1
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Baumgartner RJ, Van Kranendonk MJ, Caruso S, Campbell KA, Dobson MJ, Teece BL, Verrall M, Homann M, Lalonde S, Visscher PT. Pyritic stromatolites from the Paleoarchean Dresser Formation, Pilbara Craton: Resolving biogenicity and hydrothermally influenced ecosystem dynamics. GEOBIOLOGY 2024; 22:e12610. [PMID: 38979799 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
This study investigates the paleobiological significance of pyritic stromatolites from the 3.48 billion-year-old Dresser Formation, Pilbara Craton. By combining paleoenvironmental analyses with observations from well-preserved stromatolites in newly obtained drill cores, the research reveals stratiform and columnar to domal pyritic structures with wavy to wrinkly laminations and crest thickening, hosted within facies variably influenced by syn-depositional hydrothermal activity. The columnar and domal stromatolites occur in strata with clearly distinguishable primary depositional textures. Mineralogical variability and fine-scale interference textures between the microbialites and the enclosing sediment highlight interplays between microbial and depositional processes. The stromatolites consist of organomineralization - nanoporous pyrite and microspherulitic barite - hosting significant thermally mature organic matter (OM). This includes filamentous organic microstructures encased within nanoporous pyrite, resembling the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of microbes. These findings imply biogenicity and support the activity of microbial life in a volcano-sedimentary environment with hydrothermal activity and evaporative cycles. Coupled changes in stromatolite morphology and host facies suggest growth in diverse niches, from dynamic, hydrothermally influenced shallow-water environments to restricted brine pools strongly enriched inSO 4 2 - $$ {\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-} $$ from seawater and hydrothermal activity. These observations, along with S stable isotope data indicating influence by S metabolisms, and accumulations of biologically significant metals and metalloids (Ni and As) within the microbialites, help constrain microbial processes. Columnar to domal stromatolites in dynamic, hydrothermally influenced shallow water deposits likely formed by microbial communities dominated by phototrophs. Stratiform pyritic structures within barite-rich strata may reflect the prevalence of chemotrophs near hydrothermal venting, where hydrothermal activity and microbial processes influenced barite precipitation. Rapid pyrite precipitation, a putative taphonomic process for preserving microbial remnants, is attributed to microbial sulfate reduction and reduced S sourced from hydrothermal activity. In conclusion, this research underscores the biogenicity of the Dresser stromatolites and advances our understanding of microbial ecosystems in Earth's early history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael J Baumgartner
- CSIRO Mineral Resources, Australian Resources Research Centre, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Australian Centre for Astrobiology, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Martin J Van Kranendonk
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Australian Centre for Astrobiology, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Stefano Caruso
- CSIRO Mineral Resources, Australian Resources Research Centre, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Australian Centre for Astrobiology, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kathleen A Campbell
- School of Environment and Te Ao Mārama, Centre for Fundamental Inquiry, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Michaela J Dobson
- School of Environment and Te Ao Mārama, Centre for Fundamental Inquiry, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Bronwyn L Teece
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Australian Centre for Astrobiology, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
- Origins and Habitability Laboratory, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Michael Verrall
- CSIRO Mineral Resources, Australian Resources Research Centre, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Martin Homann
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Stefan Lalonde
- European Institute for Marine Studies, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané, France
| | - Pieter T Visscher
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut, USA
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2
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La Plante EC, Chen X, Bustillos S, Bouissonnie A, Traynor T, Jassby D, Corsini L, Simonetti DA, Sant GN. Electrolytic Seawater Mineralization and the Mass Balances That Demonstrate Carbon Dioxide Removal. ACS ES&T ENGINEERING 2023; 3:955-968. [PMID: 37469756 PMCID: PMC10353002 DOI: 10.1021/acsestengg.3c00004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
We present the mass balances associated with carbon dioxide (CO2) removal (CDR) using seawater as both the source of reactants and as the reaction medium via electrolysis following the "Equatic" (formerly known as "SeaChange") process. This process, extensively detailed in La Plante E.C.; ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng.2021, 9, ( (3), ), 1073-1089, involves the application of an electric overpotential that splits water to form H+ and OH- ions, producing acidity and alkalinity, i.e., in addition to gaseous coproducts, at the anode and cathode, respectively. The alkalinity that results, i.e., via the "continuous electrolytic pH pump" results in the instantaneous precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), hydrated magnesium carbonates (e.g., nesquehonite: MgCO3·3H2O, hydromagnesite: Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2·4H2O, etc.), and/or magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) depending on the CO32- ion-activity in solution. This results in the trapping and, hence, durable and permanent (at least ∼10 000-100 000 years) immobilization of CO2 that was originally dissolved in water, and that is additionally drawn down from the atmosphere within: (a) mineral carbonates, and/or (b) as solvated bicarbonate (HCO3-) and carbonate (CO32-) ions (i.e., due to the absorption of atmospheric CO2 into seawater having enhanced alkalinity). Taken together, these actions result in the net removal of ∼4.6 kg of CO2 per m3 of seawater catholyte processed. Geochemical simulations quantify the extents of net CO2 removal including the dependencies on the process configuration. It is furthermore indicated that the efficiency of realkalinization of the acidic anolyte using alkaline solids depends on their acid neutralization capacity and dissolution reactivity. We also assess changes in seawater chemistry resulting from Mg(OH)2 dissolution with emphasis on the change in seawater alkalinity and saturation state. Overall, this analysis provides direct quantifications of the ability of the Equatic process to serve as a means for technological CDR to mitigate the worst effects of accelerating climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Callagon La Plante
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019, United States
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Center for Advanced Construction Materials, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019, United States
- Equatic Inc., Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
| | - Xin Chen
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Equatic Inc., Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
| | - Steven Bustillos
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
| | - Arnaud Bouissonnie
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
| | - Thomas Traynor
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Equatic Inc., Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
| | - David Jassby
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Equatic Inc., Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
| | | | - Dante A Simonetti
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Equatic Inc., Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
| | - Gaurav N Sant
- Institute for Carbon Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Equatic Inc., Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- California Nanosystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
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3
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Cavalazzi B, Lemelle L, Simionovici A, Cady SL, Russell MJ, Bailo E, Canteri R, Enrico E, Manceau A, Maris A, Salomé M, Thomassot E, Bouden N, Tucoulou R, Hofmann A. Cellular remains in a ~3.42-billion-year-old subseafloor hydrothermal environment. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabf3963. [PMID: 34261651 PMCID: PMC8279515 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf3963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Subsurface habitats on Earth host an extensive extant biosphere and likely provided one of Earth's earliest microbial habitats. Although the site of life's emergence continues to be debated, evidence of early life provides insights into its early evolution and metabolic affinity. Here, we present the discovery of exceptionally well-preserved, ~3.42-billion-year-old putative filamentous microfossils that inhabited a paleo-subseafloor hydrothermal vein system of the Barberton greenstone belt in South Africa. The filaments colonized the walls of conduits created by low-temperature hydrothermal fluid. Combined with their morphological and chemical characteristics as investigated over a range of scales, they can be considered the oldest methanogens and/or methanotrophs that thrived in an ultramafic volcanic substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Cavalazzi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Alexandre Simionovici
- ISTerre, University of Grenoble-Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - Sherry L Cady
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, EMSL, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Michael J Russell
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | | | | | - Emanuele Enrico
- INRiM, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Torino, Italy
| | - Alain Manceau
- ISTerre, University of Grenoble-Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Assimo Maris
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician," Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Rémi Tucoulou
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | - Axel Hofmann
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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4
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Lingappa UF, Monteverde DR, Magyar JS, Valentine JS, Fischer WW. How manganese empowered life with dioxygen (and vice versa). Free Radic Biol Med 2019; 140:113-125. [PMID: 30738765 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.01.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Throughout the history of life on Earth, abiotic components of the environment have shaped the evolution of life, and in turn life has shaped the environment. The element manganese embodies a special aspect of this collaboration; its history is closely entwined with those of photosynthesis and O2-two reigning features that characterize the biosphere today. Manganese chemistry was central to the environmental context and evolutionary innovations that enabled the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis and the ensuing rise of O2. It was also manganese chemistry that provided an early, fortuitous antioxidant system that was instrumental in how life came to cope with oxidative stress and ultimately thrive in an aerobic world. Subsequently, the presence of O2 transformed the biogeochemical dynamics of the manganese cycle, enabling a rich suite of environmental and biological processes involving high-valent manganese and manganese redox cycling. Here, we describe insights from chemistry, biology, and geology, to examine manganese dynamics in the environment, and its unique role in the history of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Usha F Lingappa
- Div. of Geological & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
| | - Danielle R Monteverde
- Div. of Geological & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - John S Magyar
- Div. of Geological & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Joan Selverstone Valentine
- Div. of Geological & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA; Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Woodward W Fischer
- Div. of Geological & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
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5
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Castillo PR, MacIsaac C, Perry S, Veizer J. Marine Carbonates in the Mantle Source of Oceanic Basalts: Pb Isotopic Constraints. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14932. [PMID: 30297852 PMCID: PMC6175963 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33178-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
For almost fifty years, geochemists have been interpreting the clues from Pb isotopic ratios concerning mantle composition and evolution separately. The Pb isotopes of ocean island basalts (OIB) indicate that their mantle source is heterogeneous, most likely due to the presence of end-components derived from recycled crust and sediment. Some OIB have unusually high 206Pb/204Pb coming from one of the end-components with a long time-integrated high 238U/204Pb or μ (HIMU). Most OIB and many mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) also have high 206Pb/204Pb, indicating a HIMU-like source. Moreover, measured 232Th/238U (κ) for most MORB are lower than those deduced from their 208Pb/204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb. Such high μ and low κ features of oceanic basalts are inconsistent with the known geochemical behavior of U, Pb and Th and temporal evolution of the mantle; these have been respectively termed the 1st and 2nd Pb paradox. Here we show that subducted marine carbonates can be a source for HIMU and a solution to the Pb paradoxes. The results are consistent with the predictions of the marine carbonate recycling hypothesis that posits the Pb isotopes of oceanic basalts indicate a common origin and/or magma generation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- P R Castillo
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - C MacIsaac
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - S Perry
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - J Veizer
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
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6
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Wang XJ, Chen LH, Hofmann AW, Hanyu T, Kawabata H, Zhong Y, Xie LW, Shi JH, Miyazaki T, Hirahara Y, Takahashi T, Senda R, Chang Q, Vaglarov BS, Kimura JI. Recycled ancient ghost carbonate in the Pitcairn mantle plume. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:8682-8687. [PMID: 30104354 PMCID: PMC6126754 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1719570115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The extreme Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb isotopic compositions found in Pitcairn Island basalts have been labeled enriched mantle 1 (EM1), characterizing them as one of the isotopic mantle end members. The EM1 origin has been vigorously debated for over 25 years, with interpretations ranging from delaminated subcontinental lithosphere, to recycled lower continental crust, to recycled oceanic crust carrying ancient pelagic sediments, all of which may potentially generate the requisite radiogenic isotopic composition. Here we find that δ26Mg ratios in Pitcairn EM1 basalts are significantly lower than in normal mantle and are the lowest values so far recorded in oceanic basalts. A global survey of Mg isotopic compositions of potentially recycled components shows that marine carbonates constitute the most common and typical reservoir invariably characterized by extremely low δ26Mg values. We therefore infer that the subnormal δ26Mg of the Pitcairn EM1 component originates from subducted marine carbonates. This, combined with previously published evidence showing exceptionally unradiogenic Pb as well as sulfur isotopes affected by mass-independent fractionation, suggests that the Pitcairn EM1 component is most likely derived from late Archean subducted carbonate-bearing sediments. However, the low Ca/Al ratios of Pitcairn lavas are inconsistent with experimental evidence showing high Ca/Al ratios in melts derived from carbonate-bearing mantle sources. We suggest that carbonate-silicate reactions in the late Archean subducted sediments exhausted the carbonates, but the isotopically light magnesium of the carbonate was incorporated in the silicates, which then entered the lower mantle and ultimately became the Pitcairn plume source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Jun Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023 Nanjing, China
| | - Li-Hui Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023 Nanjing, China;
| | - Albrecht W Hofmann
- Abteilung Klimageochemie, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, D-55128 Mainz, Germany;
| | - Takeshi Hanyu
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kawabata
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Kochi University, 780-8520 Kochi, Japan
| | - Yuan Zhong
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023 Nanjing, China
| | - Lie-Wen Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029 Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Hua Shi
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023 Nanjing, China
| | - Takashi Miyazaki
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Yuka Hirahara
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Toshiro Takahashi
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Ryoko Senda
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Qing Chang
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Bogdan S Vaglarov
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Jun-Ichi Kimura
- Department of Solid Earth Geochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
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7
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Abstract
Long thought to be inaccessible to empirical inquiry, Earth's early biosphere has in recent decades become a central focus of evolutionary and paleobiological research. Knowledge of Precambrian ecosystems comes from three principal sources. The conventional fossil record consists of the compressed and permineralized remains of cyanobacteria, protists and other microorganisms (e.g., Knoll, 1996), complemented by stromatolites and oncolites, the accretionary trace fossils of microbial mat communities (Walter, 1976). Independent inferences about early evolution can be drawn from molecular phylogenies (Pace, 1997). The third principal source of information comprises biogeochemical signatures encrypted in the chemistry of ancient sedimentary rocks. Biomarker molecular fossils and distinctive isotopic compositions record the metabolic activities of organisms not necessarily preserved morphologically (Summons and Walter, 1990). In this paper, we review the inferences about early life and environments that can be drawn from the isotopic records of carbon and sulfur.
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8
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de Wit MJ, Furnes H. 3.5-Ga hydrothermal fields and diamictites in the Barberton Greenstone Belt-Paleoarchean crust in cold environments. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2016; 2:e1500368. [PMID: 26933677 PMCID: PMC4771442 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Estimates of ocean temperatures on Earth 3.5 billion years ago (Ga) range between 26° and 85°C. We present new data from 3.47- to 3.43-Ga volcanic rocks and cherts in South Africa suggesting that these temperatures reflect mixing of hot hydrothermal fluids with cold marine and terrestrial waters. We describe fossil hydrothermal pipes that formed at ~200°C on the sea floor >2 km below sea level. This ocean floor was uplifted tectonically to sea level where a subaerial hydrothermal system was active at 30° to 270°C. We also describe shallow-water glacial diamictites and diagenetic sulfate mineral growth in abyssal muds. These new observations reveal that both hydrothermal systems operated in relatively cold environments and that Earth's surface temperatures in the early Archean were similar to those in more recent times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maarten J. de Wit
- AEON and Earth Stewardship Science Research Institute, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 7701, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
- Corresponding author. E-mail:
| | - Harald Furnes
- Department of Earth Science and Center for Geobiology, University of Bergen, Allegt. 41, Bergen 5007, Norway
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9
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Sánchez-Román M, Puente-Sánchez F, Parro V, Amils R. Nucleation of Fe-rich phosphates and carbonates on microbial cells and exopolymeric substances. Front Microbiol 2015; 6:1024. [PMID: 26441946 PMCID: PMC4585095 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Although phosphate and carbonate are important constituents in ancient and modern environments, it is not yet clear their biogeochemical relationships and their mechanisms of formation. Microbially mediated carbonate formation has been widely studied whereas little is known about the formation of phosphate minerals. Here we report that a new bacterial strain, Tessarococcus lapidicaptus, isolated from the subsurface of Rio Tinto basin (Huelva, SW Spain), is capable of precipitating Fe-rich phosphate and carbonate minerals. We observed morphological differences between phosphate and carbonate, which may help us to recognize these minerals in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. Finally, considering the scarcity and the unequal distribution and preservation patterns of phosphate and carbonates, respectively, in the geological record and the biomineralization process that produces those minerals, we propose a hypothesis for the lack of Fe-phosphates in natural environments and ancient rocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Sánchez-Román
- Department of Planetology and Habitability, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Víctor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Amils
- Department of Planetology and Habitability, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) Madrid, Spain ; Department of Virology and Microbiology, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa Madrid, Spain
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10
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Fischer WW, Hemp J, Johnson JE. Manganese and the Evolution of Photosynthesis. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2015; 45:351-7. [PMID: 26017176 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-015-9442-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Oxygenic photosynthesis is the most important bioenergetic event in the history of our planet-it evolved once within the Cyanobacteria, and remained largely unchanged as it was transferred to algae and plants via endosymbiosis. Manganese plays a fundamental role in this history because it lends the critical redox behavior of the water-oxidizing complex of photosystem II. Constraints from the photoassembly of the Mn-bearing water-oxidizing complex fuel the hypothesis that Mn(II) once played a key role as an electron donor for anoxygenic photosynthesis prior to the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. Here we review the growing body of geological and geochemical evidence from the Archean and Paleoproterozoic sedimentary records that supports this idea and demonstrates that the oxidative branch of the Mn cycle switched on prior to the rise of oxygen. This Mn-oxidizing phototrophy hypothesis also receives support from the biological record of extant phototrophs, and can be made more explicit by leveraging constraints from structural biology and biochemistry of photosystem II in Cyanobacteria. These observations highlight that water-splitting in photosystem II evolved independently from a homodimeric ancestral type II reaction center capable of high potential photosynthesis and Mn(II) oxidation, which is required by the presence of homologous redox-active tyrosines in the modern heterodimer. The ancestral homodimer reaction center also evolved a C-terminal extension that sterically precluded standard phototrophic electron donors like cytochrome c, cupredoxins, or high-potential iron-sulfur proteins, and could only complete direct oxidation of small molecules like Mn(2+), and ultimately water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woodward W Fischer
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA,
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11
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Gallagher M, Turner EC, Kamber BS. In situ trace metal analysis of Neoarchaean--Ordovician shallow-marine microbial-carbonate-hosted pyrites. GEOBIOLOGY 2015; 13:316-339. [PMID: 25917609 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Pre-Cambrian atmospheric and oceanic redox evolutions are expressed in the inventory of redox-sensitive trace metals in marine sedimentary rocks. Most of the currently available information was derived from deep-water sedimentary rocks (black shale/banded iron formation). Many of the studied trace metals (e.g. Mo, U, Ni and Co) are sensitive to the composition of the exposed land surface and prevailing weathering style, and their oceanic inventory ultimately depends on the terrestrial flux. The validity of claims for increased/decreased terrestrial fluxes has remained untested as far as the shallow-marine environment is concerned. Here, the first systematic study of trace metal inventories of the shallow-marine environment by analysis of microbial carbonate-hosted pyrite, from ca. 2.65-0.52 Ga, is presented. A petrographic survey revealed a first-order difference in preservation of early diagenetic pyrite. Microbial carbonates formed before the 2.4 Ga great oxygenation event (GOE) are much richer in pyrite and contain pyrite grains of greater morphological variability but lesser chemical substitution than samples deposited after the GOE. This disparity in pyrite abundance and morphology is mirrored by the qualitative degree of preservation of organic matter (largely as kerogen). Thus, it seems that in microbial carbonates, pyrite formation and preservation were related to presence and preservation of organic C. Several redox-sensitive trace metals show interpretable temporal trends supporting earlier proposals derived from deep-water sedimentary rocks. Most notably, the shallow-water pyrite confirms a rise in the oceanic Mo inventory across the pre-Cambrian-Cambrian boundary, implying the establishment of efficient deep-ocean ventilation. The carbonate-hosted pyrite also confirms the Neoarchaean and early Palaeoproterozoic ocean had higher Ni concentration, which can now more firmly be attributed to a greater proportion of magnesian volcanic rock on land rather than a stronger hydrothermal flux of Ni. Additionally, systematic trends are reported for Co, As, and Zn, relating to terrestrial flux and oceanic productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Gallagher
- Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - E C Turner
- Department of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada
| | - B S Kamber
- Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Microbial mediated formation of Fe-carbonate minerals under extreme acidic conditions. Sci Rep 2014; 4:4767. [PMID: 24755961 PMCID: PMC3996482 DOI: 10.1038/srep04767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2013] [Accepted: 03/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Discovery of Fe-carbonate precipitation in Rio Tinto, a shallow river with very acidic waters, situated in Huelva, South-western Spain, adds a new dimension to our understanding of carbonate formation. Sediment samples from this low-pH system indicate that carbonates are formed in physico-chemical conditions ranging from acid to neutral pH. Evidence for microbial mediation is observed in secondary electron images (Fig. 1), which reveal rod-shaped bacteria embedded in the surface of siderite nanocrystals. The formation of carbonates in Rio Tinto is related to the microbial reduction of ferric iron coupled to the oxidation of organic compounds. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time, that Acidiphilium sp. PM, an iron-reducing bacterium isolated from Rio Tinto, mediates the precipitation of siderite (FeCO3) under acidic conditions and at a low temperature (30°C). We describe nucleation of siderite on nanoglobules in intimate association with the bacteria cell surface. This study has major implications for understanding carbonate formation on the ancient Earth or extraterrestrial planets.
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Schwartzman D, Caldeira K, Pavlov A. Cyanobacterial emergence at 2.8 gya and greenhouse feedbacks. ASTROBIOLOGY 2008; 8:187-203. [PMID: 18237259 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.0074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Apparent cyanobacterial emergence at about 2.8 Gya coincides with the negative excursion in the organic carbon isotope record, which is the first strong evidence for the presence of atmospheric methane. The existence of weathering feedbacks in the carbonate-silicate cycle suggests that atmospheric and oceanic CO2 concentrations would have been high prior to the presence of a methane greenhouse (and thus the ocean would have had high bicarbonate concentrations). With the onset of a methane greenhouse, carbon dioxide concentrations would decrease. Bicarbonate has been proposed as the preferred reductant that preceded water for oxygenic photosynthesis in a bacterial photosynthetic precursor to cyanobacteria; with the drop of carbon dioxide level, Archean cyanobacteria emerged using water as a reductant instead of bicarbonate (Dismukes et al., 2001). Our thermodynamic calculations, with regard to this scenario, give at least a tenfold drop in aqueous CO2 levels with the onset of a methane-dominated greenhouse, assuming surface temperatures of about 60 degrees C and a drop in the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide from about 1 to 0.1 bars. The buildup of atmospheric methane could have been triggered by the boost in oceanic organic productivity that arose from the emergence of pre-cyanobacterial oxygenic phototrophy at about 2.8-3.0 Gya; high temperatures may have precluded an earlier emergence. A greenhouse transition timescale on the order of 50-100 million years is consistent with results from modeling the carbonate-silicate cycle. This is an alternative hypothesis to proposals of a tectonic driver for this apparent greenhouse transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Schwartzman
- Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA.
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SIAL ALCIDESN, FERREIRA VALDEREZP, DEALMEIDA AFONSOR, ROMANO ANTONIOW, PARENTE CLOVISV, DACOSTA MARCONDESL, SANTOS VICTORH. Carbon isotope fluctuations in Precambrian carbonate sequences of several localities in Brazil. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2000. [DOI: 10.1590/s0001-37652000000400006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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15
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Chapter 12 The Archean Atmosphere: Its Composition and Fate. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1994. [DOI: 10.1016/s0166-2635(08)70230-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
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Kump LR, Holland HD. Iron in Precambrian rocks: implications for the global oxygen budget of the ancient Earth. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA 1992; 56:3217-3223. [PMID: 11537208 DOI: 10.1016/0016-7037(92)90299-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Banded iron formations (BIF) are prominent in sediments older than 2 Ga. However, little is known about the absolute abundance of BIF in Archean and Early Proterozoic sediments, and the source of the Fe is still somewhat uncertain. Also unknown is the role that Fe may have played in the maintenance of low oxygen pressures in the Archean and Early Proterozoic atmosphere. An analysis of the chemical composition of Precambrian rocks provides some insight into the role of Fe in Precambrian geochemical cycles. The Fe content of igneous rocks is well correlated with their Ti content. Plots of Fe vs. Ti in Precambrian sandstones and graywackes fall very close to the igneous rock trend. Plots of Fe vs. Ti in Precambrian shales also follow this trend but show a definite scatter toward an excess of Fe. Phanerozoic shales and sandstones lie essentially on the igneous rock trend and show surprisingly little scatter. Mn/Ti relations show a stronger indication of Precambrian Mn loss, perhaps due to weathering under a less oxidizing early atmosphere. These data show that Fe was neither substantially added to nor significantly redistributed in Archean and early Proterozoic sediments. Enough hydrothermal Fe was added to these sediments to increase the average Fe content of shales by at most a factor of 2. This enrichment would probably not have greatly affected the near-surface redox cycle or atmospheric oxygen levels. Continued redistribution of Fe and mixing with weathered igneous rocks during the recycling of Precambrian sediments account for the excellent correlation of Fe with Ti in Phanerozoic shales and for the similarity between their Fe/Ti ratio and that of igneous rocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- L R Kump
- Department of Geosciences and Earth System Science Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802
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