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Alberini A, Fornaro T, García-Florentino C, Biczysko M, Poblacion I, Aramendia J, Madariaga JM, Poggiali G, Vicente-Retortillo Á, Benison KC, Siljeström S, Biancalani S, Lorenz C, Cloutis EA, Applin DM, Gómez F, Steele A, Wiens RC, Hand KP, Brucato JR. Investigating the stability of aromatic carboxylic acids in hydrated magnesium sulfate under UV irradiation to assist detection of organics on Mars. Sci Rep 2024; 14:15945. [PMID: 38987581 PMCID: PMC11237158 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66669-8] [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: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument onboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover detected so far some of the most intense fluorescence signals in association with sulfates analyzing abraded patches of rocks at Jezero crater, Mars. To assess the plausibility of an organic origin of these signals, it is key to understand if organics can survive exposure to ambient Martian UV after exposure by the Perseverance abrasion tool and prior to analysis by SHERLOC. In this work, we investigated the stability of organo-sulfate assemblages under Martian-like UV irradiation and we observed that the spectroscopic features of phthalic and mellitic acid embedded into hydrated magnesium sulfate do not change for UV exposures corresponding to at least 48 Martian sols and, thus, should still be detectable in fluorescence when the SHERLOC analysis takes place, thanks to the photoprotective properties of magnesium sulfate. In addition, different photoproduct bands diagnostic of the parent carboxylic acid molecules could be observed. The photoprotective behavior of hydrated magnesium sulfate corroborates the hypothesis that sulfates might have played a key role in the preservation of organics on Mars, and that the fluorescence signals detected by SHERLOC in association with sulfates could potentially arise from organic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Alberini
- INAF- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy.
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Via Giovanni Sansone 1, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Florence, Italy.
| | - Teresa Fornaro
- INAF- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy.
| | - Cristina García-Florentino
- INAF- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 48080, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Malgorzata Biczysko
- College of Science, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Iratxe Poblacion
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 48080, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Julene Aramendia
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 48080, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Juan Manuel Madariaga
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 48080, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Giovanni Poggiali
- INAF- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy
- LESIA - Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92190, Meudon, France
| | | | - Kathleen C Benison
- Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | | | - Sole Biancalani
- INAF- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy
- Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123, Povo, Italy
- Italian Space Angency (ASI), Viale del Politecnico Snc, 00133, Rome, Italy
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - Christian Lorenz
- INAF- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126, Naples, Italy
| | - Edward A Cloutis
- Centre for Terrestrial and Planetary Exploration, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - Dan M Applin
- Centre for Terrestrial and Planetary Exploration, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada
| | - Felipe Gómez
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain
| | | | - Roger C Wiens
- Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Kevin P Hand
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - John R Brucato
- INAF- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy
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Preston LJ, Jungblut AD, Montgomery W, Ballard CJ, Wilbraham J. The Preservation and Spectral Detection of Historic Museum Specimen Microbial Mat Biosignatures Within Martian Dust: Lessons Learned for Mars Exploration and Sample Return. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:684-697. [PMID: 38979614 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0118] [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: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
The key building blocks for life on Mars could be preserved within potentially habitable paleo-depositional settings with their detection possible by utilizing mid-infrared spectroscopy; however, a definite identification and confirmation of organic or even biological origin will require the samples to be returned to Earth. In the present study, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize both mineralogical and organic materials within Mars dust simulant JSC Mars-1 and ancient Antarctic cyanobacterial microbial mats from 1901 to 1904 Discovery Expedition. When FTIR spectroscopy is applied to cyanobacterial microbial mat communities, the resulting spectra will reflect the average biochemical composition of the mats rather than taxa-specific spectral patterns of the individual organisms and can thus be considered as a total chemical analysis of the mat colony. This study also highlights the potential difficulties in the detection of these communities on Mars and which spectral biosignatures will be most detectable within geological substrates. Through the creation and analysis of a suite of dried microbial mat material and Martian dust simulant mixtures, the spectral signatures and wavenumber positions of CHx aliphatic hydrocarbons and the C-O and O-H bands of polysaccharides remained detectable and may be detectable within sample mixtures obtained through Mars Sample Return activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louisa J Preston
- Department of Space & Climate Physics, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, United Kingdom
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anne D Jungblut
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Wren Montgomery
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Connor J Ballard
- Department of Space & Climate Physics, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, United Kingdom
| | - Jo Wilbraham
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
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Broz AP, Pritchard-Peterson D, Spinola D, Schneider S, Retallack G, Silva LCR. Eocene (50-55 Ma) greenhouse climate recorded in nonmarine rocks of San Diego, CA, USA. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2613. [PMID: 38297060 PMCID: PMC10830502 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53210-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Nonmarine rocks in sea cliffs of southern California store a detailed record of weathering under tropical conditions millions of years ago, where today the climate is much drier and cooler. This work examines early Eocene (~ 50-55 million-year-old) deeply weathered paleosols (ancient, buried soils) exposed in marine terraces of northern San Diego County, California, and uses their geochemistry and mineralogy to reconstruct climate and weathering intensity during early Eocene greenhouse climates. These Eocene warm spikes have been modeled as prequels for ongoing anthropogenic global warming driven by a spike in atmospheric CO2. Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM, ~ 55 Ma) kaolinitic paleosols developed in volcaniclastic conglomerates are evidence of intense weathering (CIA > 98) under warm and wet conditions (mean annual temperature [MAT] of ~ 17 °C ± 4.4 °C and mean annual precipitation [MAP] of ~ 1500 ± 299 mm). Geologically younger Early Eocene climatic optimum (EECO, 50 Ma) high shrink-swell (Vertisol) paleosols developed in coarse sandstones are also intensely weathered (CIA > 80) with MAT estimates of ~ 20 °C ± 4.4 °C but have lower estimated MAP (~ 1100 ± 299 mm), suggesting a less humid climate for the EECO greenhouse spike than for the earlier PETM greenhouse spike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian P Broz
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, USA.
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
| | | | - Diogo Spinola
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of North British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - Sarah Schneider
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | | | - Lucas C R Silva
- Environmental Studies Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
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Broz A, Aguilar J, Xu X, Silva LCR. Accumulation of radiocarbon in ancient landscapes: A small but significant input of unknown origin. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7476. [PMID: 37156787 PMCID: PMC10167333 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34080-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The persistence of organic carbon (C) in soil is most often considered at timescales ranging from tens to thousands of years, but the study of organic C in paleosols (i.e., ancient, buried soils) suggests that paleosols may have the capacity to preserve organic compounds for tens of millions of years. However, a quantitative assessment of C sources and sinks from these ancient terrestrial landscapes is complicated by additions of geologically modern (~ 10 Ka) C, primarily due to the infiltration of dissolved organic carbon. In this study, we quantified total organic C and radiocarbon activity in samples collected from 28- to 33-million-year-old paleosols that are naturally exposed as unvegetated badlands near eastern Oregon's "Painted Hills". We also used thermal and evolved gas analysis to examine the thermodynamic stability of different pools of C in bulk samples. The study site is part of a ~ 400-m-thick sequence of Eocene-Oligocene (45-28 Ma) paleosols, and thus we expected to find radiocarbon-free samples preserved in deep layers of the lithified, brick-like exposed outcrops. Total organic C, measured in three individual profiles spanning depth transects from the outcrop surface to a 1-m depth, ranged from 0.01 to 0.2 wt% with no clear C-concentration or age-depth profile. Ten radiocarbon dates from the same profiles reveal radiocarbon ages of ~ 11,000-30,000 years BP that unexpectedly indicate additions of potentially modern organic C. A two-endmember mixing model for radiocarbon activity suggests that modern C may compose ~ 0.5-2.4% of the total organic C pool. Thermal and evolved gas analysis showed the presence of two distinct pools of organic C, but there was no direct evidence that C compounds were associated with clay minerals. These results challenge the assumption that ancient badland landscapes are inert and "frozen in time" and instead suggest they readily interact with the modern C cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Broz
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA.
| | - Jerod Aguilar
- Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 97403, USA
| | - Xiaomei Xu
- University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Lucas C R Silva
- Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA
- Environmental Studies, Department of Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA
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Ferrari M, De Angelis S, De Sanctis MC, Frigeri A, Altieri F, Ammannito E, Formisano M, Vinogradoff V. Constraining the Rosalind Franklin Rover/Ma_MISS Instrument Capability in the Detection of Organics. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:691-704. [PMID: 37126783 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies (Ma_MISS) instrument is a miniaturized visible and near-infrared spectrometer that is integrated into the drilling system of the ESA Rosalind Franklin rover, which is devoted to subsurface exploration on Mars. Ma_MISS will acquire spectral data on the Martian subsurface from excavated borehole walls. The spectral data collected by Ma_MISS on unexposed rocks will be crucial for determination of the composition of subsurface rocks and optical and physical properties of materials (i.e., grain size). Ma_MISS will further contribute to a reconstruction of the stratigraphic column and acquire data on subsurface geological processes. Ma_MISS data may also inform with regard to the presence of potential biomarkers in the subsurface, given the presence of organic matter that may affect some spectral parameters. In this framework, we performed a wide range of measurements using the laboratory model of the Ma_MISS to investigate mineral/organic mixtures in different proportions. We prepared mixtures by combining kaolinite and nontronite with glycine, asphaltite, polyoxymethylene, and benzoic acid. These organic compounds show different spectral characteristics in the visible and near-infrared; therefore their presence can be detected by the Ma_MISS instrument. Our results indicate that the Ma_MISS instrument can detect organic material down to abundances of around 1 wt %. In particular, the data collected on low-concentration mixtures show that, by analyzing sediments with a grain size smaller than the Ma_MISS spatial resolution, the instrument can still discern those points where organic matter is present from points with exclusive mineral composition. The results also show that a collection of multiple contiguous measurements on a hypothetical borehole wall could help indicate the presence of organic matter in clay-rich soils if present.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Ferrari
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy
| | - S De Angelis
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy
| | - M C De Sanctis
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy
| | - A Frigeri
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy
| | - F Altieri
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy
| | | | - M Formisano
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy
| | - V Vinogradoff
- Aix Marseille University, CNRS-UMR 7345, PIIM, Marseille, France
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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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