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Ramkissoon NK, Macey MC, Kucukkilic-Stephens E, Barton T, Steele A, Johnson DN, Stephens BP, Schwenzer SP, Pearson VK, Olsson-Francis K. Experimental Identification of Potential Martian Biosignatures in Open and Closed Systems. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:538-558. [PMID: 38648554 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
NASA's Perseverance and ESA's Rosalind Franklin rovers have the scientific goal of searching for evidence of ancient life on Mars. Geochemical biosignatures that form because of microbe-mineral interactions could play a key role in achieving this, as they can be preserved for millions of years on Earth, and the same could be true for Mars. Previous laboratory experiments have explored the formation of biosignatures under closed systems, but these do not represent the open systems that are found in natural martian environments, such as channels and lakes. In this study, we have conducted environmental simulation experiments using a global regolith simulant (OUCM-1), a thermochemically modelled groundwater, and an anaerobic microbial community to explore the formation of geochemical biosignatures within plausible open and closed systems on Mars. This initial investigation showed differences in the diversity of the microbial community developed after 28 days. In an open-system simulation (flow-through experiment), the acetogenic Acetobacterium (49% relative abundance) and the sulfate reducer Desulfosporomusa (43% relative abundance) were the dominant genera. Whereas in the batch experiment, the sulfate reducers Desulfovibrio, Desulfomicrobium, and Desulfuromonas (95% relative abundance in total) were dominant. We also found evidence of enhanced mineral dissolution within the flow-through experiment, but there was little evidence of secondary deposits in the presence of biota. In contrast, SiO2 and Fe deposits formed within the batch experiment with biota but not under abiotic conditions. The results from these initial experiments indicate that different geochemical biosignatures can be generated between open and closed systems, and therefore, biosignature formation in open systems warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael C Macey
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | | | - Timothy Barton
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Andrew Steele
- Earth and Planetary Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA
| | - David N Johnson
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Ben P Stephens
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
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Zaki AS, Davis JM, Edgett KS, Giegengack R, Roige M, Conway S, Schuster M, Gupta S, Salese F, Sangwan KS, Fairén AG, Hughes CM, Pain CF, Castelltort S. Fluvial Depositional Systems of the African Humid Period: An Analog for an Early, Wet Mars in the Eastern Sahara. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2022; 127:e2021JE007087. [PMID: 35860764 PMCID: PMC9285406 DOI: 10.1029/2021je007087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
A widely hypothesized but complex transition from widespread fluvial activity to predominantly aeolian processes is inferred on Mars based on remote sensing data observations of ancient landforms. However, the lack of analysis of in situ martian fluvial deposits hinders our understanding of the flow regime nature and sustainability of the martian fluvial activity and the hunt for ancient life. Studying analogs from arid zones on Earth is fundamental to quantitatively understanding geomorphic processes and climate drivers that might have dominated during early Mars. Here we investigate the formation and preservation of fluvial depositional systems in the eastern Sahara, where the largest arid region on Earth hosts important repositories of past climatic changes. The fluvial systems are composed of well-preserved single-thread sinuous to branching ridges and fan-shaped deposits interpreted as deltas. The systems' configuration and sedimentary content suggest that ephemeral rivers carved these landforms by sequential intermittent episodes of erosion and deposition active for 10-100s years over ∼10,000 years during the late Quaternary. Subsequently, these landforms were sculpted by a marginal role of rainfall and aeolian processes with minimum erosion rates of 1.1 ± 0.2 mm/yr, supplying ∼96 ± 24 × 1010 m3 of disaggregated sediment to adjacent aeolian dunes. Our results imply that similar martian fluvial systems preserving single-thread, short distance source-to-sink courses may have formed due to transient drainage networks active over short durations. Altogether, this study adds to the growing recognition of the complexity of interpreting climate history from orbital images of landforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. S. Zaki
- Department of Earth SciencesUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - J. M. Davis
- Department of Earth SciencesNatural History MuseumLondonUK
| | | | - R. Giegengack
- Department of Earth & Environmental ScienceUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - M. Roige
- Department de GeologiaUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - S. Conway
- CNRS UMR 6112 Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, Université de NantesNantesFrance
| | - M. Schuster
- Université de StrasbourgCNRSInstitut Terre et Environnement de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance
| | - S. Gupta
- Department of Earth Sciences and EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - F. Salese
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC‐INTA), Torrejón de ArdozMadridSpain
- International Research School of Planetary Sciences (IRSPS)Università d’AnnunzioPescaraItaly
| | - K. S. Sangwan
- Department of Earth Sciences and EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - A. G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC‐INTA), Torrejón de ArdozMadridSpain
- Department of AstronomyCornell UniversityIthacaNYUSA
| | - C. M. Hughes
- Department of GeosciencesUniversity of ArkansasFayettevilleARUSA
| | - C. F. Pain
- MED_Soil, Departamento de Cristlografía, Mineralogía y Quimica AgrícolaUniversidad de SevillaSevillaSpain
| | - S. Castelltort
- Department of Earth SciencesUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
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Salese F, Kleinhans MG, Mangold N, Ansan V, McMahon W, de Haas T, Dromart G. Estimated Minimum Life Span of the Jezero Fluvial Delta (Mars). ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:977-993. [PMID: 32434374 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The paleo-lake floor at the edge of the Jezero delta has been selected as the NASA 2020 rover landing site. In this article, we demonstrate the sequences of lake filling and delta formation and constrain the minimum life span of the Jezero paleo-lake from sedimentological and hydrological analyses. Two main phases of delta evolution can be recognized by utilizing imagery provided by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) and High Resolution Stereo Camera (ESA Mars Express): (1) basin infilling before the breaching of the Jezero rim and (2) the delta formation itself. Our results suggest that delta formation occurred over a minimum period of 90-550 years of hydrological activity. Breaching of the Jezero rim occurred in at least three distinct episodes, which spanned a far longer time-period than overall delta formation. This evolutionary history implies that the Jezero-lake floor would have been a haven for fine-grained sediment accumulation and hosted an active environment of significant astrobiological importance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Salese
- Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università Gabriele D'Annunzio, Pescara, Italy
| | | | - Nicolas Mangold
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et de Géodynamique de Nantes, UMR6112, CNRS/Nantes University, Nantes, France
| | - Veronique Ansan
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et de Géodynamique de Nantes, UMR6112, CNRS/Nantes University, Nantes, France
| | - William McMahon
- Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Tjalling de Haas
- Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Gilles Dromart
- University of Lyon, ENSL, University of Lyon 1, CNRS, LGL-TPE, Lyon, France
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