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Quraish SN, Cockell C, Wuchter C, Kring D, Grice K, Coolen MJL. Deep subsurface microbial life in impact-altered Late Paleozoic granitoid rocks from the Chicxulub impact crater. GEOBIOLOGY 2024; 22:e12583. [PMID: 38385599 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
In 2016, IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 recovered an 829-meter-long core within the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater (Yucatán, Mexico), allowing us to investigate the post-impact recovery of the heat-sterilized deep continental microbial biosphere at the impact site. We recently reported increased cell biomass in the impact suevite, which was deposited within the first few hours of the Cenozoic, and that the overall microbial communities differed significantly between the suevite and the other main core lithologies (i.e., the granitic basement and the overlying Early Eocene marine sediments; Cockell et al., 2021). However, only seven rock intervals were previously analyzed from the geologically heterogenic and impact-deformed 587-m-long granitic core section below the suevite interval. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene profiling to study the microbial community composition in 45 intervals including (a) 31 impact-shocked granites, (b) 7 non-granitic rocks (i.e., consisting of suevite and impact melt rocks intercalated into the granites during crater formation and strongly serpentinized pre-impact sub-volcanic, ultramafic basanite/dolerite), and (c) 7 cross-cut mineral veins of anhydride and silica. Most recovered microbial taxa resemble those found in hydrothermal systems. Spearman correlation analysis confirmed that the borehole temperature, which gradually increased from 47 to 69°C with core depth, significantly shaped a subset of the vertically stratified modern microbial community composition in the granitic basement rocks. However, bacterial communities differed significantly between the impoverished shattered granites and nutrient-enriched non-granite rocks, even though both lithologies were at similar depths and temperatures. Furthermore, Spearman analysis revealed a strong correlation between the microbial communities and bioavailable chemical compounds and suggests the presence of chemolithoautotrophs, which most likely still play an active role in metal and sulfur cycling. These results indicate that post-impact microbial niche separation has also occurred in the granitic basement lithologies, as previously shown for the newly formed lithologies. Moreover, our data suggest that the impact-induced geochemical boundaries continue to shape the modern-day deep biosphere in the granitic basement underlying the Chicxulub crater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sohaib Naseer Quraish
- The Institute for Geoscience Research, WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Charles Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Cornelia Wuchter
- The Institute for Geoscience Research, WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - David Kring
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Kliti Grice
- The Institute for Geoscience Research, WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Marco J L Coolen
- The Institute for Geoscience Research, WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
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Kaskes P, Marchegiano M, Peral M, Goderis S, Claeys P. Hot carbonates deep within the Chicxulub impact structure. PNAS NEXUS 2024; 3:pgad414. [PMID: 38213614 PMCID: PMC10783646 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad414] [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: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Constraining the thermodynamic conditions within an impact structure during and after hypervelocity impacts is extremely challenging due to the transient thermal regimes. This work uses carbonate clumped-isotope thermometry to reconstruct absolute temperatures of impact lithologies within and close to the ∼66 Myr old Chicxulub crater (Yucatán, México). We present stable oxygen (δ18O), carbon (δ13C), and clumped-isotope (Δ47) data for carbonate-bearing impact breccias, impact melt rock, and target lithologies from four drill cores on a transect through the Chicxulub structure from the northern peak ring to the southern proximal ejecta blanket. Clumped isotope-derived temperatures (T(Δ47)) are consistently higher than maximum Late Cretaceous sea surface temperatures (35.5°C), except in the case of Paleogene limestones and melt-poor impact breccias outside of the crater, confirming the influence of burial diagenesis and a widespread and long-lived hydrothermal system. The melt-poor breccia unit outside the crater is overlain by melt-rich impact breccia yielding a much higher T(Δ47) of 111 ± 10°C (1 standard error [SE]), which likely traces the thermal processing of carbonate material during ejection. Finally, T(Δ47) up to 327 ± 33°C (1 SE) is determined for the lower suevite and impact melt rock intervals within the crater. The highest temperatures are related to distinct petrological features associated with decarbonation and rapid back-reaction, in which highly reactive CaO recombines with impact-released CO2 to form secondary CaCO3 phases. These observations have important climatic implications for the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event, as current numerical models likely overestimate the release of CO2 from the Chicxulub impact event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pim Kaskes
- Research Unit: Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratoire G-Time, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marta Marchegiano
- Research Unit: Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Marion Peral
- Research Unit: Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- CNRS, Bordeaux INP, EPOC, UMR 5805, Université de Bordeaux, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Steven Goderis
- Research Unit: Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Philippe Claeys
- Research Unit: Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Nicholson U, Bray VJ, Gulick SPS, Aduomahor B. The Nadir Crater offshore West Africa: A candidate Cretaceous-Paleogene impact structure. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn3096. [PMID: 35977017 PMCID: PMC9385158 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn3096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Evidence of marine target impacts, binary impact craters, or impact clusters are rare on Earth. Seismic reflection data from the Guinea Plateau, West Africa, reveal a ≥8.5-km-wide structure buried below ~300 to 400 m of Paleogene sediment with characteristics consistent with a complex impact crater. These include an elevated rim above a terraced crater floor, a pronounced central uplift, and extensive subsurface deformation. Numerical simulations of crater formation indicate a marine target (~800-m water depth) impact of a ≥400-m asteroid, resulting in a train of large tsunami waves and the potential release of substantial quantities of greenhouse gases from shallow buried black shale deposits. Our stratigraphic framework suggests that the crater formed at or near the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (~66 million years ago), approximately the same age as the Chicxulub impact crater. We hypothesize that this formed as part of a closely timed impact cluster or by breakup of a common parent asteroid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uisdean Nicholson
- School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Veronica J. Bray
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Sean P. S. Gulick
- Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Center for Planetary Systems Habitability, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Benedict Aduomahor
- School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
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4
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Giant impacts and the origin and evolution of continents. Nature 2022; 608:330-335. [PMID: 35948713 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04956-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Earth is the only planet known to have continents, although how they formed and evolved is unclear. Here using the oxygen isotope compositions of dated magmatic zircon, we show that the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, Earth's best-preserved Archaean (4.0-2.5 billion years ago (Ga)) continental remnant, was built in three stages. Stage 1 zircons (3.6-3.4 Ga) form two age clusters with one-third recording submantle δ18O, indicating crystallization from evolved magmas derived from hydrothermally altered basaltic crust like that in modern-day Iceland1,2. Shallow melting is consistent with giant impacts that typified the first billion years of Earth history3-5. Giant impacts provide a mechanism for fracturing the crust and establishing prolonged hydrothermal alteration by interaction with the globally extensive ocean6-8. A giant impact at around 3.6 Ga, coeval with the oldest low-δ18O zircon, would have triggered massive mantle melting to produce a thick mafic-ultramafic nucleus9,10. A second low-δ18O zircon cluster at around 3.4 Ga is contemporaneous with spherule beds that provide the oldest material evidence for giant impacts on Earth11. Stage 2 (3.4-3.0 Ga) zircons mostly have mantle-like δ18O and crystallized from parental magmas formed near the base of the evolving continental nucleus12. Stage 3 (<3.0 Ga) zircons have above-mantle δ18O, indicating efficient recycling of supracrustal rocks. That the oldest felsic rocks formed at 3.9-3.5 Ga (ref. 13), towards the end of the so-called late heavy bombardment4, is not a coincidence.
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Leite EP, Lambert J, Vasconcelos MAR, Crósta AP, Batezelli A. Gamma-ray spectrometry of the Araguainha impact structure, Brazil: Additional insights into element mobilization due to hydrothermal alteration. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2022; 94:e20210182. [PMID: 35857958 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202220210182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We present the analysis of airborne and ground gamma-ray spectrometry signatures of the Araguainha impact structure, located in central Brazil, the largest impact structure in South America with ~ 40 km diameter. The airborne data are total gamma-ray counts per second collected along flight lines spaced 1 km apart. The ground gamma-ray data are concentrations of potassium, uranium, and thorium isotopes calculated from radiations measured in three individual channels. The objectives are to distinguish lithologies within the structure, which have naturally distinctive radiogenic signatures, and identify potential post-impact hydrothermal alteration zones, as indicated by high K concentrations. Based on results obtained by numerical modeling of the crater formation, we infer the locations of potential occurrences of target rocks that may have undergone hydrothermal alteration as a result of the impact. The deviations from the background potassium concentration show significant anomalous K values at the center and in the northwestern crater rim, where high concentrations of U are also observed. The numerical model shows that ideal temperature conditions for hydrothermal fluid circulation were attained right after pos-impact gravitational stabilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilson P Leite
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências, Rua Carlos Gomes 250, 13083-855 Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Johann Lambert
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências, Rua Carlos Gomes 250, 13083-855 Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Marcos Alberto R Vasconcelos
- Universidade Federal da Bahia, Instituto de Geociências, Departamento de Geofísica, Av. Adhemar de Barros, s/n, 40170-110 Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - Alvaro P Crósta
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências, Rua Carlos Gomes 250, 13083-855 Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Alessandro Batezelli
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências, Rua Carlos Gomes 250, 13083-855 Campinas, SP, Brazil
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6
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Singh D, Sinha RK, Singh P, Roy N, Mukherjee S. Astrobiological Potential of Fe/Mg Smectites with Special Emphasis on Jezero Crater, Mars 2020 Landing Site. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:579-597. [PMID: 35171004 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0013] [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: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Life is known to adapt in accordance with its surrounding environment and sustainable resources available to it. Since harsh conditions would have precluded any possible aerobic evolution of life at the martian surface, it is plausible that martian life, should it exist, would have evolved in such a way as to derive energy from more optimum resources. Iron is one of the most abundant elements present in the martian crust and occurs at about twice the amount present on Earth. Clay minerals contribute to about half the iron found in soils and sediments. On Earth, clay acts as an electron donor as well as an acceptor in the carbon cycles and thereby supports a wide variety of metabolic reactions. In this context, we consider the potential of Fe/Mg smectites, one of the most widely reported hydrated minerals on Mars, for preservation of macro- and microscopic biosignatures. We proceed by understanding the environmental conditions during the formation of smectites and various microbes and metabolic processes associated with them as indicated in Earth-based studies. We also explore the possibility of biosignatures and their identification within the Mars 2020 landing site (Jezero Crater) by using the astrobiological payloads on board the Perseverance rover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepali Singh
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Priyadarshini Singh
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Nidhi Roy
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Saumitra Mukherjee
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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Kring DA, Bach W. Hydrogen Production from Alteration of Chicxulub Crater Impact Breccias: Potential Energy Source for a Subsurface Microbial Ecosystem. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:1547-1564. [PMID: 34678049 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0045] [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: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A sulfate-reducing population of thermophiles grew in porous, permeable niches within glass-bearing impact breccias of the Chicxulub impact crater. The microbial community grew in an impact-generated hydrothermal system that vented on the seafloor several hundred meters beneath the sea surface. Potential electron donors for that metabolism are hydrocarbons, although a strong C-isotope signature of that source does not exist. Model calculations explored here suggest that alteration of glass within the impact breccias may have produced H2 in sufficient quantities for population growth as the hydrothermal system cooled through thermophilic temperatures, although it is sensitive to the oxidation state of iron in the melt rock prior to hydrothermal alteration and the secondary mineral assemblage. At high water-to-rock ratios and temperatures below 45°C, H2 yields are insufficient to maintain a population of hydrogenotrophic sulfate-reducing bacteria, but yields double with a higher proportion of ferrous iron between 45 and 65°C. The most reduced rocks (i.e., highest proportion of ferrous iron) that are allowed to form andradite, which is observed in core samples, produce copious amounts of H2 in the temperature window for thermophiles and hyperthermophiles. Mixtures of melt rock and carbonate, which is observed in breccia matrices, produce somewhat less H2, and the onset of massive H2 production is shifted to higher temperatures (i.e., lower W/R).
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Kring
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Wolfgang Bach
- Geoscience Department and MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
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Rivera-Valentín EG, Filiberto J, Lynch KL, Mamajanov I, Lyons TW, Schulte M, Méndez A. Introduction-First Billion Years: Habitability. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:893-905. [PMID: 34406807 PMCID: PMC8403211 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The physical processes active during the first billion years (FBY) of Earth's history, such as accretion, differentiation, and impact cratering, provide constraints on the initial conditions that were conducive to the formation and establishment of life on Earth. This motivated the Lunar and Planetary Institute's FBY topical initiative, which was a four-part conference series intended to look at each of these physical processes to study the basic structure and composition of our Solar System that was set during the FBY. The FBY Habitability conference, held in September 2019, was the last in this series and was intended to synthesize the initiative; specifically, to further our understanding of the origins of life, planetary and environmental habitability, and the search for life beyond Earth. The conference included discussions of planetary habitability and the potential emergence of life on bodies within our Solar System, as well as extrasolar systems by applying our knowledge of the Solar System's FBY, and in particular Earth's early history. To introduce this Special Collection, which resulted from work discussed at the conference, we provide a review of the main themes and a synopsis of the FBY Habitability conference.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Justin Filiberto
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Kennda L. Lynch
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Irena Mamajanov
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Timothy W. Lyons
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Mitch Schulte
- Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Abel Méndez
- Planetary Habitability Laboratory, University of Puerto Rico Arecibo, Arecibo, Puerto Rico
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Cockell CS, Schaefer B, Wuchter C, Coolen MJL, Grice K, Schnieders L, Morgan JV, Gulick SPS, Wittmann A, Lofi J, Christeson GL, Kring DA, Whalen MT, Bralower TJ, Osinski GR, Claeys P, Kaskes P, de Graaff SJ, Déhais T, Goderis S, Hernandez Becerra N, Nixon S. Shaping of the Present-Day Deep Biosphere at Chicxulub by the Impact Catastrophe That Ended the Cretaceous. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:668240. [PMID: 34248877 PMCID: PMC8264514 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.668240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
We report on the effect of the end-Cretaceous impact event on the present-day deep microbial biosphere at the impact site. IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 drilled into the peak ring of the Chicxulub crater, México, allowing us to investigate the microbial communities within this structure. Increased cell biomass was found in the impact suevite, which was deposited within the first few hours of the Cenozoic, demonstrating that the impact produced a new lithological horizon that caused a long-term improvement in deep subsurface colonization potential. In the biologically impoverished granitic rocks, we observed increased cell abundances at impact-induced geological interfaces, that can be attributed to the nutritionally diverse substrates and/or elevated fluid flow. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed taxonomically distinct microbial communities in each crater lithology. These observations show that the impact caused geological deformation that continues to shape the deep subsurface biosphere at Chicxulub in the present day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles S Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Bettina Schaefer
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Cornelia Wuchter
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Marco J L Coolen
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Kliti Grice
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Luzie Schnieders
- MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Joanna V Morgan
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sean P S Gulick
- Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.,Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.,Center for Planetary Systems Habitability, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Axel Wittmann
- Arizona State University, Eyring Materials Center, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Johanna Lofi
- Géosciences Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Gail L Christeson
- Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - David A Kring
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Michael T Whalen
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States
| | - Timothy J Bralower
- Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Gordon R Osinski
- Institute for Earth and Space Exploration and Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Philippe Claeys
- Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Pim Kaskes
- Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sietze J de Graaff
- Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Thomas Déhais
- Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Steven Goderis
- Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Natali Hernandez Becerra
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, IN, United States
| | - Sophie Nixon
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, IN, United States
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10
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Goderis S, Sato H, Ferrière L, Schmitz B, Burney D, Kaskes P, Vellekoop J, Wittmann A, Schulz T, Chernonozhkin SM, Claeys P, de Graaff SJ, Déhais T, de Winter NJ, Elfman M, Feignon JG, Ishikawa A, Koeberl C, Kristiansson P, Neal CR, Owens JD, Schmieder M, Sinnesael M, Vanhaecke F, Van Malderen SJM, Bralower TJ, Gulick SPS, Kring DA, Lowery CM, Morgan JV, Smit J, Whalen MT. Globally distributed iridium layer preserved within the Chicxulub impact structure. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/9/eabe3647. [PMID: 33627429 PMCID: PMC7904271 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe3647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction is marked globally by elevated concentrations of iridium, emplaced by a hypervelocity impact event 66 million years ago. Here, we report new data from four independent laboratories that reveal a positive iridium anomaly within the peak-ring sequence of the Chicxulub impact structure, in drill core recovered by IODP-ICDP Expedition 364. The highest concentration of ultrafine meteoritic matter occurs in the post-impact sediments that cover the crater peak ring, just below the lowermost Danian pelagic limestone. Within years to decades after the impact event, this part of the Chicxulub impact basin returned to a relatively low-energy depositional environment, recording in unprecedented detail the recovery of life during the succeeding millennia. The iridium layer provides a key temporal horizon precisely linking Chicxulub to K-Pg boundary sections worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Goderis
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Honami Sato
- Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Submarine Resources Research Center, Research Institute for Marine Resources Utilization, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Birger Schmitz
- Astrogeobiology Laboratory, Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - David Burney
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Pim Kaskes
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratoire G-Time, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Johan Vellekoop
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Geology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Axel Wittmann
- Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Toni Schulz
- Department of Lithospheric Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, Universität zu Köln, Köln, Germany
| | - Stepan M Chernonozhkin
- Atomic and Mass Spectrometry-A&MS research group, Department of Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Philippe Claeys
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sietze J de Graaff
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratoire G-Time, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Thomas Déhais
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratoire G-Time, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Niels J de Winter
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Mikael Elfman
- Astrogeobiology Laboratory, Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Akira Ishikawa
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
- Submarine Resources Research Center, Research Institute for Marine Resources Utilization, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Christian Koeberl
- Department of Lithospheric Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Per Kristiansson
- Astrogeobiology Laboratory, Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Clive R Neal
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Jeremy D Owens
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science and National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Martin Schmieder
- HNU Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Neu-Ulm, Germany
- Lunar and Planetary Institute-USRA, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Matthias Sinnesael
- Analytical, Environmental, and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Frank Vanhaecke
- Atomic and Mass Spectrometry-A&MS research group, Department of Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Stijn J M Van Malderen
- Atomic and Mass Spectrometry-A&MS research group, Department of Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Timothy J Bralower
- Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Sean P S Gulick
- Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Center for Planetary Systems Habitability, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - David A Kring
- Lunar and Planetary Institute-USRA, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Joanna V Morgan
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jan Smit
- Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Michael T Whalen
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
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11
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Kring DA, Whitehouse MJ, Schmieder M. Microbial Sulfur Isotope Fractionation in the Chicxulub Hydrothermal System. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:103-114. [PMID: 33124879 PMCID: PMC7826424 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Target lithologies and post-impact hydrothermal mineral assemblages in a new 1.3 km deep core from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater indicate sulfate reduction was a potential energy source for a microbial ecosystem (Kring et al., 2020). That sulfate was metabolized is confirmed here by microscopic pyrite framboids with δ34S values of -5 to -35 ‰ and ΔSsulfate-sulfide values between pyrite and source sulfate of 25 to 54 ‰, which are indicative of biologic fractionation rather than inorganic fractionation processes. These data indicate the Chicxulub impact crater and its hydrothermal system hosted a subsurface microbial community in porous permeable niches within the crater's peak ring.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Kring
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
| | | | - Martin Schmieder
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
- HNU–Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Neu-Ulm, Germany
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