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Kloprogge JT(T, Hartman H. Clays and the Origin of Life: The Experiments. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:259. [PMID: 35207546 PMCID: PMC8880559 DOI: 10.3390/life12020259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
There are three groups of scientists dominating the search for the origin of life: the organic chemists (the Soup), the molecular biologists (RNA world), and the inorganic chemists (metabolism and transient-state metal ions), all of which have experimental adjuncts. It is time for Clays and the Origin of Life to have its experimental adjunct. The clay data coming from Mars and carbonaceous chondrites have necessitated a review of the role that clays played in the origin of life on Earth. The data from Mars have suggested that Fe-clays such as nontronite, ferrous saponites, and several other clays were formed on early Mars when it had sufficient water. This raised the question of the possible role that these clays may have played in the origin of life on Mars. This has put clays front and center in the studies on the origin of life not only on Mars but also here on Earth. One of the major questions is: What was the catalytic role of Fe-clays in the origin and development of metabolism here on Earth? First, there is the recent finding of a chiral amino acid (isovaline) that formed on the surface of a clay mineral on several carbonaceous chondrites. This points to the formation of amino acids on the surface of clay minerals on carbonaceous chondrites from simpler molecules, e.g., CO2, NH3, and HCN. Additionally, there is the catalytic role of small organic molecules, such as dicarboxylic acids and amino acids found on carbonaceous chondrites, in the formation of Fe-clays themselves. Amino acids and nucleotides adsorb on clay surfaces on Earth and subsequently polymerize. All of these observations and more must be subjected to strict experimental analysis. This review provides an overview of what has happened and is now happening in the experimental clay world related to the origin of life. The emphasis is on smectite-group clay minerals, such as montmorillonite and nontronite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Teunis (Theo) Kloprogge
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao 5023, Philippines
| | - Hyman Hartman
- Department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Abstract
Spectral remote sensing in the visible/near-infrared (VNIR) and mid-IR (MIR) regions has enabled detection and characterisation of multiple clays and clay minerals on Earth and in the Solar System. Remote sensing on Earth poses the greatest challenge due to atmospheric absorptions that interfere with detection of surface minerals. Still, a greater variety of clay minerals have been observed on Earth than other bodies due to extensive aqueous alteration on our planet. Clay minerals have arguably been mapped in more detail on the planet Mars because they are not masked by vegetation on that planet and the atmosphere is less of a hindrance. Fe/Mg-smectite is the most abundant clay mineral on the surface of Mars and is also common in meteorites and comets where clay minerals are detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janice L Bishop
- SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, 189 Bernardo Ave, Suite 200, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | | | - John Carter
- Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Paris-Sud University, Orsay, France
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Clark BC, Baird AK, Rose HJ, Toulmin P, Christian RP, Kelliher WC, Castro AJ, Rowe CD, Keil K, Huss GR. The Viking X Ray Fluorescence Experiment: Analytical methods and early results. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/js082i028p04577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Boynton WV, Taylor GJ, Evans LG, Reedy RC, Starr R, Janes DM, Kerry KE, Drake DM, Kim KJ, Williams RMS, Crombie MK, Dohm JM, Baker V, Metzger AE, Karunatillake S, Keller JM, Newsom HE, Arnold JR, Brückner J, Englert PAJ, Gasnault O, Sprague AL, Mitrofanov I, Squyres SW, Trombka JI, d'Uston L, Wänke H, Hamara DK. Concentration of H, Si, Cl, K, Fe, and Th in the low- and mid-latitude regions of Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je002887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Stopar JD, Lucey PG, Sharma SK, Misra AK, Taylor GJ, Hubble HW. Raman efficiencies of natural rocks and minerals: performance of a remote Raman system for planetary exploration at a distance of 10 meters. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2005; 61:2315-23. [PMID: 16029852 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2005.02.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2004] [Accepted: 02/04/2005] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Raman spectroscopy is a powerful technique for materials analysis, and we are developing and analyzing a remote Raman system for use on a planetary lander or rover. We have acquired data at a distance of 10m from a variety of geologic materials using different instrument designs. We have employed a pulsed laser with both an ungated detector and a gated detector. A gated detector can reduce long-lived fluorescence while still collecting all Raman signal. In order to design a flight instrument, we need to quantify how natural surfaces will respond to laser stimulus. We define remote Raman efficiency of natural surfaces as the ratio of radiant exitance leaving a natural surface to the irradiance of the incident laser. The radiant exitance of a natural surface is the product of the sample radiance, the projected solid angle, and the full-width-half-maximum of the Raman signal. We have determined the remote Raman efficiency for a variety of rocks and minerals. The best efficiencies are achieved for large, clear, single crystals that produce the most radiant exitance, while darker fine-grained mineral mixtures produce lower efficiencies. By implementing a pulsed laser, gated detector system we have improved the signal detection and have generally decreased the integration time necessary to detect Raman signal from natural surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie D Stopar
- Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, 1680 East-West Road, Post 504, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
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Clark BC. Release and fragmentation of aggregates to produce heterogeneous, lumpy coma streams. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004. [DOI: 10.1029/2004je002319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Banin A, Carle GC, Chang S, Coyne LM, Orenberg JB, Scattergood TW. Laboratory investigations of Mars: chemical and spectroscopic characteristics of a suite of clays as Mars soil analogs. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2001; 18:239-65. [PMID: 11538359 DOI: 10.1007/bf01804672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Two major questions have been raised by prior explorations of Mars. Has there ever been abundant water on Mars? Why is the iron found in the Martian soil not readily seen in the reflectance spectra of the surface? The work reported here describes a model soil system of Mars Soil Analog Materials, MarSAM, with attributes which could help resolve both of these dilemmas. The first set of MarSAM consisted of a suite of variably iron/calcium-exchanged montmorillonite clays. Several properties, including chemical composition, surface-ion composition, water adsorption isotherms, and reflectance spectra, of these clays have been examined. Also, simulations of the Viking Labeled Release Experiment using the MarSAM were performed. The results of these studies show that surface iron and adsorbed water are important determinants of clay behavior as evidenced by changes in reflectance, water absorption, and clay surface reactions. Thus, these materials provide a model soil system which reasonably satisfies the constraints imposed by the Viking analyses and remote spectral observations of the Martian surface, and which offers a sink for significant amounts of water. Finally, our initial results may provide insights into the mechanisms of reactions that occur on clay surfaces as well as a more specific approach to determining the mineralogy of Martian soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Banin
- Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel
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Esposito F, Colangeli L, Palomba E. Infrared reflectance spectroscopy of Martian analogues. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2000. [DOI: 10.1029/1999je001223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Zent AP. On the thickness of the oxidized layer of the Martian regolith. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH 1998; 103:31491-8. [PMID: 11542261 DOI: 10.1029/98je01895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
A revised model of the diffusion of H2O2 through the Martian regolith is presented, which argues that oxidant diffusion may be more efficient than previously thought. Recent models of the adsorption of H2O at Mars-like conditions indicate that it adsorbs more poorly than previously believed. H2O adsorption is a necessary proxy for peroxide adsorption; hence the adsorptive slowing of peroxide diffusion is modeled as less efficient. Because the peroxide has a finite lifetime, it has a finite extinction depth as well. The effects of regolith gardening by impacts are quantitatively estimated and combined with the effects of oxidation by atmospheric gases to produce estimates of the degree of oxidation of the Martian surface with depth. We explore the effects of different crater production populations along with variations in H2O2 extinction depths, and hydrothermal oxidation of ejecta. In very select circumstances involving very early onset of oxidizing conditions during heavy bombardment, 150-200 m of regolith could be fully oxidized. More likely scenarios for the crater production population, onset of oxidizing conditions, and oxidant extinction depth yield estimates of no more than a few meters to putative reducing material. In addition, uncertainties remain regarding the degree to which hydrothermal or other high-temperature chemistry might oxidize materials in ejecta blankets. The trade-off between accessing unlithified sediments or rock interiors must be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Zent
- Space Sciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
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Yen AS, Murray BC, Rossman GR. Water content of the Martian soil: Laboratory simulations of reflectance spectra. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1998. [DOI: 10.1029/98je00739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Bishop JL, Pieters CM. Low-temperature and low atmospheric pressure infrared reflectance spectroscopy of Mars soil analog materials. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1995. [DOI: 10.1029/94je03331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Bishop JL, Pieters CM, Burns RG. Reflectance and Mossbauer spectroscopy of ferrihydrite-montmorillonite assemblages as Mars soil analog materials. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA 1993; 57:4583-4595. [PMID: 11539454 DOI: 10.1016/0016-7037(93)90184-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Spectroscopic analyses show that Fe(3+)-doped smectites prepared in the laboratory exhibit important similarities to the soils on Mars. Ferrihydrite has been identified as the interlayer ferric component in Fe(3+)-doped smectites by a low quadrupole splitting and magnetic field strength of approximately 48 tesla in Mossbauer spectra measured at 4.2 K, as well as a crystal field transition at 0.92 micrometer. Ferrihydrite in these smectites explains features in the visible-near infrared region that resemble the energies and band strengths of features in reflectance spectra observed for several bright regions on Mars. Clay silicates have met resistance in the past as Mars soil analogs because terrestrial clay silicates exhibit prominent hydrous spectral features at 1.4, 1.9, and 2.2 micrometers; and these are observed weakly, if at all, in reflectance spectra of Mars. However, several mechanisms can weaken or compress these features, including desiccation under low-humidity conditions. The hydration properties of the interlayer cations also effect band strengths, such that a ferrihydrite-bearing smectite in the Martian environment would exhibit a 1.9 micrometers H2O absorption that is even weaker than the 2.2 micrometers structural OH absorption. Mixing experiments demonstrate that infrared spectral features of clays can be significantly suppressed and that the reflectance can be significantly darkened by mixing with only a few percent of a strongly absorbing opaque material. Therefore, the absolute reflectance of a soil on Mars may be disproportionately sensitive to a minor component. For this reason, the shape and position of spectral features and the chemical composition of potential analogs are of utmost importance in assessing the composition of the soil on Mars. Given the remarkable similarity between visible-infrared reflectance spectra of soils in bright regions on Mars and Fe(3+)-doped montmorillonites, coupled with recent observations of smectites in SNC meteorites and a weak 2.2 micrometers absorption in some Mars soils, ferrihydrite-bearing smectites warrant serious consideration as a Mars soil analog.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Bishop
- Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
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Boslough MB, Venturini EL, Morosin B, Graham RA, Williamson DL. Physical properties of shocked and thermally altered nontronite: Implications for the Martian surface. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1986. [DOI: 10.1029/jb091ib13p0e207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Weldon RJ, Thomas WM, Boslough MB, Ahrens TJ. Shock-induced color changes in nontronite: Implications for the Martian fines. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1982. [DOI: 10.1029/jb087ib12p10102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Singer RB. Spectral evidence for the mineralogy of high-albedo soils and dust on Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1982. [DOI: 10.1029/jb087ib12p10159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Clark BC, Baird AK, Weldon RJ, Tsusaki DM, Schnabel L, Candelaria MP. Chemical composition of Martian fines. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1982. [DOI: 10.1029/jb087ib12p10059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 305] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Imshenetsky AA, Murzakov BG, Evdokimova MD, Dorofeyeva IK. Biological studies of Martian soil analogues. ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPACE RESEARCH (COSPAR) 1981; 1:21-26. [PMID: 11541712 DOI: 10.1016/0273-1177(81)90239-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Results of the study of the influence of Martian soil analogues, both as described by American scientists and as prepared by us, and of hydrogen peroxide on the viability of microorganisms are presented. The experiments were carried out using mixtures of soil analogues with desert soil and black earth (chernozem) samples, and pure cultures of microorganism. Microorganisms capable of withstanding a concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the medium as high as 1.5-2.0% were isolated. None of the 40 strains of microorganisms studied, all belonging to different systematic and physiological groups, exhibited growth inhibition on solid media in the presence of Martian soil analogues. In view of the fact that Martian soil cannot contain microorganisms in great quantities, we suggest using electroadsorption for their concentration, to make detection reliable. A device was designed for this purpose, using the principle of electroadsorption on a polarisable carrier (sterile cotton wool or cheesecloth). The concentrated suspension of microorganisms thus obtained was then characterized by various physicochemical methods.
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Hubbard JS. Laboratory simulations of the pyrolytic release experiments: an interim report. J Mol Evol 1979; 14:211-21. [PMID: 522153 DOI: 10.1007/bf01732379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Keil K, Clark BC, Baird AK, Toulmin P, Rose HJ. Zur chemie der marsoberfläche. Naturwissenschaften 1978. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00368561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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