Phosphorus and Life on a Water World

On Earth, the major mechanism for providing vital limiting nutrient phosphorus necessary to fuel biological productivity and long arc of evolution is weathering exposed continental rocks. It has been presumed that life may not be present on exoplanets with substantially more water than Earth. Many these “Water Worlds” exist, but without land mass weathering, there a viable delivery climate stabilization. In novel laboratory experiments performed in chambers designed mimic seafloor basalts anoxic conditions, Syverson et al. (2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094442) found silicate conditions release an adequate amount robust biosphere, at least idealized system. Perhaps we shouldn't rule out as potential harbors after all?