Exploring the Kamchatka Geothermal Region in the Context of Life’s Beginning

This article is a brief review of research in the Kamchatka geothermal region initiated by David Deamer and the author in 1999. Results obtained over the last 20 years are described, including a seminal experiment in which biologically important organic compounds were dispersed in a hot spring to determine their fate. Other investigations include ionic and organic composition of hydrothermal water, the source of hydrothermally generated oil, and pressure–temperature oscillations in hydrothermal systems. The relation of these results to research on the origin of life is discussed.