Sulfates in Martian Layered Terrains: The OMEGA/Mars Express View

Microscopic identification of prokaryotes in modern and ancient halite, Saline Valley and Death Valley, California

Primary fluid inclusions in halite crystallized in Saline Valley, California, in 1980, 2004-2005, and 2007, contain rod- and coccoid-shaped microparticles the same size and morphology as archaea and bacteria living in modern brines. Primary fluid inclusions from a well-dated (0-100,000 years), 90 m long salt core from Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California, also contain microparticles, here interpreted as halophilic and halotolerant prokaryotes. Prokaryotes are distinguished from crystals on the basis of morphology, optical properties (birefringence), and uniformity of size. Electron micrographs of microparticles from filtered modern brine (Saline Valley), dissolved modern halite crystals (Saline Valley), and dissolved ancient halite crystals (Death Valley) support in situ microscopic observations that prokaryotes are present in fluid inclusions in ancient halite. In the Death Valley salt core, prokaryotes in fluid inclusions occur almost exclusively in halite precipitated in perennial saline lakes 10,000 to 35,000 years ago. This suggests that trapping and preservation of prokaryotes in fluid inclusions is influenced by the surface environment in which the halite originally precipitated. In all cases, prokaryotes in fluid inclusions in halite from the Death Valley salt core are miniaturized (<1 microm diameter cocci, <2.5 microm long, very rare rod shapes), which supports interpretations that the prokaryotes are indigenous to the halite and starvation survival may be the normal response of some prokaryotes to entrapment in fluid inclusions for millennia. These results reinforce the view that fluid inclusions in halite and possibly other evaporites are important repositories of microbial life and should be carefully examined in the search for ancient microorganisms on Earth, Mars, and elsewhere in the Solar System.

Effects of meteorite impacts on the atmospheric evolution of Mars

Early in its history, Mars probably had a denser atmosphere with sufficient greenhouse gases to sustain the presence of stable liquid water at the surface. Impacts by asteroids and comets would have played a significant role in the evolution of the martian atmosphere, not only by causing atmospheric erosion but also by delivering material and volatiles to the planet. We investigate the atmospheric loss and the delivery of volatiles with an analytical model that takes into account the impact simulation results and the flux of impactors given in the literature. The atmospheric loss and the delivery of volatiles are calculated to obtain the atmospheric pressure evolution. Our results suggest that the impacts alone cannot satisfactorily explain the loss of significant atmospheric mass since the Late Noachian (approximately 3.7-4 Ga). A period with intense bombardment of meteorites could have increased the atmospheric loss; but to explain the loss of a speculative massive atmosphere in the Late Noachian, other factors of atmospheric erosion and replenishment also need to be taken into account.

Visible-near infrared point spectrometry of drill core samples from Río Tinto, Spain: results from the 2005 Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) drilling exercise

Sampling of subsurface rock may be required to detect evidence of past biological activity on Mars. The Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) utilized the Río Tinto region, Spain, as a Mars analog site to test dry drilling technologies specific to Mars that retrieve subsurface rock for biological analysis. This work examines the usefulness of visible-near infrared (VNIR) (450-1000 nm) point spectrometry to characterize ferric iron minerals in core material retrieved during a simulated Mars drilling mission. VNIR spectrometry can indicate the presence of aqueously precipitated ferric iron minerals and, thus, determine whether biological analysis of retrieved rock is warranted. Core spectra obtained during the mission with T1 (893-897 nm) and T2 (644-652 nm) features indicate goethite-dominated samples, while relatively lower wavelength T1 (832-880 nm) features indicate hematite. Hematite/goethite molar ratios varied from 0 to 1.4, and within the 880-898 nm range, T1 features were used to estimate hematite/goethite molar ratios. Post-mission X-ray analysis detected phyllosilicates, which indicates that examining beyond the VNIR (e.g., shortwave infrared, 1000-2500 nm) will enhance the detection of other minerals formed by aqueous processes. Despite the limited spectral range of VNIR point spectrometry utilized in the MARTE Mars drilling simulation project, ferric iron minerals could be identified in retrieved core material, and their distribution served to direct core subsampling for biological analysis.

Underground habitats in the Río Tinto basin: a model for subsurface life habitats on Mars

A search for evidence of cryptic life in the subsurface region of a fractured Paleozoic volcanosedimentary deposit near the source waters of the Río Tinto River (Iberian pyrite belt, southwest Spain) was carried out by Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) project investigators in 2003 and 2004. This conventional deep-drilling experiment is referred to as the MARTE ground truth drilling project. Boreholes were drilled at three sites, and samples from extracted cores were analyzed with light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Core leachates were analyzed with ion chromatography, and borehole fluids were analyzed with ion and gas chromatography. Key variables of the groundwater system (e.g., pO(2), pH, and salinity) exhibit huge ranges probably due to surficial oxygenation of overall reducing waters, physical mixing of waters, and biologically mediated water-rock interactions. Mineral distribution is mainly driven by the pH of subsurface solutions, which range from highly acidic to neutral. Borehole fluids contain dissolved gases such as CO(2), CH(4), and H(2). SEM-EDS analyses of core samples revealed evidence of microbes attacking pyrite. The Río Tinto alteration mechanisms may be similar to subsurface weathering of the martian crust and provide insights into the possible (bio)geochemical cycles that may have accompanied underground habitats in extensive early Mars volcanic regions and associated sulfide ores.

Surface and downhole prospecting tools for planetary exploration: tests of neutron and gamma ray probes

The ability to locate and characterize icy deposits and other hydrogenous materials on the Moon and Mars will help us understand the distribution of water and, therefore, possible habitats at Mars, and may help us locate primitive prebiotic compounds at the Moon's poles. We have developed a rover-borne neutron probe that localizes a near-surface icy deposit and provides information about its burial depth and abundance. We have also developed a borehole neutron probe to determine the stratigraphy of hydrogenous subsurface layers while operating within a drill string segment. In our field tests, we have used a neutron source to "illuminate" surrounding materials and gauge the instruments' efficacy, and we can simulate accurately the observed instrument responses using a Monte Carlo nuclear transport code (MCNPX). An active neutron source would not be needed for lunar or martian near-surface exploration: cosmic-ray interactions provide sufficient neutron flux to depths of several meters and yield better depth and abundance sensitivity than an active source. However, for deep drilling (>or=10 m depth), a source is required. We also present initial tests of a borehole gamma ray lithodensity tool and demonstrate its utility in determining soil or rock densities and composition.

Analysis of underivatized amino acids in geological samples using ion-pairing liquid chromatography and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

The capability of detecting biomarkers, such as amino acids, in chemically complex field samples is essential to establishing the knowledge required to search for chemical signatures of life in future planetary explorations. However, due to the complexities of in situ investigations, it is important to establish a new analytical scheme that utilizes a minimal amount of sample preparation. This paper reports the feasibility of a novel and sensitive technique, which has been established to quantitate amino acids in terrestrial crust samples directly without derivatization using volatile ion-pairing liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry equipped with an electrospray ionization source. Adequate separation of 20 underivatized amino acids was achieved on a C(18) capillary column within 26 min with nonafluoropentanoic acid (NFPA) as ion-pairing reagent. Each amino acid was identified from its retention time as well as from its characteristic parent-to-daughter ion transition. Using tandem mass spectrometry as a detection technique allows co-elution of some amino acids, as it is more specific than traditional spectrophotometric methods. In the present study, terrestrial samples collected from 3 different locations were analyzed for their water-extractable free amino acid contents, following the removal of metal and organic interferences via ion exchange procedures. This is the first time that amino acids in geological samples were directly determined quantitatively without complicated derivatization steps. Depending on the amino acid, the detection limits varied from 0.02 to 5.7 pmol with the use of a 1 microl sample injection loop.

Some ecological mechanisms to generate habitability in planetary subsurface areas by chemolithotrophic communities: the Río Tinto subsurface ecosystem as a model system

Chemolithotrophic communities that colonize subsurface habitats have great relevance for the astrobiological exploration of our Solar System. We hypothesize that the chemical and thermal stabilization of an environment through microbial activity could make a given planetary region habitable. The MARTE project ground-truth drilling campaigns that sampled cryptic subsurface microbial communities in the basement of the Río Tinto headwaters have shown that acidic surficial habitats are the result of the microbial oxidation of pyritic ores. The oxidation process is exothermic and releases heat under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. These microbial communities can maintain the subsurface habitat temperature through storage heat if the subsurface temperature does not exceed their maximum growth temperature. In the acidic solutions of the Río Tinto, ferric iron acts as an effective buffer for controlling water pH. Under anaerobic conditions, ferric iron is the oxidant used by microbes to decompose pyrite through the production of sulfate, ferrous iron, and protons. The integration between the physical and chemical processes mediated by microorganisms with those driven by the local geology and hydrology have led us to hypothesize that thermal and chemical regulation mechanisms exist in this environment and that these homeostatic mechanisms could play an essential role in creating habitable areas for other types of microorganisms. Therefore, searching for the physicochemical expression of extinct and extant homeostatic mechanisms through physical and chemical anomalies in the Mars crust (i.e., local thermal gradient or high concentration of unusual products such as ferric sulfates precipitated out from acidic solutions produced by hypothetical microbial communities) could be a first step in the search for biological traces of a putative extant or extinct Mars biosphere.

Microbial response to salinity change in Lake Chaka, a hypersaline lake on Tibetan plateau

Previous investigations of the salinity effects on the microbial community composition have largely been limited to dynamic estuaries and coastal solar salterns. In this study, the effects of salinity and mineralogy on microbial community composition was studied by using a 900-cm sediment core collected from a stable, inland hypersaline lake, Lake Chaka, on the Tibetan Plateau, north-western China. This core, spanning a time of 17,000 years, was unique in that it possessed an entire range of salinity from freshwater clays and silty sands at the bottom to gypsum and glauberite in the middle, to halite at the top. Bacterial and archaeal communities were studied along the length of this core using an integrated approach combining mineralogy and geochemistry, molecular microbiology (16S rRNA gene analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction), cultivation and lipid biomarker analyses. Systematic changes in microbial community composition were correlated with the salinity gradient, but not with mineralogy. Bacterial community was dominated by the Firmicutes-related environmental sequences and known species (including sulfate-reducing bacteria) in the freshwater sediments at the bottom, but by halophilic and halotolerant Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes in the hypersaline sediments at the top. Succession of proteobacterial groups along the salinity gradient, typically observed in free-living bacterial communities, was not observed in the sediment-associated community. Among Archaea, the Crenarchaeota were predominant in the bottom freshwater sediments, but the halophilic Halobacteriales of the Euryarchaeota was the most important group in the hypersaline sediments. Multiple isolates were obtained along the whole length of the core, and their salinity tolerance was consistent with the geochemical conditions. Iron-reducing bacteria were isolated in the freshwater sediments, which were capable of reducing structural Fe(III) in the Fe(III)-rich clay minerals predominant in the source sediment. These data have important implications for understanding how microorganisms respond to increased salinity in stable, inland water bodies.

Combined remote LIBS and Raman spectroscopy at 8.6m of sulfur-containing minerals, and minerals coated with hematite or covered with basaltic dust

Combined remote laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy investigations at a distance of 8.6m have been carried out in air and under a simulated Martian atmosphere of 933Pa (7Torr) CO(2) on calcite (CaCO(3)), gypsum (CaSO(4).2H(2)O), and elemental sulfur (S), and LIBS investigations on chalcopyrite (CuFeS(2)) and pyrite (FeS(2)). Both Raman and LIBS techniques have also been used sequentially in air on hematite-coated calcite crystals and on a sample of anhydrite covered with basaltic dust. These experiments demonstrate that by using a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG pulsed laser co-radiating 1064 nm and 532 nm laser beams with a 5x beam expander, it is possible to measure simultaneously both the Raman and LIBS spectra of calcite, gypsum and elemental sulfur by adjusting the laser power electronically. The spectra of calcite, gypsum, and elemental sulfur contain fingerprint Raman lines; however, it was not possible to measure the remote Raman spectra of pyrite and chalcopyrite because of low intensities of Raman lines. In the cases of CuFeS(2), FeS(2), and elemental sulfur, S atomic emission lines in the LIBS spectra were detected only in 7Torr of CO(2) pressure and not in air. No S atomic emission lines were detected for gypsum in air or in CO(2). In the case of coated/dusted minerals, it was possible to remove the coating or dust with the focused LIBS laser and measure the Raman spectra of subsurface minerals with a 532 nm laser excitation. The complementary nature of these two techniques is highlighted and discussed.

Coupled Ferric Oxides and Sulfates on the Martian Surface

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER), Opportunity, showed that layered sulfate deposits in Meridiani Planum formed during a period of rising acidic ground water. Crystalline hematite spherules formed in the deposits as a consequence of aqueous alteration and were concentrated on the surface as a lag deposit as wind eroded the softer sulfate rocks. On the basis of Mars Express Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité (OMEGA) orbital data, we demonstrate that crystalline hematite deposits are associated with layered sulfates in other areas on Mars, implying that Meridiani-like ground water systems were indeed widespread and representative of an extensive acid sulfate aqueous system.

Early geochemical environment of Mars as determined from thermodynamics of phyllosilicates

Images of geomorphological features that seem to have been produced by the action of liquid water have been considered evidence for wet surface conditions on early Mars. Moreover, the recent identification of large deposits of phyllosilicates, associated with the ancient Noachian terrains suggests long-timescale weathering of the primary basaltic crust by liquid water. It has been proposed that a greenhouse effect resulting from a carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere sustained the temperate climate required to maintain liquid water on the martian surface during the Noachian. The apparent absence of carbonates and the low escape rates of carbon dioxide, however, are indicative of an early martian atmosphere with low levels of carbon dioxide. Here we investigate the geochemical conditions prevailing on the surface of Mars during the Noachian period using calculations of the aqueous equilibria of phyllosilicates. Our results show that Fe3+-rich phyllosilicates probably precipitated under weakly acidic to alkaline pH, an environment different from that of the following period, which was dominated by strongly acid weathering that led to the sulphate deposits identified on Mars. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrate that the oxidation state of the martian surface was already high, supporting early escape of hydrogen. Finally, equilibrium with carbonates implies that phyllosilicate precipitation occurs preferentially at a very low partial pressure of carbon dioxide. We suggest that the possible absence of Noachian carbonates more probably resulted from low levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, rather than primary acidic conditions. Other greenhouse gases may therefore have played a part in sustaining a warm and wet climate on the early Mars.