Shock hydrothermal synthesis

Amend, J. P. and Shock, E. L. (1998). Energetics of amino acid synthesis in hydrothermal ecosystems. Science 281,1659-1662. 

In the absence of oxygen and in the presence of H2, reduced carbon is thermodynamically preferred. That is certainly true deep in the ocean, for example, near hydrothermal vents, where the synthesis of reduced organic compounds is thermodynamically favored. Shock, Cody, and others have exploited that fact to propose net synthesis of organic molecules in anoxic environments.14,15... 

Shock, L.E. Schulte, M.D. Organic synthesis during fluid mixing in hydrothermal systems. J. Geophys. Res. 1998, 103, 28513-28527. 

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