Occurrence of laboratory self-organized chemical systems in natural geological settings

Determine which self-organized chemical pattern-forming systems described in laboratory experiments (e.g., chemical gardens, silica–carbonate biomorphs, carbon–sulfur biomorphs, organic biomorphs) occur in natural geological environments and identify the geochemical and physical conditions under which they form in situ.

Background

The review surveys several abiotic self-organizing systems that produce lifelike morphologies in laboratory settings, noting clear geological counterparts for some (e.g., hydrothermal chimneys as chemical gardens).

For other systems, their presence in natural settings is hypothesized but unconfirmed, presenting a gap in understanding the abiotic baseline against which biosignatures must be evaluated.

References

It is also not known whether all these chemical pattern-forming systems given below appear in a geological setting, or not.

— Self-assembled versus biological pattern formation in geology (2601.00323 - Cartwright et al., 1 Jan 2026) in Section Chemical biomimetism: Self-organized abiotic chemical systems that produce life-like forms