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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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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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Bower DM, Steele A, Fries MD, Kater L. Micro Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material in microfossils and meteorites: improving a method for life detection. Astrobiology 2013; 13:103-113. [PMID: 23268624 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2012.0865] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The identification of biosignatures in Earth's ancient rock record and detection of extraplanetary life is one of the primary goals in astrobiology. Intrinsic to this goal is the improvement of analytical techniques and protocols used to identify an unambiguous signal of life. Micro Raman spectroscopy is a nondestructive method that allows for in situ identification of a wide range of minerals and compounds. The use of D (∼1350 cm(-1)) and G (∼1580 cm(-1)) band parameters to infer the biogenicity of carbonaceous materials in fossils has become a commonly used analytical tool, but carbonaceous compounds from different sources often share the same spectroscopic characteristics. Microfossil studies do not always take into consideration a nonbiological source for the carbon in their samples and therefore still rely on morphology as the primary mode of identification. Comprehensive studies that consider all carbon sources are typically done on metasediments, coals, or meteorites, and the results are not clearly applicable to microfossil identification. In this study, microfossils from a suite of sedimentary rock samples of various ages were analyzed with micro Raman spectroscopy to investigate the nature and provenance of carbonaceous material. To further constrain D- and G-band carbon characteristics, micro Raman analyses were also performed on well-characterized meteorite samples as abiological controls. The results appear to show a correlation of precursor carbonaceous material with D-band parameters and thermal history with G-band parameters. This systematic study lays the groundwork for improving the use of the G- and D-band trends as useful indicators of the origin of carbon in microfossils. Before unambiguous biosignatures can be established, further work characterizing the carbonaceous material in microfossils of different ages, thermal histories, and host rock compositions is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Bower
- Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA.
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