Carbonate precipitation under bulk acidic conditions as a potential biosignature for searching life on Mars

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

Volumn 351-352, Issue , 2012, Pages 13-26

  Fernández Remolar, David C ^a   Preston, Louisa J ^b,f   Sánchez Román, Mónica ^a   Izawa, Matthew R M ^b   Huang, L ^b   Southam, Gordon ^b   Banerjee, Neil R ^b   Osinski, Gordon R ^b   Flemming, Roberta ^b   Gómez Ortíz, David ^c   Prieto Ballesteros, Olga ^a   Rodríguez, Nuria ^a   Amils, Ricardo ^a,d   Darby Dyar, M ^e  

^a INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE TÉCNICA AEROESPACIAL   (Spain)

^b UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO   (Canada)

^c UNIVERSIDAD REY JUAN CARLOS   (Spain)

^d UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE MADRID   (Spain)

^e MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE   (United States)

^f OPEN UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Acidic conditions; Astrobiology; Biosignatures; Carbonates; Mars; R o Tinto

Indexed keywords

ACIDIC CONDITIONS; BACTERIAL BIOFILM; BIOSIGNATURES; CARBONATE PRECIPITATES; CARBONATE PRECIPITATION; CELL COLONIES; FERRIC IRON; FUTURE MISSION; LIFE ON MARS; MARS; MARS OVER; MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY; MARTIAN ROCKS; MICROBIAL ACTIVITIES; MICROBIAL LIFE; MULTI-TECHNIQUE APPROACH; NEUTRAL PH; PHYSICOCHEMICAL CONDITIONS; PLANETARY EVOLUTIONS; RED PLANET; SUBSURFACE REGIONS; TIME-SCALES;

ASTROBIOLOGY; CARBONATE MINERALS; CARBONATES; MARTIAN SURFACE ANALYSIS;

CARBONATION;

ACIDITY; CARBONATE GROUP; EXOBIOLOGY; MARS; PLANETARY EVOLUTION; PRECIPITATION (CHEMISTRY);

BACTERIA (MICROORGANISMS);

EID: 84865314446     PISSN: 0012821X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.07.015     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. Amaral-Zettler L.A., Zettler E.R., Theroux S.M., Palacios C., Aguilera A., Amils R. Microbial community structure across the tree of life in the extreme Río Tinto. ISME J. 2010, 5:42-50.
2. Bridges J.C., Grady M.M. A halite-siderite-anhydrite-chlorapatite assemblage in Nakhla: mineralogical evidence for evaporites on Mars. Meteorit. Planet. Sci 1999, 34:407-416.
3. Bridges J.C., Grady M.M. Evaporite mineral assemblages in the nakhlite (martian) meteorites. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2000, 176:267-279.
4. BrukerAXS, 2005. DIFFRACplus Evaluation Package Release 2005: Karlsruhe, Germany, Bruker AXS.
5. Cameron E.M., Baumann A. Carbonate sedimentation during the Archean. Chem. Geol. 1972, 10:17-30.
6. Dyar M.D., Schaefer M.W., Sklute E.C., Bishop J.L. Mössbauer spectroscopy of phyllosilicates: Effects of fitting models on recoil-free fractions and redox ratios. Clay Min. 2008, 43:3-33.
7. Ehlmann B.L., Mustard J.F., Murchie S.L., Poulet F., Bishop J.L., Brown A.J., Calvin W.M., Clark R.N., Marais D.J.D., Milliken R.E., Roach L.H., Roush T.L., Swayze G.A., Wray J.J. Orbital identification of carbonate-bearing rocks on Mars. Science 2008, 322:1828-1832.
8. Ellwood B., Chrzanowski T.H., Hrouda F., Long G.L., Buhl M.L. Siderite formation in anoxic deep-sea sediments: A synergetic bacterially controlled process with important implications in paleomagentism. Geology 1988, 16:980-988.
9. Fernandez-Remolar D.C., Knoll A.H. Fossilization potential of iron-bearing minerals in acidic environments of Río Tinto, Spain: Implications for Mars exploration. Icarus 2008, 194:72-85.
10. Fernández-Remolar D.C., Gómez-Ortíz D., Prieto Ballesteros O., Gómez F., Amils R. Fluvial bedform generation by biofilm activity in the Berrocal segment of Río Tinto. Microbial Mats 2010, Modern and Ancient Microorganisms in Stratified Systems. J. Seckbach, A. Oren (Eds.).
11. Fernández-Remolar D.C., Morris R.V., Gruener J.E., Amils R., Knoll A.H. The Río Tinto Basin, Spain: Mineralogy, sedimentary geobiology, and implications for interpretation of outcrop rocks at Meridiani Planum. Mars. Earth Planet. Sci. Let 2005, 240:149-167.
12. Fernández-Remolar D.C., Prieto-Ballesteros O., Gómez-Ortíz D., Fernández-Sampedro M., Sarrazin P., Gailhanou M., Amils R. Río Tinto sedimentary mineral assemblages: A terrestrial perspective that suggests some formation pathways of phyllosilicates on Mars. Icarus 2011, 211:114-138.
13. Fernández-Remolar D.C., Prieto-Ballesteros O., Rodríguez N., Gómez F., Amils R., Gómez-Elvira J., Stoker C.R. Underground habitats in the Río Tinto basin: a model for subsurface life habitats on Mars. Astrobiology 2008, 8:1023-1047.
14. Fernández-Remolar, D., Rodríguez, N., Gómez, F., and Amils, R., 2003. The geological record of an acidic environment driven by iron hydrochemistry: The Tinto River system. J. Geophys. Res. 108, 10.1029/2002JE001918.
15. Gooding J.L., Wentworth S.J., Zolensky M.E. Aqueous alteration of the Nakhla meteorite. Meteoritics 1991, 26:135-143.
16. Gómez F., Fernández-Remolar D., González-Toril E.F., Amils R. The Tinto River, an extreme Gaian environment. Scientist on Gaia 2004, 2000. MIT Press, Boston. L. Margulis, J. Miller, P. Boston, S. Schneider, E. Crist (Eds.).
17. González-Toril E., Llobet-Brossa E., Casamayor E.O., Amann R., Amils R. Microbial ecology of an extreme acidic environment, the Tinto River. App. Environ. Microbiol. 2003, 69:4863-4865.
18. González-Toril E., Gómez F., Malki M., Amils R. Methods for the isolation and study of acidophilic microorganisms. Meth. Microbio 2006, 35:436-502.
19. International Center for Diffraction Data Powder Diffraction File (ICDD-PDF), pattern 01-084-2066.
20. Küsel K., Dorsch T., Acker G., Stackebrandt E. Microbial reduction of Fe(III) in acidic sediments: isolation of acidiphilium cryptum JF-5 capable of coupling the reduction of Fe(III) to the oxidation of glucose. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1999, 65:3633-3640.
21. Küsel K., Rorth U., Drake H.L. Microbial reduction of Fe(III) in the presence of oxygen under low pH conditions. App. Environ. Microbiol. 2002, 4:414-421.
22. Leistel J.M., Marcoux E., Thiéblemont D., Quesada C., Sánchez A., Almodóvar G.R., Pascual E., Sáez R. The volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Min. Dep 1998, 33:2-30.
23. Malki M., Gonzalez-Toril E., Sanz J.L., Gomez F., Rodriguez N., Amils R. Importance of the iron cycle in biohydrometallurgy. Hydrometallurgy 2006, 83:223-228.
24. Michalski J.R., Niles P.B. Deep crustal carbonate rocks exposed by meteor impact on Mars. Nature Geosci 2010, 3:751-755.
25. Milliken R.E., Grotzinger, J.P., Thompson, B.J., 2010. Paleoclimate of Mars as captured by the stratigraphical record in Gale Crater. Geophys. Res. Let. 37, 10.1029/2009GL041870.
26. Morris R.V., Klingelhöfer G., Schröder C., Fleischer I., Ming D.W., Yen A.S., Gellert R., Arvidson R.E., Rodionov D.S., Crumpler L.S., Clark B.C., Cohen B.A., McCoy T.J., Mittlefehldt D.W., Schmidt M.E., de Souza P.A., Squyres S.W. Iron mineralogy and aqueous alteration from Husband Hill through Home Plate at Gusev Crater, Mars: Results from the Mossbauer instrument on the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover. J. Geophys. Res. 2008, 113. 10.1029/2008JE003201.
27. Morris R.V., Ruff S.W., Gellert R., Ming D.W., Arvidson R.E., Clark B.C., Golden D.C., Siebach K., Klingelhöfer G.s., Schröder C., Fleischer I., Yen A.S., Squyres S.W. Identification of carbonate-rich Outcrops on Mars by the Spirit Rover. Science 2010, 329:421-424.
28. Mortimer R.J.G., Coleman J.E. Effect of bacteria on the elemental composition of early diagenetic siderite: implications for palaeoenvironmental interpretations. Sedimentology 1997, 44:759-765.
29. Preston L.J., Shuster J., Fernández-Remolar D., Banerjee N.,.R., Osinski G.R., Southam G. The preservation and degradation of filamentous bacteria and biomolecules within iron oxide deposits at Río Tinto, Spain. Geobiology 2011, 9:233-249.
30. Sanchez-Roman M., Fernández-Remolar.D., Amils R., Rodríguez N. Microbial mediation of Fe-Mg-Ca carbonates in acidic environments (Río Tinto): Field studies vs culture experiments. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2010, 74. A905-A905.
31. Sánchez-Román M., Rivadeneyra M.A., Vasconcelos C., McKenzie J.A. Biomineralization of carbonate and phosphate by moderately halophilic bacteria. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol 2007, 61:273-284.
32. Sand W., Gehrke T., Jozsa P.-G., Schippers A. (Bio)chemistry of bacterial leaching-direct vs. indirect bioleaching. Hydrometallurgy 2001, 59:159-175.
33. Singer P.C., Summ W. Acidic mine drainage: the rate-determining step. Science 1970, 167:1121-1123.
34. Stumm, W., Morgan, J.J., 1996. Aquatic chemistry, Third Edition ed. (John Wiley & Sons, INC, New York).
35. Vašková A., Kupka D. Reduction of soluble and solid ferric iron by acidiphilium SJH. Adv. Mat. Res 2007, 20-21:407-500.
36. Warthmann R., van Lith.Y., Vasconcelos C., McKenzie J.A., Karpoff A.M. Bacterially induced dolomite precipitation in anoxic culture experiments. Geology 2000, 28:1091-1094.
37. Zhang C.L., Horita J., Cole D.R., Zhou J.Z., Lovely D.R., Phelps T.J. Temperature-dependent oxygen and carbon isotope fractionations of biogenic siderite. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2001, 65:2257-2271.