Extended Data Fig. 6: A phase diagram illustrating hydrate stability conditions in the sediments of the investigated hadal zone.
From: Flourishing chemosynthetic life at the greatest depths of hadal trenches
The horizontal black dashed line denotes the 9,533-meter water depth, corresponding to 98.0 MPa of hydrostatic pressure (assuming an average water density of 1.045 g/cm³), above which lies the unconsolidated sub-seafloor sediments. The gray circle denotes the seafloor temperature-pressure conditions at 9,533 meters, with a temperature of 2.25 °C and a pressure of 98.0 MPa. The purple and red lines represent the minimum and maximum geothermal gradients (ranging from 25 to 60 °C/km) within the unconsolidated sediments, respectively. The point of intersection between these geothermal gradients and HLV delineates the vertical limits of the hydrate stability zone (HSZ) within the sediment.
