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Steele A, Benning LG, Wirth R, Schreiber A, Araki T, McCubbin FM, Fries MD, Nittler LR, Wang J, Hallis LJ, Conrad PG, Conley C, Vitale S, O'Brien AC, Riggi V, Rogers K. Organic synthesis associated with serpentinization and carbonation on early Mars. Science 2022; 375:172-177. [PMID: 35025630 DOI: 10.1126/science.abg7905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Water-rock interactions are relevant to planetary habitability, influencing mineralogical diversity and the production of organic molecules. We examine carbonates and silicates in the martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001), using colocated nanoscale analyses, to characterize the nature of water-rock reactions on early Mars. We find complex refractory organic material associated with mineral assemblages that formed by mineral carbonation and serpentinization reactions. The organic molecules are colocated with nanophase magnetite; both formed in situ during water-rock interactions on Mars. Two potentially distinct mechanisms of abiotic organic synthesis operated on early Mars during the late Noachian period (3.9 to 4.1 billion years ago).
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Affiliation(s)
- A Steele
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - L G Benning
- Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany.,Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany
| | - R Wirth
- Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - A Schreiber
- Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - T Araki
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
| | - F M McCubbin
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - M D Fries
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - L R Nittler
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - J Wang
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - L J Hallis
- School of Geographical and Earth Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - P G Conrad
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - C Conley
- NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA 94035, USA
| | - S Vitale
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - A C O'Brien
- School of Geographical and Earth Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - V Riggi
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - K Rogers
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
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Wang HY, Göttlicher J, Byrne JM, Guo HM, Benning LG, Norra S. Vertical redox zones of Fe-S-As coupled mineralogy in the sediments of Hetao Basin - Constraints for groundwater As contamination. J Hazard Mater 2021; 408:124924. [PMID: 33385723 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2020] [Revised: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The formation of iron-sulfur-arsenic (Fe-S-As) minerals during biogeochemical processes in As contaminated aquifers remains poorly understood despite their importance to understanding As release and transport in such systems. In this study, X-ray absorption and Mössbauer spectroscopies complemented by electron microscopy, and chemical extractions were used to examine vertical changes of As, Fe and S speciation for the example of sediments in the Hetao Basin. Reduction of Fe(III), As(V) and SO42- species were shown to co-occur in the aquifers. Iron oxides were observed to be predominantly goethite and hematite (36 - 12%) and appeared to decrease in abundance with depth. Furthermore, reduced As (including arsenite and As sulfides) and sulfur species (including S(-II), S(-I) and S0) increased from 16% to 76% and from 13% to 44%, respectively. Iron oxides were the major As carrier in the sediments, and the lower groundwater As concentration consists with less desorbable and reducible As in the sediments. The formation of As-Fe sulfides (e.g., As containing pyrite and greigite) induced by redox heterogeneities likely contribute to localized lower groundwater As concentrations. These results help to further elucidate the complex relationship between biogeochemical processes and minerals formation in As contaminated aquifers.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Y Wang
- Institute of Applied Geoscience, Working Group of Environmental Mineralogy and Environmental System Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
| | - J Göttlicher
- Institute of Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - J M Byrne
- Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Now: School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, United Kingdom
| | - H M Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geoscience, 100083 Beijing, China
| | - L G Benning
- GFZ German Research Center for Geoscience, 14473 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany
| | - S Norra
- Institute of Applied Geoscience, Working Group of Environmental Mineralogy and Environmental System Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
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Bonneville S, Delpomdor F, Préat A, Chevalier C, Araki T, Kazemian M, Steele A, Schreiber A, Wirth R, Benning LG. Molecular identification of fungi microfossils in a Neoproterozoic shale rock. Sci Adv 2020; 6:eaax7599. [PMID: 32010783 PMCID: PMC6976295 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax7599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Precambrian fossils of fungi are sparse, and the knowledge of their early evolution and the role they played in the colonization of land surface are limited. Here, we report the discovery of fungi fossils in a 810 to 715 million year old dolomitic shale from the Mbuji-Mayi Supergroup, Democratic Republic of Congo. Syngenetically preserved in a transitional, subaerially exposed paleoenvironment, these carbonaceous filaments of ~5 μm in width exhibit low-frequency septation (pseudosepta) and high-angle branching that can form dense interconnected mycelium-like structures. Using an array of microscopic (SEM, TEM, and confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy) and spectroscopic techniques (Raman, FTIR, and XANES), we demonstrated the presence of vestigial chitin in these fossil filaments and document the eukaryotic nature of their precursor. Based on those combined evidences, these fossil filaments and mycelium-like structures are identified as remnants of fungal networks and represent the oldest, molecularly identified remains of Fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Bonneville
- Biogéochimie et Modélisation du Système Terre, Département Géosciences, Environnement et Société, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Av. F. D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - F. Delpomdor
- Illinois State Geological Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 615 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - A. Préat
- Biogéochimie et Modélisation du Système Terre, Département Géosciences, Environnement et Société, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Av. F. D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - C. Chevalier
- Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 12 rue des professeurs Jeener et Brachet, Charleroi 6041, Belgium
| | - T. Araki
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - M. Kazemian
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - A. Steele
- Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1530 P St NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA
| | - A. Schreiber
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - R. Wirth
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - L. G. Benning
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany
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Steele A, Benning LG, Wirth R, Siljeström S, Fries MD, Hauri E, Conrad PG, Rogers K, Eigenbrode J, Schreiber A, Needham A, Wang JH, McCubbin FM, Kilcoyne D, Rodriguez Blanco JD. Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO 2. Sci Adv 2018; 4:eaat5118. [PMID: 30402538 PMCID: PMC6209388 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat5118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The sources and nature of organic carbon on Mars have been a subject of intense research. Steele et al. (2012) showed that 10 martian meteorites contain macromolecular carbon phases contained within pyroxene- and olivine-hosted melt inclusions. Here, we show that martian meteorites Tissint, Nakhla, and NWA 1950 have an inventory of organic carbon species associated with fluid-mineral reactions that are remarkably consistent with those detected by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. We advance the hypothesis that interactions among spinel-group minerals, sulfides, and a brine enable the electrochemical reduction of aqueous CO2 to organic molecules. Although documented here in martian samples, a similar process likely occurs wherever igneous rocks containing spinel-group minerals and/or sulfides encounter brines.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Steele
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - L. G. Benning
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - R. Wirth
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - S. Siljeström
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Bioscience and Materials/Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, Box 5607, 114 86 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - M. D. Fries
- NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - E. Hauri
- Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Rd, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - P. G. Conrad
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - K. Rogers
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - J. Eigenbrode
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - A. Schreiber
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - A. Needham
- USRA–Science and Technology Institute, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805, USA
| | - J. H. Wang
- Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Rd, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | | | - D. Kilcoyne
- Advanced Light Source, 1 Cyclotron Road, MS 7R0222, LBNL, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Juan Diego Rodriguez Blanco
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
- ICRAG, Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Besselink R, Stawski TM, Van Driessche AES, Benning LG. Not just fractal surfaces, but surface fractal aggregates: Derivation of the expression for the structure factor and its applications. J Chem Phys 2016; 145:211908. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4960953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- R. Besselink
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - T. M. Stawski
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
- Cohen Geochemistry, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | | | - L. G. Benning
- German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
- Cohen Geochemistry, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
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Schmalenberger A, Duran AL, Bray AW, Bridge J, Bonneville S, Benning LG, Romero-Gonzalez ME, Leake JR, Banwart SA. Oxalate secretion by ectomycorrhizal Paxillus involutus is mineral-specific and controls calcium weathering from minerals. Sci Rep 2015. [PMID: 26197714 PMCID: PMC4510491 DOI: 10.1038/srep12187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Trees and their associated rhizosphere organisms play a major role in mineral weathering driving calcium fluxes from the continents to the oceans that ultimately control long-term atmospheric CO2 and climate through the geochemical carbon cycle. Photosynthate allocation to tree roots and their mycorrhizal fungi is hypothesized to fuel the active secretion of protons and organic chelators that enhance calcium dissolution at fungal-mineral interfaces. This was tested using 14CO2 supplied to shoots of Pinus sylvestris ectomycorrhizal with the widespread fungus Paxillus involutus in monoxenic microcosms, revealing preferential allocation by the fungus of plant photoassimilate to weather grains of limestone and silicates each with a combined calcium and magnesium content of over 10 wt.%. Hyphae had acidic surfaces and linear accumulation of weathered calcium with secreted oxalate, increasing significantly in sequence: quartz, granite < basalt, olivine, limestone < gabbro. These findings confirmed the role of mineral-specific oxalate exudation in ectomycorrhizal weathering to dissolve calcium bearing minerals, thus contributing to the geochemical carbon cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Schmalenberger
- 1] Cell-Mineral Research Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, S3 7HQ, UK [2] Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK [3] Life Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - A L Duran
- Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - A W Bray
- Earth Surface Science Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - J Bridge
- Cell-Mineral Research Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, S3 7HQ, UK
| | - S Bonneville
- Earth Surface Science Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - L G Benning
- 1] Earth Surface Science Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK [2] GFZ, German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam 14473, Germany
| | - M E Romero-Gonzalez
- Cell-Mineral Research Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, S3 7HQ, UK
| | - J R Leake
- Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - S A Banwart
- Cell-Mineral Research Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, S3 7HQ, UK
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Krom MD, Ben David A, Ingall ED, Benning LG, Clerici S, Bottrell S, Davies C, Potts NJ, Mortimer RJG, van Rijn J. Bacterially mediated removal of phosphorus and cycling of nitrate and sulfate in the waste stream of a "zero-discharge" recirculating mariculture system. Water Res 2014; 56:109-121. [PMID: 24657541 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2014.02.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2013] [Revised: 02/20/2014] [Accepted: 02/26/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by microbial biofilters has been used in a variety of water treatment systems including treatment systems in aquaculture. In this study, phosphorus, nitrate and sulfate cycling in the anaerobic loop of a zero-discharge, recirculating mariculture system was investigated using detailed geochemical measurements in the sludge layer of the digestion basin. High concentrations of nitrate and sulfate, circulating in the overlying water (∼15 mM), were removed by microbial respiration in the sludge resulting in a sulfide accumulation of up to 3 mM. Modelling of the observed S and O isotopic ratios in the surface sludge suggested that, with time, major respiration processes shifted from heterotrophic nitrate and sulfate reduction to autotrophic nitrate reduction. The much higher inorganic P content of the sludge relative to the fish feces is attributed to conversion of organic P to authigenic apatite. This conclusion is supported by: (a) X-ray diffraction analyses, which pointed to an accumulation of a calcium phosphate mineral phase that was different from P phases found in the feces, (b) the calculation that the pore waters of the sludge were highly oversaturated with respect to hydroxyapatite (saturation index = 4.87) and (c) there was a decrease in phosphate (and in the Ca/Na molar ratio) in the pore waters simultaneous with an increase in ammonia showing there had to be an additional P removal process at the same time as the heterotrophic breakdown of organic matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- M D Krom
- School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, UK; Charney School of Marine Sciences, Haifa University, Israel
| | - A Ben David
- The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
| | - E D Ingall
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - L G Benning
- School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, UK
| | - S Clerici
- School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, UK
| | - S Bottrell
- School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, UK
| | - C Davies
- School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, UK
| | - N J Potts
- School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, UK
| | | | - J van Rijn
- The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
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Abstract
Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi are increasingly recognized as important agents of mineral weathering and soil development, with far-reaching impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Because EcM fungi live in a symbiotic relationship with trees and in close contact with bacteria and archaea, it is difficult to distinguish between the weathering effects of the fungus, host tree and other micro-organisms. Here, we quantified mineral weathering by the fungus Paxillus involutus, growing in symbiosis with Pinus sylvestris under sterile conditions. The mycorrhizal trees were grown in specially designed sterile microcosms in which the supply of soluble phosphorus (P) in the bulk media was varied and grains of the calcium phosphate mineral apatite mixed with quartz, or quartz alone, were provided in plastic wells that were only accessed by their fungal partner. Under P limitation, pulse labelling of plants with (14)CO(2) revealed plant-to-fungus allocation of photosynthates, with 17 times more (14)C transferred into the apatite wells compared with wells with only quartz. Fungal colonization increased the release of P from apatite by almost a factor of three, from 7.5 (±1.1) × 10(-10) mol m(-2) s(-1) to 2.2 (±0.52) × 10(-9) mol m(-2) s(-1). On increasing the P supply in the microcosms from no added P, through apatite alone, to both apatite and orthophosphate, the proportion of biomass in roots progressively increased at the expense of the fungus. These three observations, (i) proportionately more plant energy investment in the fungal partner under P limitation, (ii) preferential fungal transport of photosynthate-derived carbon towards patches of apatite grains and (iii) fungal enhancement of weathering rate, reveal the tightly coupled plant-fungal interactions underpinning enhanced EcM weathering of apatite and its utilization as P source.
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Affiliation(s)
- M M Smits
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK.
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Van Driessche AES, Benning LG, Rodriguez-Blanco JD, Ossorio M, Bots P, García-Ruiz JM. High-resolution electron microscopy study of the early stages of calcium sulfate formation. Acta Crystallogr A 2012. [DOI: 10.1107/s0108767312096420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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Van Driessche AES, Benning LG, Rodriguez-Blanco JD, Ossorio M, Bots P, García-Ruiz JM. The Role and Implications of Bassanite as a Stable Precursor Phase to Gypsum Precipitation. Science 2012; 336:69-72. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1215648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 241] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Calcium sulfate minerals such as gypsum play important roles in natural and industrial processes, but their precipitation mechanisms remain largely unexplored. We used time-resolved sample quenching and high-resolution microscopy to demonstrate that gypsum forms via a three-stage process: (i) homogeneous precipitation of nanocrystalline hemihydrate bassanite below its predicted solubility, (ii) self-assembly of bassanite into elongated aggregates co-oriented along their c axis, and (iii) transformation into dihydrate gypsum. These findings indicate that a stable nanocrystalline precursor phase can form below its bulk solubility and that in the CaSO4 system, the self-assembly of nanoparticles plays a crucial role. Understanding why bassanite forms prior to gypsum can lead to more efficient anti-scaling strategies for water desalination and may help to explain the persistence of CaSO4 phases in regions of low water activity on Mars.
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