Palash Kumawat

I’m a biogeochemist studying fluid-microbe-mineral interactions at shallow subduction settings, and in ancient serpentinites from similar paleo-environments; investigating their role in harboring chemosynthetic life in extreme environments. Geofuel emissions like H₂ and CH₄ produced during low-temperature fluid interactions and pervasive serpentinization in ultramafic rocks have been suggested to be cardinal in harboring chemosynthetic life. Serpentinization is an ancient process, where the places of serpentinization are modern analogs of the primordial Earth. Serpentinization and its reaction products must have provided chemical disequilibria, redox potential, and a highly alkaline environment. The serpentinizing environment and essential precursor biomolecules must have served as a prebiotic soup from life to emerge! This knowledge can also be applied to analogous environments on other celestial bodies, thereby extending our understanding of extreme environments beyond Earth.

I employ various petrological, and geochemical methods to asses serpentinization-related redox states and quantify H₂ and CH₄ productions in these systems. My interest also lies in Reaction-Path and Bioenergetics modeling to investigate fluid mixing scenarios and shed light on the bio-availability of these geofuels.

I use tools like molecular lipid biomarker analysis to characterize and study extremophilic microbial communities and microbial physiological responses to environmental changes.