These impoverished ecosystems, moreover, are dominated by Acidithiobacillus, one of the sorts of bug that turn hydrogen sulphide into sulphuric acid.Crucially from a practical point of view, Dr Hernandez found that the gaseous signal showing something amiss actually has two components.
When the air was scented with dimethyl sulphide, however, they spent an average of ten seconds breathing in the (from a human point of view) stinky scent of cabbages or upwellings.That does not prove that loggerheads smell their way to the table, of course.
Some, such as copper sulphide, absorb microwaves well and heat up fast when exposed to them.
But most of the necessary chemical reactions (those involving hydrogen sulphide, for example) require oxygen, the waste product of photosynthesis, as one of their components, and so cannot predate it.The exceptions are those reactions that use hydrogen as the source of chemical energy.
Titanium sulphide was chosen because it is an "intercalation" compound a substance with a layered, crystalline structure that can absorb other particles between its layers, much as a sponge soaks up water.
Though not itself damaging to a pipe's fabric, it can be converted by certain species of bacteria into sulphuric acid, which is. Pretty well all sewage smells of hydrogen sulphide, though, so for it to be a useful telltale you need to know just how much is a sign of trouble.
Corrosive and poisonous hydrogen sulphide gas, pumped up from the seabed along with the oil, has eaten through pipes bringing it onshore.
The biogas (primarily methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide) can then be used to generate electricity, or even cleaned and compressed to form a fuel for motor cars.
So why has it taken so long to move towards the commercial exploitation of deep sea massive sulphide deposits?
