radiation from uranium, thorium, and other radioactive elements, which dissociates water molecules into H2 and O2, particularly within stable cratonic regions such as Precambrian shields where prolonged geological stability facilitates radiolysis over extended timescales ( Lin, L.H., et al., Radiolytic H₂ in continental crust: Nuclear power for deep subsurface microbial communities. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 2005. 6.).