Serpentinite
[3][4][5][6][7] Most of the chemical reactions necessary to synthesize acetyl-CoA, essential to basic biochemical pathways of life, take place during serpentinization.
Hydrogen produced by the serpentinization reaction is important because it can fuel microbial activity in the deep subsurface environment.
However, the Lost City Hydrothermal Field, located off the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, may be driven solely by heat of serpentinization.
The vents build up very large chimneys, up to 60 meters (200 ft) in height, composed of carbonate minerals and brucite.
[15][11] Experimental drilling into the gabbro layer of oceanic crust near mid-ocean ridges has demonstrated the presence of a sparse population of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria.
[15] Most of the chemical reactions necessary to synthesize acetyl-CoA, essential to basic biochemical pathways of life, take place during serpentinization.
However, because serpentinite outcrops are few and isolated, their plant communities are ecological islands and these distinctive species are often highly endangered.
[23] There are outcroppings of serpentine soils in the Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, the island of Cyprus, the Alps, Cuba, and New Caledonia.
[citation needed] Notable occurrences of serpentinite are found at Thetford Mines, Quebec; Lake Valhalla, New Jersey; Gila County, Arizona; Lizard complex, Lizard Point, Cornwall; and in localities in Greece, Italy, and other parts of Europe.
Popular sources in Europe before contact with the Americas were the mountainous Piedmont region of Italy and Larissa, Greece.
[29] A variety of chlorite talc schist associated with Alpine serpentinite is found in Val d'Anniviers, Switzerland and was used for making "ovenstones" (German: Ofenstein), a carved stone base beneath a cast iron stove.
"[4] In 2010, a bill was introduced which would have removed serpentine's special status as state rock due to it potentially containing chrysotile asbestos.
[37] The bill met with resistance from some California geologists, who noted that the chrysotile present is not hazardous unless it is mobilized in the air as dust.
