Some perspectives on isotope biosignatures for early life

Chemical Geology

Volumn 218, Issue 1-2 SPEC. ISS., 2005, Pages 171-186

  Horita, Juske ^a  

^a OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

Author keywords

Archean; Biosignatures; Graphite; Isotopes; Organic compounds

Indexed keywords

ARCHEAN; BIOGEOCHEMISTRY; BIOMARKER; EARLY EARTH; EXOBIOLOGY; ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS; ORIGIN OF LIFE;

EID: 18444374183     PISSN: 00092541     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2005.01.017     Document Type: Article

References (100)

1. T.A. Abrajano N.C. Sturchio J.K. Bohlke G.L. Lyon R.J. Podera C.M. Stevens Methane-hydrogen gas seeps, Zambales ophiolite, Philippines: deep or shallow origin? Chem. Geol. 71 1988 211-222
2. J.P. Amend E.L. Shock Energetics of amino acid synthesis in hydrothermal ecosystems Science 281 1998 1659-1662
3. B. Andersen T. Barth H. Irwin Yield and carbon isotopic composition of pyrolysis products from artificial maturation processes Chem. Geol. 106 1993 103-119
4. P. Baertschi Die Fraktionierung der naturlichen Kohlenstoffisotopen im Kohlendioxydstoffwechsel gruner Pflanzen Helv. Chim. Acta 36 1953 773-781
5. V. Beaumont F. Robert Nitrogen isotope ratios of kerogens in Precambrian cherts: A record of the evolution of atmospheric chemistry? Precambrian Res. 96 1999 63-82
6. J.L.S. Bell D.A. Palmer H.L. Barnes S.E. Drummond Thermal decomposition of acetate: III. Catalysis by mineral surfaces Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58 1994 4155-4177
7. M.M. Bender Mass spectrometric studies of carbon-13 variations in corn and grasses Radiocarbon 10 1968 468-472
8. 2 during serpentinization of olivine at 300°C and 500 bar Geology 24 1996 351-354
9. M.D. Brasier O.R. Green A.P. Jephcoat A.K. Kleppe M.J. Van Kranendonk J.F. Lindsay Questioning the evidence for Earth's oldest fossils Nature 416 2002 76-81
10. J.J. Brocks G.A. Logan R. Buick R.E. Summons Archean molecular fossils and the early rise of eukaryotes Science 285 1999 1033-1036
11. T. Chacko D.R. Cole J. Horita Equilibrium oxygen, hydrogen and carbon isotope fractionation factors applicable to geological systems In J.W. Valley D.R. Cole (Eds.,), Stable Isotope Geochemistry Review in Mineralogy vol. 43 2001 Mineral. Soc. Am. 1-81
12. S. Chang Prebiotic synthesis in planetary environments In J.M. Greenberg C.X. Mendoza-Gomez V. Pirronello (Eds.,), The Chemistry of Life's Origin 1993 Kluwer 259-300
13. S. Chang D. Des Marais R. Mack S.L. Miller G.E. Strathearn Prebiotic organic synthesis and the origin of life In J.W. Schopf (Ed.), Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution 1983 Princeton Univ. Press 53-92
14. C. Chyba C. Sagen Endogenous production, exogenous delivery and impact-shock synthesis of organic molecules: An inventory for the origin of life Nature 355 1992 125-132
15. G.D. Cody N.Z. Boctor T.R. Filley R.M. Hazen J.H. Scott A. Sharma et al. Primordial carbonylated iron-sulfur compounds and the synthesis of pyruvate Science 289 2000 1337-1340
16. Coplen, T.B., Hopple, J.A., Böhlke, J.K., Peiser, H.S., Rieder, S.E., Krouse H.R., et al., 2002. Compilation of minimum and maximum isotope ratios of selected elements in naturally occurring terrestrial materials and reagents. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water-Resource Investigation Report 01-4222.
17. H. Craig The geochemistry of the stable carbon isotopes Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 3 1953 53-92
18. H. Craig Corycium defunctum: The non-indicative properties of isotopes and review articles Econ. Geol. 48 1953 600-603
19. H. Craig Carbon 13 in plants and the relationships between carbon 13 and carbon 14 variations in nature J. Geol. 62 1954a 115-149
20. H. Craig Geochemical implications of the isotopic composition of carbon in ancient rocks Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 6 1954b 186-196
21. H. Craig Isotopic standards for carbon and oxygen and correction factors for mass-spectrometric analysis of carbon dioxide Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 12 1957 133-149
22. P. Deines The carbon isotope geochemistry of mantle xenoliths Earth-Sci. Rev. 58 2002 247-278
23. D.J. Des Marais Isotopic evolution of the biogeochemical carbon cycle during the Precambrian In J.W. Valley D.R. Cole (Eds.,), Stable Isotope Geochemistry Review in Mineralogy vol. 43 2001 555-578
24. J. Du Z. Jin H. Xie L. Bai W. Liu Stable carbon isotope compositions of gaseous hydrocarbons produced from high pressure and high temperature pyrolysis of lignite Org. Geochem. 34 2003 97-104
25. J.R. Ehleringer J.C. Vogel Historical aspects of stable isotopes in plant carbon and water relations In J.R. Ehleringer A.E. Hall G.D. Farquhar (Eds.,), Stable Isotopes and Plant Carbon-Water Relations 1993 Academic Press 9-18
26. P. Ehrenfreund W. Irvine L. Becker J. Blank J.R. Brucato L. Colangeli et al. Astrobiological and astrochemical insights into the origin of life Rep. Prog. Phys. 65 2002 1427-1487
27. C.M. Fedo M.J. Whitehouse Metasomatic origin of quartz-pyroxine rock, Akilia, Greenland, and implications for Earth's earliest life Science 296 2002 1448-1452
28. D.I. Foustoukos W.E. Seyfried Jr. Hydrocarbons in hydrothermal vent fluids: The role of chromium-bearing catalysts Science 304 2004 1002-1005
29. Fu, Q., Sherwood Lollar, B., Horita, J., Lacrampe-Couloume, G., Seyfried, W.E. Jr., in press. Hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of hydrocarbons in hydrothermal carbon reduction processes. 15th Goldschmidt Conference.
30. H. Furnes N.R. Banerjee K. Muehlenbachs H. Staudigel M. de Wit Early life recorded in Archean pillow lava Science 304 2004 578-581
31. Galimov E.M., 1975. Carbon Isotopes In Oil-Gas Geology. NASA TT F-682. Translated from "Izotopy ugleroda v neftegazovoy geologii" Nedra Press, Moscow, 1973.
32. E.M. Galimov The Biological Fractionation of Isotopes translated by D.B. Vitaliano 1985 Academic Press 261 pp.
33. E.M. Galimov V.S. Prokhorov D.V. Fedoseyev V.P. Varnin Heterogeneous carbon isotope effects in synthesis of diamond and graphite from gas Geochem. Int. 10 1973 306-312
34. J.M. Garcia-Ruiz S.T. Hyde A.M. Carnerup A.G. Christy M.J. Van Kranendonk N.J. Welham Self-assembled silica-carbonate structures and detection of ancient microfossils Science 302 2003 1194-1197
35. A.A. Giardini C.A. Salotti J.F. Lakner Synthesis of graphite and hydrocarbons by reaction between calcite and hydrogen Science 159 1968 317-319
36. R. Hayatsu E. Anders Organic compounds in meteorites and their origins Topics in Current Chemistry vol. 99 1981 1-37
37. J.M. Hayes Fractionation of carbon and hydrogen isotopes in biosynthetic processes In J.W. Valley D.R. Cole (Eds.,), Stable Isotope Geochemistry Review in Mineralogy vol. 43 2001 Mineral. Soc. Am. 225-277
38. J.M. Hayes I.R. Kaplan K.W. Wedeking Precambrian organic geochemistry, preservation of the record In J.W. Schopf (Ed.), Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution 1983 Princeton Univ. Press 93-134
39. N.G. Holm J.L. Charlou Initial indications of abiotic formation of hydrocarbons in the Rainbow ultramafic hydrothermal system, Mid-Atlantic Ridge Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 191 2001 1-8
40. 4 at elevated temperatures Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65 2001 1907-1919
41. J. Horita M.E. Berndt Abiogenic methane formation and isotopic fractionation under hydrothermal conditions Science 285 1999 1055-1057
42. C.H. House J.W. Schopf K.O. Stetter Carbon isotopic fractionation by Archeas and other thermophilic prokaryotes Org. Geochem. 34 2003 345-356
43. G. Hu Z. Ouyang X. Wand Q. Wen Carbon isotopic fractionation in the process of Fischer-Tropsch reaction in primitive solar nebula Sci. China 41 1998 202-207
44. C. Huber G. Wachtershauser Peptides by activation of amino acids with CO on (Ni,Fe)S surfaces: Implications for the origin of life Science 281 1998 670-672
45. G.E. Hutchinson A note on two aspects of the geochemistry of carbon Am. J. Sci. 247 1949 27-32
46. P.D. Jenden D.R. Hilton I.R. Kaplan H. Craig Abiogenic hydrocarbons and mantle helium in oil and gas fields The Future of Energy Gases U.S.G.S. Prof. Paper vol. 1570 1993 31-56
47. J.F. Kasting D. Catling Evolution of a habitable planet Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 41 2003 429-463
48. D.S. Kelley J.A. Karson D.K. Blackman G.L. Fü-Green D.A. Butterfield M.D. Lilley An off-axis hydrothermal vent field near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 30°N Nature 412 2001 145-149
49. J.F. Kenney V.A. Kutcherov N.A. Bendeliani V.A. Alekseev The evolution of multicomponent systems at high pressures: IV. The thermodynamic stability of the hydrogen-carbon system: The genesis of hydrocarbons and the origin of petroleum Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 99 2002 10976-10981
50. J.F. Kerridge R. Mariner J. Flores S. Chang Isotopic characteristics of simulated meteoritic organic matter: 1. Kerogen-like material Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. 19 1989 561-572
51. A.N. Krot K. Keil C.A. Goodrich E.R.D. Scott Classification of meteorites A.M. Davis Treatise on Geochemistry Meteorites, Comets, and Planets vol. 1 2003 Elsevier 83-128
52. C.C. Kung R. Hayatsu M.H. Studier R.N. Clayton Nitrogen isotope fractionations in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and in the Miller-Urey reaction Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 46 1979 141-146
53. V.G. Kutcherov N.A. Bendeliani V.A. Alekseev J.F. Kenney Synthesis of hydrocarbon from minerals at pressure up to 5 GPa Dokl., Phys. Chem. 387 2002 328-330
54. Lancet, M.S., 1972. Carbon-isotope fractionations in the Fischer-Tropsch reaction and noble-gas solubilities in magnetite: Implications for the origin of organic matter and primordial gases in meteorites. PhD dissertation. University of Chicago, 145 pp.
55. M.S. Lancet E. Anders Carbon isotope fractionation in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and in meteorites Science 170 1970 980-982
56. W.L. Marshall Hydrothermal synthesis of amino acids Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58 1994 2099-2106
57. E.A. Mathez D.M. Mogk Characterization of carbon compounds on a pyroxene surface from a gabbro xenolith in basalt by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry Am. Mineral. 83 1998 918-924
58. 3) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67 2003 311-317
59. 2 to hydrocarbons during serpentinization of olivine Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65 2001 3769-3778
60. T.M. McCollom G. Ritter B.R.T. Simmoneit Lipid synthesis under hydrothermal conditions by Fischer-Tropsch-type reactions Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. 29 1999 166-453
61. S.L. Miller Production of amino acids under possible primitive earth conditions Science 117 1953 528-529
62. S.J. Mojzsis G. Arrhenius K.D. McKeegan T.M. Harison A.P. Nutman C.R.L. Friend Evidence for life on Earth before 3800 million years ago Nature 384 1996 55-59
63. B.F. Murphy A.O. Nier Variations in the relative abundance of the carbon isotopes Phys. Rev. 59 1941 771-772
64. H. Naraoka M. Ohtake S. Maruyama H. Ohmoto Non-biogenic graphite in 3.8 Ga metamorphic rocks from the Isua district, Greenland Chem. Geol. 133 1996 251-260
65. A.O. Nier E.A. Gulbransen Variations in the relative abundance of the carbon isotopes J. Am. Chem. Soc. 61 1939 697-698
66. J.D. Pasteris B. Wopenka Necessary, but not sufficient: Raman identification of disordered carbon as a signature of ancient life Astrobiology 3 2003 727-738
67. 13C Late Archean kerogens? Geology 29 2001 1003-1006
68. H.D. Pflug Yeast-like microfossils detected in the oldest sediments of the Earth Naturwissenschaften 65 1978 611-615
69. J. Potter A.H. Rankin P.J. Treloar Abiotic Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons in alkaline igneous rocks; fluid inclusion, textural and isotopic evidence from the Lovozero complex, N.W. Russia Lithos 75 2004 311-330
70. K. Rankama New evidence of the origin of Pre-Cambrian carbon Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 59 1948 389-416
71. K. Rankama Corycium resuscitatum: A discussion J. Geol. 58 1950 75-79
72. K. Rankama Early Pre-Cambrian carbon of biogenic origin from the Canadian Shield Science 119 1954a 506-507
73. K. Rankama The isotopic constitution of carbon in ancient rocks as an indicator of its biogenic or nonbiogenic origin Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 5 1954b 42-152
74. M.T. Rosing R. Frei U-rich Archean sea-floor sediments from Greenland - indications of >3700 Ma oxygenic photosynthesis Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 217 2004 237-244
75. W.M. Sackett The thermal stability of methane from 600-1000°C Org. Geochem. 23 1995 403-405
76. M. Schoell Multiple origins of methane in the Earth Chem. Geol. 71 1988 1-10
77. J.W. Schopf Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution 1983 Princeton Univ. Press 543 pp.
78. J.W. Schopf Microfossils of the Early Archean Apex Chert: New evidence of the antiquity of life Science 260 1993 640-646
79. J.W. Schopf C. Klein The Proterozoic Biosphere. A Multidisciplinary Study 1992 Cambridge Univ. Press 1348 pp.
80. J.W. Schopf J.M. Hayes M.R. Walter Evolution of Earth's earliest ecosystems: Recent progress and unsolved problems In J.W. Schopf (Ed.), Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution 1983 Princeton Univ. Press 361-384
81. J.W. Schopf A.B.M. Kudryavtsev D.G. Agresti T.J. Wdowiak A.D. Czaja Laser-Raman imagery of Earth's earliest fossils Nature 416 2002 73-76
82. H.P. Scott R.J. Hemley H.-K. Mao D.R. Herschbach L.E. Fried W.M. Howard et al. Generation of methane in the Earth's mantle: In situ high pressure-temperature measurements of carbonate reduction Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 101 2004 10423-10426
83. Y. Sekine S. Sugita T. Kadono T. Matsui Methane production by large iron meteorite impacts on early Earth J. Geophys. Res. 108 E7 2003 5070
84. Y. Shen R. Buick The antiquity of microbial sulfate reduction Earth-Sci. Rev. 64 2004 243-272
85. B. Sherwood Lollar T.D. Westgate J.A. Ward G.F. Slater G. Lacrampe-Couloume Abiogenic formation of alkanes in the Earth's crust as a minor source for global hydrocarbon reservoirs Nature 416 2002 522-524
86. M. Shidlowski Carbon isotopes as biogeochemical recorders of life over 3.8 Ga of Earth history: Evolution of a concept Precambrian Res. 106 2001 117-134
87. 9 yr. Old Isua sediments, West Greenland: Implications for the Archean carbon and oxygen cycles Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 43 1979 189-199
88. L.M.J.V.v. Straaten Occurrence in Finland of structures due to subaqueous sliding of sediments Soc. Geol. Finlande Comptes Rendus 22; Bull. Comm. Géol. Finl. 144 1949 9-18
89. R. Sugisaki K. Mimura Mantle hydrocarbons: Abiotic or biotic? Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58 1994 2527-2542
90. E.T. Sundquist K. Visser The geologic history of the carbon cycle Schlesinger Treatise on Geochemistry Biogeochemistry vol. 8 2003 Elsevier 425-472
91. H.G. Thode J. Macnamara C.B. Collins Natural variations in the isotopic content of sulphur and their significance Can. J. Res. 27 1949 361-373
92. N.T. Tingle E.A. Mathez M.F. Hochella Jr. Carbonaceous matter in peridotites and basalts studied by XPS, SALI, and LEED Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55 1991 1345-1352
93. Y. Ueno H. Yurimoto H. Yoshioka T. Komiya S. Maruyama Ion microprobe analysis of graphite from ca. 3.8 Ga metasediments, Isua supracrustal belt, West Greenland: Relationship between metamorphism and carbon isotopic composition Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 66 2002 1257-1268
94. M.A. van Zuilen A. Lepland G. Arrhenius Reassessing the evidence for the earliest traces of life Nature 418 2002 627-630
95. M.A. van Zuilen A. Lepland J. Teranes J. Finarelli M. Wahlen G. Arrhenius Graphite and carbonate in the 3.8 Ga old Isua Supracrustal Belt, Southern West Greenland Precambrian Res. 126 2003 331-348
96. M.J. Whiticar Carbon and hydrogen isotope systematics of bacterial formation and oxidation of methane Chem. Geol. 161 1999 291-314
97. F.E. Wickman On a new possibility of calculating the total amount of coal and bitumen Geol. Foren. Stockh. Forh. 63 1941 419-421
98. F.E. Wickman Variations in the relative abundance of the carbon isotopes in plants Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2 1952 243-354
99. G.U. Yuen J.A. Pecore J.F. Kerridge T.J. Pinnavaia E.G. Rightor J. Flores et al. Carbon isotopic fractionation in Fischer-Tropsch type reactions Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf. XXI 1990 1367-1368
100. M. Zolotov E. Shock A thermodynamic assessment of the potential synthesis of condensed hydrocarbons during cooling and dilution of volcanic gases J. Geophys. Res. 105 2000 539-559