The Deep Hot Biosphere

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Our Garden of Eden

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 1-10

3. Life at the Borders

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 11-36

4. The Deep-Earth Gas Theory

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 37-55

5. Evidence for Deep-Earth Gas

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 57-77

6. Resolving the Petroleum Paradox

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 79-103

7. The Siljan Experiment

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 105-123

8. Extending the Theory

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 125-139

9. Rethinking Earthquakes

   • Thomas Gold

   Pages 141-163

10. The Origin of Life

    • Thomas Gold

    Pages 165-183

11. What Next?

    • Thomas Gold

    Pages 185-208

12. Back Matter

    Pages 209-243

    PDF

This book sets forth a set of truly controversial and astonishing theories: First, it proposes that below the surface of the earth is a biosphere of greater mass and volume than the biosphere the total sum of living things on our planet's continents and in its oceans. Second, it proposes that the inhabitants of this subterranean biosphere are not plants or animals as we know them, but heat-loving bacteria that survive on a diet consisting solely of hydrocarbons that is, natural gas and petroleum. And third and perhaps most heretically, the book advances the stunning idea that most hydrocarbons on Earth are not the byproduct of biological debris ("fossil fuels"), but were a common constituent of the materials from which the earth itself was formed some 4.5 billion years ago.
The implications are astounding. The theory proposes answers to often-asked questions: Is the deep hot biosphere where life originated, and do Mars and other seemingly barren planets contain deep biospheres? Evenmore provocatively, is it possible that there is an enormous store of hydrocarbons upwelling from deep within the earth that can provide us with abundant supplies of gas and petroleum?
However far-fetched these ideas seem, they are supported by a growing body of evidence, and by the indisputable stature and seriousness Gold brings to any scientific debate. In this book we see a brilliant and boldly original thinker, increasingly a rarity in modern science, as he develops potentially revolutionary ideas about how our world works.   

• animals
• bacteria
• biosphere
• earthquake
• fuel
• lake

From the reviews:

"always original, always important, usually controversial, and usually right"
- FROM THE FOREWORD BY FREEMAN DYSON

"an extraordinary theory from one of the world's most original minds."
- NIGEL HAWKES, THE TIMES, LONDON

"The leading supporter of the abiotic theory in the U.S. is Prof. Thomas Gold of Cornell. His 1999 book, The Deep Hot Biosphere (Springer-Verlag) is a thorough discussion of the issues. It is based in part on research financed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Among prominent scientists whose work supports the abiotic theory are Jean Whelan of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Mahlon Kennicutt of Texas A&M University, and J.F Kenny of the Gas Resources Corporation."
- http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=4092

"There is much to be said about this important book … . Gold exhibits the irreversible and universal genius that we recognize in Aristotle and Leonardo da Vinci. … The versatility and rangeof knowledge exhibited is remarkable. … The Deep Hot Biosphere is a highly interesting and important book; it should be required reading for every geology student." (David Deming, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 17 (2), 2003)

"Thomas Gold is a physicist who is not afraid of controversy. … His big new theory … is that oil and natural gas are produced by geology and chemistry of the hot deep layers below the Earth’s surface … . The book is the best kind of science writing: contentious and passionate, with all the evidence there for you to weigh up." (New Scientist, August, 2001)

Policies and ethics