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Mulder SJ, van Ruitenbeek FJA, Foing BH, Sánchez-Román M. Multitechnique characterization of secondary minerals near HI-SEAS, Hawaii, as Martian subsurface analogues. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22603. [PMID: 38114584 PMCID: PMC10730813 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48923-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Secondary minerals in lava tubes on Earth provide valuable insight into subsurface processes and the preservation of biosignatures on Mars. Inside lava tubes near the Hawaii-Space Exploration and Analog Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat on the northeast flank of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, a variety of secondary deposits with distinct morphologies were observed consisting of mainly sodium sulphate powders, gypsum crystalline crusts, and small coralloid speleothems that comprise opal and calcite layers. These secondary deposits formed as a result of hydrological processes shortly after the formation and cooling of the lava tubes and are preserved over long periods of time in relatively dry conditions. The coralloid speleothem layers are likely related to wet and dry periods in which opal and calcite precipitates in cycles. Potential biosignatures seem to have been preserved in the form of porous stromatolite-like layers within the coralloid speleothems. Similar secondary deposits and lava tubes have been observed abundantly on the Martian surface suggesting similar formation mechanisms compared to this study. The origin of secondary minerals from tholeiitic basalts together with potential evidence for microbial processes make the lava tubes near HI-SEAS a relevant analog for Martian surface and subsurface environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian J Mulder
- Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, 9746 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
- Earth Sciences Department, Science Faculty, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Frank J A van Ruitenbeek
- Department of Applied Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Bernard H Foing
- LUNEX/ILEWG EuroMoonMars & Leiden Observatory, Universiteit Leiden, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mónica Sánchez-Román
- Earth Sciences Department, Science Faculty, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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2
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Caravaca G, Mangold N, Dehouck E, Schieber J, Zaugg L, Bryk AB, Fedo CM, Le Mouélic S, Le Deit L, Banham SG, Gupta S, Cousin A, Rapin W, Gasnault O, Rivera‐Hernández F, Wiens RC, Lanza NL. From Lake to River: Documenting an Environmental Transition Across the Jura/Knockfarril Hill Members Boundary in the Glen Torridon Region of Gale Crater (Mars). JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2022; 127:e2021JE007093. [PMID: 36246083 PMCID: PMC9541347 DOI: 10.1029/2021je007093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Between January 2019 and January 2021, the Mars Science Laboratory team explored the Glen Torridon (GT) region in Gale crater (Mars), known for its orbital detection of clay minerals. Mastcam, Mars Hand Lens Imager, and ChemCam data are used in an integrated sedimentological and geochemical study to characterize the Jura member of the upper Murray formation and the Knockfarril Hill member of the overlying Carolyn Shoemaker formation in northern GT. The studied strata show a progressive transition represented by interfingering beds of fine-grained, recessive mudstones of the Jura member and coarser-grained, cross-stratified sandstones attributed to the Knockfarril Hill member. Whereas the former are interpreted as lacustrine deposits, the latter are interpreted as predominantly fluvial deposits. The geochemical composition seen by the ChemCam instrument show K2O-rich mudstones (∼1-2 wt.%) versus MgO-rich sandstones (>6 wt.%), relative to the average composition of the underlying Murray formation. We document consistent sedimentary and geochemical data sets showing that low-energy mudstones of the Jura member are associated with the K-rich endmember, and that high-energy cross-stratified sandstones of the Knockfarril Hill member are associated with the Mg-rich endmember, regardless of stratigraphic position. The Jura to Knockfarril Hill transition therefore marks a significant paleoenvironmental change, where a long-lived and comparatively quiescent lacustrine setting progressively changes into a more energetic fluvial setting, as a consequence of shoreline regression due to either increased sediment supply or lake-level drop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwénaël Caravaca
- UMR 5277 CNRSUPSCNES Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieUniversité Paul Sabatier Toulouse IIIToulouseFrance
- UMR 6112 CNRS Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéosciencesNantes UniversitéUniversité d’AngersNantesFrance
- Now at Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieToulouseFrance
| | - Nicolas Mangold
- UMR 6112 CNRS Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéosciencesNantes UniversitéUniversité d’AngersNantesFrance
| | - Erwin Dehouck
- Université de LyonUCBLENSLUJMCNRSLGL‐TPEVilleurbanneFrance
| | - Juergen Schieber
- Department of Geological SciencesIndiana University BloomingtonBloomingtonINUSA
| | - Louis Zaugg
- UMR 6112 CNRS Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéosciencesNantes UniversitéUniversité d’AngersNantesFrance
| | | | - Christopher M. Fedo
- Department of Earth & Planetary SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Stéphane Le Mouélic
- UMR 6112 CNRS Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéosciencesNantes UniversitéUniversité d’AngersNantesFrance
| | - Laetitia Le Deit
- UMR 6112 CNRS Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéosciencesNantes UniversitéUniversité d’AngersNantesFrance
| | - Steven G. Banham
- Department of Earth Sciences and EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Sanjeev Gupta
- Department of Earth Sciences and EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Agnès Cousin
- UMR 5277 CNRSUPSCNES Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieUniversité Paul Sabatier Toulouse IIIToulouseFrance
| | - William Rapin
- UMR 5277 CNRSUPSCNES Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieUniversité Paul Sabatier Toulouse IIIToulouseFrance
| | - Olivier Gasnault
- UMR 5277 CNRSUPSCNES Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et PlanétologieUniversité Paul Sabatier Toulouse IIIToulouseFrance
| | | | - Roger C. Wiens
- Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary SciencesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteINUSA
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Abstract
The mechanical discontinuities in the upper crust (i.e., faults and related fractures) lead to the uprising of geothermal fluids to the Earth’s surface. If fluids are enriched in Ca2+ and HCO3-, masses of CaCO3 (i.e., travertine deposits) can form mainly due to the CO2 leakage from the thermal waters. Among other things, fissure-ridge-type deposits are peculiar travertine bodies made of bedded carbonate that gently to steeply dip away from the apical part where a central fissure is located, corresponding to the fracture trace intersecting the substratum; these morpho-tectonic features are the most useful deposits for tectonic and paleoseismological investigation, as their development is contemporaneous with the activity of faults leading to the enhancement of permeability that serves to guarantee the circulation of fluids and their emergence. Therefore, the fissure ridge architecture sheds light on the interplay among fault activity, travertine deposition, and ridge evolution, providing key geo-chronologic constraints due to the fact that travertine can be dated by different radiometric methods. In recent years, studies dealing with travertine fissure ridges have been considerably improved to provide a large amount of information. In this paper, we report the state of the art of knowledge on this topic refining the literature data as well as adding original data, mainly focusing on the fissure ridge morphology, internal architecture, depositional facies, growth mechanisms, tectonic setting in which the fissure ridges develop, and advantages of using the fissure ridges for neotectonic and seismotectonic studies.
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Clark BC, Kolb VM, Steele A, House CH, Lanza NL, Gasda PJ, VanBommel SJ, Newsom HE, Martínez-Frías J. Origin of Life on Mars: Suitability and Opportunities. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:539. [PMID: 34207658 PMCID: PMC8227854 DOI: 10.3390/life11060539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the habitability of early Mars is now well established, its suitability for conditions favorable to an independent origin of life (OoL) has been less certain. With continued exploration, evidence has mounted for a widespread diversity of physical and chemical conditions on Mars that mimic those variously hypothesized as settings in which life first arose on Earth. Mars has also provided water, energy sources, CHNOPS elements, critical catalytic transition metal elements, as well as B, Mg, Ca, Na and K, all of which are elements associated with life as we know it. With its highly favorable sulfur abundance and land/ocean ratio, early wet Mars remains a prime candidate for its own OoL, in many respects superior to Earth. The relatively well-preserved ancient surface of planet Mars helps inform the range of possible analogous conditions during the now-obliterated history of early Earth. Continued exploration of Mars also contributes to the understanding of the opportunities for settings enabling an OoL on exoplanets. Favoring geochemical sediment samples for eventual return to Earth will enhance assessments of the likelihood of a Martian OoL.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vera M. Kolb
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin—Parkside, Kenosha, WI 53141, USA;
| | - Andrew Steele
- Earth and Planetary Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA;
| | - Christopher H. House
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16807, USA;
| | - Nina L. Lanza
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA; (N.L.L.); (P.J.G.)
| | - Patrick J. Gasda
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA; (N.L.L.); (P.J.G.)
| | - Scott J. VanBommel
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA;
| | - Horton E. Newsom
- Institute of Meteoritics, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 88033, USA;
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Williams AJ, Craft KL, Millan M, Johnson SS, Knudson CA, Juarez Rivera M, McAdam AC, Tobler D, Skok JR. Fatty Acid Preservation in Modern and Relict Hot-Spring Deposits in Iceland, with Implications for Organics Detection on Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:60-82. [PMID: 33121252 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Hydrothermal spring deposits host unique microbial ecosystems and have the capacity to preserve microbial communities as biosignatures within siliceous sinter layers. This quality makes terrestrial hot springs appealing natural laboratories to study the preservation of both organic and morphologic biosignatures. The discovery of hydrothermal deposits on Mars has called attention to these hot springs as Mars-analog environments, driving forward the study of biosignature preservation in these settings to help prepare future missions targeting the recovery of biosignatures from martian hot-spring deposits. This study quantifies the fatty acid load in three Icelandic hot-spring deposits ranging from modern and inactive to relict. Samples were collected from both the surface and 2-18 cm in depth to approximate the drilling capabilities of current and upcoming Mars rovers. To determine the preservation potential of organics in siliceous sinter deposits, fatty acid analyses were performed with pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) utilizing thermochemolysis with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). This technique is available on both current and upcoming Mars rovers. Results reveal that fatty acids are often degraded in the subsurface relative to surface samples but are preserved and detectable with the TMAH pyrolysis-GC-MS method. Hot-spring mid-to-distal aprons are often the best texturally and geomorphically definable feature in older, degraded terrestrial sinter systems and are therefore most readily detectable on Mars from orbital images. These findings have implications for the detection of organics in martian hydrothermal systems as they suggest that organics might be detectable on Mars in relatively recent hot-spring deposits, but preservation likely deteriorates over geological timescales. Rovers with thermochemolysis pyrolysis-GC-MS instrumentation may be able to detect fatty acids in hot-spring deposits if the organics are relatively young; therefore, martian landing site and sample selection are of paramount importance in the search for organics on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy J Williams
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Planetary Environments Laboratory (Code 699), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Kathleen L Craft
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA
| | - Maëva Millan
- Planetary Environments Laboratory (Code 699), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Sarah Stewart Johnson
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Christine A Knudson
- Planetary Environments Laboratory (Code 699), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- CRESST Center for Research Exploration in Space Science and Technology at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Marisol Juarez Rivera
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Amy C McAdam
- Planetary Environments Laboratory (Code 699), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Dominique Tobler
- Department of Chemistry, Nano-Science Center, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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6
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Des Marais DJ, Walter MR. Terrestrial Hot Spring Systems: Introduction. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:1419-1432. [PMID: 31424278 PMCID: PMC6918855 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
This report reviews how terrestrial hot spring systems can sustain diverse and abundant microbial communities and preserve their fossil records. Hot springs are dependable water sources, even in arid environments. They deliver reduced chemical species and other solutes to more oxidized surface environments, thereby providing redox energy and nutrients. Spring waters have diverse chemical compositions, and their outflows create thermal gradients and chemical precipitates that sustain diverse microbial communities and entomb their remnants. These environments probably were important habitats for ancient benthic microbial ecosystems, and it has even been postulated that life arose in hydrothermal systems. Thermal spring communities are fossilized in deposits of travertine, siliceous sinter, and iron minerals (among others) that are found throughout the geological record back to the oldest known well-preserved rocks at 3.48 Ga. Very few are known before the Cenozoic, but it is likely that there are many more to be found. They preserve fossils ranging from microbes to trees and macroscopic animals. Features on Mars whose morphological and spectroscopic attributes resemble spring deposits on Earth have been detected in regions where geologic context is consistent with the presence of thermal springs. Such features represent targets in the search for evidence of past life on that planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Des Marais
- Exobiology Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Malcolm R. Walter
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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7
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Cavalazzi B, Barbieri R, Gómez F, Capaccioni B, Olsson-Francis K, Pondrelli M, Rossi A, Hickman-Lewis K, Agangi A, Gasparotto G, Glamoclija M, Ori G, Rodriguez N, Hagos M. The Dallol Geothermal Area, Northern Afar (Ethiopia)-An Exceptional Planetary Field Analog on Earth. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:553-578. [PMID: 30653331 PMCID: PMC6459281 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The Dallol volcano and its associated hydrothermal field are located in a remote area of the northern Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, a region only recently appraised after decades of inaccessibility due to severe political instability and the absence of infrastructure. The region is notable for hosting environments at the very edge of natural physical-chemical extremities. It is surrounded by a wide, hyperarid salt plain and is one of the hottest (average annual temperatureDallol: 36-38°C) and most acidic natural systems (pHDallol ≈0) on Earth. Spectacular geomorphologies and mineral deposits produced by supersaturated hydrothermal waters and brines are the result of complex interactions between active and inactive hydrothermal alteration of the bedrock, sulfuric hot springs and pools, fumaroles and geysers, and recrystallization processes driven by hydrothermal waters, degassing, and rapid evaporation. The study of planetary field analog environments plays a crucial role in characterizing the physical and chemical boundaries within which life can exist on Earth and other planets. It is essential for the definition and assessment of the conditions of habitability on other planets, including the possibility for biosignature preservation and in situ testing of technologies for life detection. The Dallol area represents an excellent Mars analog environment given that the active volcanic environment, the associated diffuse hydrothermalism and hydrothermal alteration, and the vast acidic sulfate deposits are reminiscent of past hydrothermal activity on Mars. The work presented in this paper is an overview of the Dallol volcanic area and its hydrothermal field that integrates previous literature with observations and results obtained from field surveys and monitoring coupled with sample characterization. In so doing, we highlight its exceptional potential as a planetary field analog as well as a site for future astrobiological and exploration programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. Cavalazzi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Address correspondence to: Barbara Cavalazzi, Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali - BiGeA, Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - R. Barbieri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - F. Gómez
- Centro de Astrobiologia and Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Madrid, Spain
| | - B. Capaccioni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - K. Olsson-Francis
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - M. Pondrelli
- Int'l Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università d'Annunzio, Chieti Scalo, Italy
| | | | - K. Hickman-Lewis
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- CNRS Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, Orléans, France
| | - A. Agangi
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - G. Gasparotto
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - M. Glamoclija
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - G.G. Ori
- Int'l Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università d'Annunzio, Chieti Scalo, Italy
| | - N. Rodriguez
- Centro de Astrobiologia and Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Madrid, Spain
| | - M. Hagos
- Department of Earth Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia
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Sapers HM, Ronholm J, Raymond-Bouchard I, Comrey R, Osinski GR, Whyte LG. Biological Characterization of Microenvironments in a Hypersaline Cold Spring Mars Analog. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:2527. [PMID: 29312221 PMCID: PMC5744183 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While many habitable niches on Earth are characterized by permanently cold conditions, little is known about the spatial structure of seasonal communities and the importance of substrate-cell associations in terrestrial cyroenvironments. Here we use the 16S rRNA gene as a marker for genetic diversity to compare two visually distinct but spatially integrated surface microbial mats on Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian high arctic, proximal to a perennial saline spring. This is the first study to describe the bacterial diversity in microbial mats on Axel Heiberg Island. The hypersaline springs on Axel Heiberg represent a unique analog to putative subsurface aquifers on Mars. The Martian subsurface represents the longest-lived potentially habitable environment on Mars and a better understanding of the microbial communities on Earth that thrive in analog conditions will help direct future life detection missions. The microbial mats sampled on Axel Heiberg are only visible during the summer months in seasonal flood plains formed by melt water and run-off from the proximal spring. Targeted-amplicon sequencing revealed that not only does the bacterial composition of the two mat communities differ substantially from the sediment community of the proximal cold spring, but that the mat communities are distinct from any other microbial community in proximity to the Arctic springs studied to date. All samples are dominated by Gammaproteobacteria: Thiotichales is dominant within the spring samples while Alteromonadales comprises a significant component of the mat communities. The two mat samples differ in their Thiotichales:Alteromonadales ratio and contribution of Bacteroidetes to overall diversity. The red mats have a greater proportion of Alteromonadales and Bacteroidetes reads. The distinct bacterial composition of the mat bacterial communities suggests that the spring communities are not sourced from the surface, and that seasonal melt events create ephemerally habitable niches with distinct microbial communities in the Canadian high arctic. The finding that these surficial complex microbial communities exist in close proximity to perennial springs demonstrates the existence of a transiently habitable niche in an important Mars analog site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley M. Sapers
- Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Faculty of Science, Western Science Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Jennifer Ronholm
- Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Raven Comrey
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Gordon R. Osinski
- Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Faculty of Science, Western Science Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Lyle G. Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Oehler DZ, Etiope G. Methane Seepage on Mars: Where to Look and Why. ASTROBIOLOGY 2017; 17:1233-1264. [PMID: 28771029 PMCID: PMC5730060 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 05/14/2017] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Methane on Mars is a topic of special interest because of its potential association with microbial life. The variable detections of methane by the Curiosity rover, orbiters, and terrestrial telescopes, coupled with methane's short lifetime in the martian atmosphere, may imply an active gas source in the planet's subsurface, with migration and surface emission processes similar to those known on Earth as "gas seepage." Here, we review the variety of subsurface processes that could result in methane seepage on Mars. Such methane could originate from abiotic chemical reactions, thermogenic alteration of abiotic or biotic organic matter, and ancient or extant microbial metabolism. These processes can occur over a wide range of temperatures, in both sedimentary and igneous rocks, and together they enhance the possibility that significant amounts of methane could have formed on early Mars. Methane seepage to the surface would occur preferentially along faults and fractures, through focused macro-seeps and/or diffuse microseepage exhalations. Our work highlights the types of features on Mars that could be associated with methane release, including mud-volcano-like mounds in Acidalia or Utopia; proposed ancient springs in Gusev Crater, Arabia Terra, and Valles Marineris; and rims of large impact craters. These could have been locations of past macro-seeps and may still emit methane today. Microseepage could occur through faults along the dichotomy or fractures such as those at Nili Fossae, Cerberus Fossae, the Argyre impact, and those produced in serpentinized rocks. Martian microseepage would be extremely difficult to detect remotely yet could constitute a significant gas source. We emphasize that the most definitive detection of methane seepage from different release candidates would be best provided by measurements performed in the ground or at the ground-atmosphere interface by landers or rovers and that the technology for such detection is currently available. Key Words: Mars-Methane-Seepage-Clathrate-Fischer-Tropsch-Serpentinization. Astrobiology 17, 1233-1264.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giuseppe Etiope
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma 2, Roma, Italy, and Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Evidence of in situ microbial activity and sulphidogenesis in perennially sub-0 °C and hypersaline sediments of a high Arctic permafrost spring. Extremophiles 2014; 19:1-15. [DOI: 10.1007/s00792-014-0703-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Goordial J, Lamarche-Gagnon G, Lay CY, Whyte L. Left Out in the Cold: Life in Cryoenvironments. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6488-0_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
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12
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Defining the functional potential and active community members of a sediment microbial community in a high-arctic hypersaline subzero spring. Appl Environ Microbiol 2013; 79:3637-48. [PMID: 23563939 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00153-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Lost Hammer (LH) Spring is the coldest and saltiest terrestrial spring discovered to date and is characterized by perennial discharges at subzero temperatures (-5°C), hypersalinity (salinity, 24%), and reducing (≈-165 mV), microoxic, and oligotrophic conditions. It is rich in sulfates (10.0%, wt/wt), dissolved H2S/sulfides (up to 25 ppm), ammonia (≈381 μM), and methane (11.1 g day(-1)). To determine its total functional and genetic potential and to identify its active microbial components, we performed metagenomic analyses of the LH Spring outlet microbial community and pyrosequencing analyses of the cDNA of its 16S rRNA genes. Reads related to Cyanobacteria (19.7%), Bacteroidetes (13.3%), and Proteobacteria (6.6%) represented the dominant phyla identified among the classified sequences. Reconstruction of the enzyme pathways responsible for bacterial nitrification/denitrification/ammonification and sulfate reduction appeared nearly complete in the metagenomic data set. In the cDNA profile of the LH Spring active community, ammonia oxidizers (Thaumarchaeota), denitrifiers (Pseudomonas spp.), sulfate reducers (Desulfobulbus spp.), and other sulfur oxidizers (Thermoprotei) were present, highlighting their involvement in nitrogen and sulfur cycling. Stress response genes for adapting to cold, osmotic stress, and oxidative stress were also abundant in the metagenome. Comparison of the composition of the functional community of the LH Spring to metagenomes from other saline/subzero environments revealed a close association between the LH Spring and another Canadian high-Arctic permafrost environment, particularly in genes related to sulfur metabolism and dormancy. Overall, this study provides insights into the metabolic potential and the active microbial populations that exist in this hypersaline cryoenvironment and contributes to our understanding of microbial ecology in extreme environments.
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Grasby SE, Beauchamp B, Bense V. Sulfuric acid Speleogenesis associated with a glacially driven groundwater system-paleo-spring "pipes" at Borup Fiord Pass, Nunavut. ASTROBIOLOGY 2012; 12:19-28. [PMID: 22204399 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2011.0700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Gypsum filled "pipe" features were discovered in the proglacial area of the Borup Fiord Pass supraglacial sulfur spring. Stable isotope data suggest that gypsum is formed through oxidation of sulfides and are consistent with models of sulfuric acid speleogenesis. These results suggest that gypsum pipes are paleo-spring discharge channels analogous to those that feed the modern sulfur spring at Borup Fiord. A conceptual model is proposed whereby retreat of the glacial front and associated growth of permafrost in ground exposed now to low arctic temperatures leads to "freezing-in" of the spring system and abandonment of old channels in favor of more open flow systems in the subglacial region. Results provide a model for glacially driven groundwater systems that may form in association with Mars' polar icecaps and potential geological signatures for paleo-groundwater discharge.
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Wray JJ, Milliken RE, Dundas CM, Swayze GA, Andrews-Hanna JC, Baldridge AM, Chojnacki M, Bishop JL, Ehlmann BL, Murchie SL, Clark RN, Seelos FP, Tornabene LL, Squyres SW. Columbus crater and other possible groundwater-fed paleolakes of Terra Sirenum, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Andrews-Hanna JC, Zuber MT, Arvidson RE, Wiseman SM. Early Mars hydrology: Meridiani playa deposits and the sedimentary record of Arabia Terra. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Microbial characterization of a subzero, hypersaline methane seep in the Canadian High Arctic. ISME JOURNAL 2010; 4:1326-39. [PMID: 20445635 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2010.57] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We report the first microbiological characterization of a terrestrial methane seep in a cryo-environment in the form of an Arctic hypersaline (∼24% salinity), subzero (-5 °C), perennial spring, arising through thick permafrost in an area with an average annual air temperature of -15 °C. Bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene clone libraries indicated a relatively low diversity of phylotypes within the spring sediment (Shannon index values of 1.65 and 1.39, respectively). Bacterial phylotypes were related to microorganisms such as Loktanella, Gillisia, Halomonas and Marinobacter spp. previously recovered from cold, saline habitats. A proportion of the bacterial phylotypes were cultured, including Marinobacter and Halomonas, with all isolates capable of growth at the in situ temperature (-5 °C). Archaeal phylotypes were related to signatures from hypersaline deep-sea methane-seep sediments and were dominated by the anaerobic methane group 1a (ANME-1a) clade of anaerobic methane oxidizing archaea. CARD-FISH analyses indicated that cells within the spring sediment consisted of ∼84.0% bacterial and 3.8% archaeal cells with ANME-1 cells accounting for most of the archaeal cells. The major gas discharging from the spring was methane (∼50%) with the low CH(4)/C(2+) ratio and hydrogen and carbon isotope signatures consistent with a thermogenic origin of the methane. Overall, this hypersaline, subzero environment supports a viable microbial community capable of activity at in situ temperature and where methane may behave as an energy and carbon source for sustaining anaerobic oxidation of methane-based microbial metabolism. This site also provides a model of how a methane seep can form in a cryo-environment as well as a mechanism for the hypothesized Martian methane plumes.
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Bishop JL, Parente M, Weitz CM, Noe Dobrea EZ, Roach LH, Murchie SL, McGuire PC, McKeown NK, Rossi CM, Brown AJ, Calvin WM, Milliken R, Mustard JF. Mineralogy of Juventae Chasma: Sulfates in the light-toned mounds, mafic minerals in the bedrock, and hydrated silica and hydroxylated ferric sulfate on the plateau. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Leverington DW. Reconciling channel formation processes with the nature of elevated outflow systems at Ophir and Aurorae Plana, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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