Michael Russell (scientist)

Michael John Russell
Mike Russell
Born1939 (age 86–87)
London
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materQueen Mary College, University of London; University of Durham
Known forSubmarine Alkaline Hydrothermal Vent theory for the Origin of Life
AwardsWilliam Smith Medal, Geological Society of London 2009 NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal 2018
Scientific career
FieldsGeology
InstitutionsUniversity of Strathclyde; University of Glasgow; Jet Propulsion Laboratory,California Institute of Technology

Michael Russell is a British geologist who works on the origin of life.

Russell is the originator of the theory that life emerged at alkaline submarine hydrothermal vents. Russell's theory is that hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and methane, released from submarine alkaline hydrothermal vents, acted upon nitrate, ferrous and ferric iron, carbon dioxide, and protons in ambient ocean waters to form simple organic molecules Russell studied 360-million-year-old mineral deposits in Ireland, which led to his insight that iron sulfide and hydroxide cells may have provided three-dimensional molds for the first cell walls.

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