If there's an energetic chemical or physical process, life is there making use of it, with the sole caveat that if it's extremely hostile towards proteins or lipid membranes, life might not be very active there.
The creation of life requires large concentrations of energetic, complex chemicals. To say that life originated at the bottom of the ocean is a bit misleading: the oceans were very shallow at the time, because the crust had just formed and there wasn't a whole lot in the way of plate tectonics and uplift. The complex molecules therefore concentrated in these shallow seas and, surprisingly quickly (from a geologic time scale), formed rudimentary cells.
If anything similar existed these days, a stray bacteria would float into it and stuff hisself silly, then proceed to divide and make a bunch more bacteria that would stuff themselves silly.

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Contrary to the opinion of the press, the public, and their mothers, most scientists are dull and uninteresting people.
- James Watson