1
|
Wang H, Pijl A, Liu B, Wamelink W, Korthals GW, Costa OYA, Kuramae EE. A Comparison of Different Protocols for the Extraction of Microbial DNA Inhabiting Synthetic Mars Simulant Soil. Microorganisms 2024; 12:760. [PMID: 38674704 PMCID: PMC11051824 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12040760] [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: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Compared with typical Earth soil, Martian soil and Mars simulant soils have distinct properties, including pH > 8.0 and high contents of silicates, iron-rich minerals, sulfates, and metal oxides. This unique soil matrix poses a major challenge for extracting microbial DNA. In particular, mineral adsorption and the generation of destructive hydroxyl radicals through cationic redox cycling may interfere with DNA extraction. This study evaluated different protocols for extracting microbial DNA from Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1), a Mars simulant soil. Two commercial kits were tested: the FastDNA SPIN Kit for soil ("MP kit") and the DNeasy PowerSoil Pro Kit ("PowerSoil kit"). MGS-1 was incubated with living soil for five weeks, and DNA was extracted from aliquots using the kits. After extraction, the DNA was quantified with a NanoDrop spectrophotometer and used as the template for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and qPCR. The MP kit was the most efficient, yielding approximately four times more DNA than the PowerSoil kit. DNA extracted using the MP kit with 0.5 g soil resulted in 28,642-37,805 16S rRNA gene sequence reads and 30,380-42,070 16S rRNA gene copies, whereas the 16S rRNA gene could not be amplified from DNA extracted using the PowerSoil kit. We suggest that the FastDNA SPIN Kit is the best option for studying microbial communities in Mars simulant soils.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Han Wang
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands; (H.W.); (A.P.); (O.Y.A.C.)
- Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Agata Pijl
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands; (H.W.); (A.P.); (O.Y.A.C.)
| | - Binbin Liu
- Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Road, Shijiazhuang 050021, China;
| | - Wieger Wamelink
- Biodiversity and Policy, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands;
| | - Gerard W. Korthals
- Bioindications and Plant Health, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands;
| | - Ohana Y. A. Costa
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands; (H.W.); (A.P.); (O.Y.A.C.)
| | - Eiko E. Kuramae
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands; (H.W.); (A.P.); (O.Y.A.C.)
- Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Vezzola M, Tosi S, Doria E, Bonazzi M, Alvaro M, Sanfilippo A. Interaction between a Martian Regolith Simulant and Fungal Organic Acids in the Biomining Perspective. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:976. [PMID: 37888232 PMCID: PMC10607307 DOI: 10.3390/jof9100976] [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: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of Aspergillus tubingensis in extracting metals from rocks simulating Martian regolith through biomining. The results indicated that the fungal strain produced organic acids, particularly oxalic acid, in the first five days, leading to a rapid reduction in the pH of the culture medium. This acidic medium is ideal for bioleaching, a process that employs acidolysis and complexolysis to extract metals from rocks. Additionally, the strain synthesized siderophores, molecules capable of mobilizing metals from solid matrices, as verified by the blue CAS colorimetric test. The secretion of siderophores in the culture medium proved advantageous for biomining. The siderophores facilitated the leaching of metal ions, such as manganese, from the rock matrix into the acidified water solution. In addition, the susceptibility of the Martian regolith simulant to the biomining process was assessed by determining the particle size distribution, acid composition after treatment, and geochemical composition of the rock. Although the preliminary results demonstrate successful manganese extraction, further research is required to optimize the extraction technique. To conclude, the A. tubingensis strain exhibits promising abilities in extracting metals from rocks through biomining. Its use could prove useful in future in situ mining operations and environmental remediation efforts. Further research is required to optimize the process and evaluate its feasibility on a larger scale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michele Vezzola
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (S.T.); (M.A.); (A.S.)
| | - Solveig Tosi
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (S.T.); (M.A.); (A.S.)
| | - Enrico Doria
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Mattia Bonazzi
- Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources of Pavia, C.N.R, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Matteo Alvaro
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (S.T.); (M.A.); (A.S.)
| | - Alessio Sanfilippo
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (S.T.); (M.A.); (A.S.)
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kashyap S, Sklute EC, Wang P, Tague TJ, Dyar MD, Holden JF. Spectral Detection of Nanophase Iron Minerals Produced by Fe(III)-Reducing Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaea. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:43-59. [PMID: 36070586 PMCID: PMC9810357 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Mineral transformations by two hyperthermophilic Fe(III)-reducing crenarchaea, Pyrodictium delaneyi and Pyrobaculum islandicum, were examined using synthetic nanophase ferrihydrite, lepidocrocite, and akaganeite separately as terminal electron acceptors and compared with abiotic mineral transformations under similar conditions. Spectral analyses using visible-near-infrared, Fourier-transform infrared attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), Raman, and Mössbauer spectroscopies were complementary and revealed formation of various biomineral assemblages distinguishable from abiotic phases. The most extensive biogenic mineral transformation occurred with ferrihydrite, which formed primarily magnetite with spectral features similar to biomagnetite relative to a synthetic magnetite standard. The FTIR-ATR spectra of ferrihydrite bioreduced by P. delaneyi also showed possible cell-associated organics such as exopolysaccharides. Such combined detections of biomineral assemblages and organics might serve as biomarkers for hyperthermophilic Fe(III) reduction. With lepidocrocite, P. delaneyi produced primarily a ferrous carbonate phase reminiscent of siderite, and with akaganeite, magnetite and a ferrous phosphate phase similar to vivianite were formed. P. islandicum showed minor biogenic production of a ferrous phosphate similar to vivianite when grown on lepidocrocite, and a mixed valent phosphate or sulfate mineral when grown on akaganeite. These results expand the range of biogenic mineral transformations at high temperatures and identify spacecraft-relevant spectroscopies suitable for discriminating mineral biogenicity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Srishti Kashyap
- Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Peng Wang
- Bruker Optics, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - M. Darby Dyar
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA
| | - James F. Holden
- Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Understanding redox processes during iron precipitation in standing water: implications in formation of iron oxides minerals in the terrestrial planetary environment (especially Mars). PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL SCIENCE ACADEMY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s43538-022-00092-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
|
5
|
Searching Mass-Balance Analysis to Find the Composition of Martian Blueberries. MINERALS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/min12060777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Between 2004 and 2018, NASA’s rover Opportunity found huge numbers of small, hematite-rich spherules (commonly called blueberries) on the Meridiani Planum of Mars. The standard oxide composition distributions of blueberries have remained poorly constrained, with previous published analyses leaving hematite content somewhere in the broad range of 24–100 wt%. A searching mass-balance analysis is introduced and applied to constrain possible standard oxide composition distributions of blueberries consistent with the non-detection of silicates in blueberries by Opportunity’s instruments. This analysis found three groups of complete solution sets among the mass-balance ions consistent with the non-detection of silicates; although, a simple extension of the analysis indicates that one larger space of solutions incorporates all three groups of solutions. Enforcing consistency with the non-detection of silicates in blueberries constrains the hematite content in most of blueberry samples to between 79.5 and 99.85 wt%. A feature of the largest group of complete solution sets is that five oxides/elements, MgO, P2O5, Na2O, SO3, and Cl, collectively have a summed weight percentage that averages close to 6 wt%, while the weight percentage of nickel is close to 0.3 wt% in all solutions. Searches over multidimensional spaces of filtering composition distributions of basaltic and dusty soils were a methodological advance.
Collapse
|
6
|
Royle SH, Salter TL, Watson JS, Sephton MA. Mineral Matrix Effects on Pyrolysis Products of Kerogens Infer Difficulties in Determining Biological Provenance of Macromolecular Organic Matter at Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:520-540. [PMID: 35171040 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ancient martian organic matter is likely to take the form of kerogen-like recalcitrant macromolecular organic matter (MOM), existing in close association with reactive mineral surfaces, especially iron oxides. Detecting and identifying a biological origin for martian MOM will therefore be of utmost importance for life-detection efforts at Mars. We show that Type I and Type IV kerogens provide effective analogues for putative martian MOM of biological and abiological (meteoric) provenances, respectively. We analyze the pyrolytic breakdown products when these kerogens are mixed with mineral matrices highly relevant for the search for life on Mars. We demonstrate that, using traditional thermal techniques as generally used by the Sample Analysis at Mars and Mars Organic Molecule Analyser instruments, even the breakdown products of highly recalcitrant MOM are transformed during analysis in the presence of reactive mineral surfaces, particularly iron. Analytical transformation reduces the diagnostic ability of this technique, as detected transformation products of both biological and abiological MOM may be identical (low molecular weight gas phases and benzene) and indistinguishable. The severity of transformational effects increased through calcite < kaolinite < hematite < nontronite < magnetite < goethite. Due to their representation of various habitable aqueous environments and the preservation potential of organic matter by iron, it is not advisable to completely avoid iron-rich strata. We conclude that hematite-rich localities, with evidence of extensive aqueous alteration of originally reducing phases, such as the Vera Rubin Ridge, may be relatively promising targets for identifying martian biologically sourced MOM.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel H Royle
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Tara L Salter
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jonathan S Watson
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Mark A Sephton
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Royle SH, Watson JS, Sephton MA. Transformation of Cyanobacterial Biomolecules by Iron Oxides During Flash Pyrolysis: Implications for Mars Life-Detection Missions. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:1363-1386. [PMID: 34402652 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2428] [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: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Answering the question of whether life ever existed on Mars is a key goal of both NASA's and ESA's imminent Mars rover missions. The obfuscatory effects of oxidizing salts, such as perchlorates and sulfates, on organic matter during thermal decomposition analysis techniques are well established. Less well studied are the transformative effects of iron oxides and (oxy)hydroxides, which are present in great abundances in the martian regolith. We examined the products of flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (a technique analogous to the thermal techniques employed by past, current, and future landed Mars missions) which form when the cyanobacteria Arthrospira platensis are heated in the presence of a variety of Mars-relevant iron-bearing minerals. We found that iron oxides/(oxy)hydroxides have transformative effects on the pyrolytic products of cyanobacterial biomolecules. Both the abundance and variety of molecular species detected were decreased as iron substrates transformed biomolecules, by both oxidative and reductive processes, into lower fidelity alkanes, aromatic and aryl-bonded hydrocarbons. Despite the loss of fidelity, a suite that contains mid-length alkanes and polyaromatic hydrocarbons and/or aryl-bonded molecules in iron-rich samples subjected to pyrolysis may allude to the transformation of cyanobacterially derived mid-long chain length fatty acids (particularly unsaturated fatty acids) originally present in the sample. Hematite was found to be the iron oxide with the lowest transformation potential, and because this iron oxide has a high affinity for codeposition of organic matter and preservation over geological timescales, sampling at Mars should target sediments/strata that have undergone a diagenetic history encouraging the dehydration, dihydroxylation, and oxidation of more reactive iron-bearing phases to hematite by looking for (mineralogical) evidence of the activity of oxidizing, acidic/neutral, and either hot or long-lived fluids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel H Royle
- Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan S Watson
- Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mark A Sephton
- Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Royle SH, Tan JSW, Watson JS, Sephton MA. Pyrolysis of Carboxylic Acids in the Presence of Iron Oxides: Implications for Life Detection on Missions to Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:673-691. [PMID: 33635150 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The search for, and characterization of, organic matter on Mars is central to efforts in identifying habitable environments and detecting evidence of life in the martian surface and near surface. Iron oxides are ubiquitous in the martian regolith and are known to be associated with the deposition and preservation of organic matter in certain terrestrial environments, thus iron oxide-rich sediments are potential targets for life-detection missions. The most frequently used protocol for martian organic matter characterization (also planned for use on ExoMars) has been thermal extraction for the transfer of organic matter to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) detectors. For the effective use of thermal extraction for martian samples, it is necessary to explore how potential biomarker organic molecules evolve during this process in the presence of iron oxides. We have thermally decomposed iron oxides simultaneously with (z)-octadec-9-enoic and n-octadecanoic acids and analyzed the products through pyrolysis-GC-MS. We found that the thermally driven dehydration, reduction, and recrystallization of iron oxides transformed fatty acids. Overall detectability of products greatly reduced, molecular diversity decreased, unsaturated products decreased, and aromatization increased. The severity of this effect increased as reduction potential of the iron oxide and inferred free radical formation increased. Of the iron oxides tested hematite showed the least transformative effects, followed by magnetite, goethite, then ferrihydrite. It was possible to identify the saturation state of the parent carboxylic acid at high (0.5 wt %) concentrations by the distribution of n-alkylbenzenes in the pyrolysis products. When selecting life-detection targets on Mars, localities where hematite is the dominant iron oxide could be targeted preferentially, otherwise thermal analysis of carboxylic acids, or similar biomarker molecules, will lead to enhanced polymerization, aromatization, and breakdown, which will in turn reduce the fidelity of the original biomarker, similar to changes normally observed during thermal maturation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel H Royle
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan S W Tan
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan S Watson
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mark A Sephton
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Tan JSW, Sephton MA. Quantifying Preservation Potential: Lipid Degradation in a Mars-Analog Circumneutral Iron Deposit. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:638-654. [PMID: 33835833 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Comparisons between the preservation potential of Mars-analog environments have historically been qualitative rather than quantitative. Recently, however, laboratory-based artificial maturation combined with kinetic modeling techniques have emerged as a potential means by which the preservation potential of solvent-soluble organic matter can be quantified in various Mars-analog environments. These methods consider how elevated temperatures, pressures, and organic-inorganic interactions influence the degradation of organic biomarkers post-burial. We used these techniques to investigate the preservation potential of deposits from a circumneutral iron-rich groundwater system. These deposits are composed of ferrihydrite (Fe5HO8 · 4H2O), an amorphous iron hydroxide mineral that is a common constituent of rocks found in ancient lacustrine environments on Mars, such as those observed in Gale Crater. Both natural and synthetic ferrihydrite samples were subjected to hydrous pyrolysis to observe the effects of long-term burial on the mineralogy and organic content of the samples. Our experiments revealed that organic-inorganic interactions in the samples are dominated by the transformation of iron minerals. As amorphous ferrihydrite transforms into more crystalline species, the decrease in surface area results in the desorption of organic matter, potentially rendering them more susceptible to degradation. We also find that circumneutral iron-rich deposits provide unfavorable conditions for the preservation of solvent-soluble organic matter. Quantitative comparisons between preservation potentials as calculated when using kinetic parameters show that circumneutral iron-rich deposits are ∼25 times less likely to preserve solvent-soluble organic matter compared with acidic, iron-rich environments. Our results suggest that circumneutral iron-rich deposits should be deprioritized in favor of acidic iron- and sulfur-rich deposits when searching for evidence of life with solvent extraction techniques.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan S W Tan
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mark A Sephton
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Capacity of Chlorate to Oxidize Ferrous Iron: Implications for Iron Oxide Formation on Mars. MINERALS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/min10090729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Chlorate is an important Cl-bearing species and a strong potential Fe(II) oxidant on Mars. Since the amount of oxychlorine species (perchlorate and chlorate) detected on Mars is limited (<~1 wt.%), the effectiveness of chlorate to produce iron oxides depends heavily on its oxidizing capacity. Decomposition of chlorate or intermediates produced during its reduction, before reaction with Fe(II) would decrease its effective capacity as an oxidant. We thus evaluated the capacity of chlorate to produce Fe(III) minerals in Mars-relevant fluids, via oxidation of dissolved Fe(II). Each chlorate ion can oxidize 6 Fe(II) ions under all conditions investigated. Mass balance demonstrated that 1 wt.% chlorate (as ClO3−) could produce approximately 6 to 12 wt.% Fe(III) or mixed valent mineral products, with the amount varying with the formula of the precipitating phase. The mineral products are primarily determined by the fluid type (chloride- or sulfate-rich), the solution pH, and the rate of Fe(II) oxidation. The pH at the time of initial mineral nucleation and the amount of residual dissolved Fe(II) in the system exert important additional controls on the final mineralogy. Subsequent diagenetic transformation of these phases would yield 5.7 wt.% hematite per wt.% of chlorate reacted, providing a quantitative constraint on the capacity of chlorate to generate iron oxides on Mars.
Collapse
|
11
|
Mojarro A, Hachey J, Bailey R, Brown M, Doebler R, Ruvkun G, Zuber MT, Carr CE. Nucleic Acid Extraction and Sequencing from Low-Biomass Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for In Situ Life Detection. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:1139-1152. [PMID: 31204862 PMCID: PMC6708270 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies regarding the origins of life and Mars-Earth meteorite transfer simulations suggest that biological informational polymers, such as nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), have the potential to provide unambiguous evidence of life on Mars. To this end, we are developing a metagenomics-based life-detection instrument which integrates nucleic acid extraction and nanopore sequencing: the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG). Our goal is to isolate and sequence nucleic acids from extant or preserved life on Mars in order to determine if a particular genetic sequence (1) is distantly related to life on Earth, indicating a shared ancestry due to lithological exchange, or (2) is unrelated to life on Earth, suggesting convergent origins of life on Mars. In this study, we validate prior work on nucleic acid extraction from cells deposited in Mars analog soils down to microbial concentrations (i.e., 104 cells in 50 mg of soil) observed in the driest and coldest regions on Earth. In addition, we report low-input nanopore sequencing results from 2 pg of purified Bacillus subtilis spore DNA simulating ideal extraction yields equivalent to 1 ppb life-detection sensitivity. We achieve this by employing carrier sequencing, a method of sequencing sub-nanogram DNA in the background of a genomic carrier. After filtering of carrier, low-quality, and low-complexity reads we detected 5 B. subtilis reads, 18 contamination reads (including Homo sapiens), and 6 high-quality noise reads believed to be sequencing artifacts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Angel Mojarro
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Address correspondence to: Angel Mojarro, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Room E25-647, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | | | - Ryan Bailey
- Claremont Biosolutions, LLC, Upland, California
| | - Mark Brown
- Claremont Biosolutions, LLC, Upland, California
| | | | - Gary Ruvkun
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Maria T. Zuber
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher E. Carr
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Jarosite and Alunite in Ancient Terrestrial Sedimentary Rocks: Reinterpreting Martian Depositional and Diagenetic Environmental Conditions. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8030032. [PMID: 30081459 PMCID: PMC6160914 DOI: 10.3390/life8030032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Members of the alunite group are precipitated at low pH (<1 to ~4) in oxidizing environments, are unstable in circumneutral conditions, and are widespread on Mars. At Mollies Nipple in Kane County, Utah, USA, jarosite and alunite are abundant as diagenetic cements in Jurassic sandstones. This research characterizes the jarosite and alunite cements with the goal of determining their origin, and tests the hypothesis that jarosite and alunite may be more stable than the current understanding indicates is possible. Previous studies have placed the jarosite- and alunite-bearing caprock at Mollies Nipple in the Navajo Sandstone, but the presence of water-lain deposits, volcanic ash, volcanic clasts, and peloids show that it is one of the overlying Middle Jurassic units that records sea level transgressions and regressions. A paragenetic timing, established from petrographic methods, shows that much of the cement was precipitated early in a marginal marine to coastal dune depositional environment with a fluctuating groundwater table that drove ferrolysis and evolved the groundwater to a low pH. Microbial interaction was likely a large contributor to the evolution of this acidity. Jarosite and alunite are clearly more stable in natural environments than is predicted by laboratory experiments, and therefore, the Martian environments that have been interpreted as largely acidic and/or dry over geologic time may have been more habitable than previously thought.
Collapse
|
13
|
Price A, Pearson VK, Schwenzer SP, Miot J, Olsson-Francis K. Nitrate-Dependent Iron Oxidation: A Potential Mars Metabolism. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:513. [PMID: 29616015 PMCID: PMC5869265 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This work considers the hypothetical viability of microbial nitrate-dependent Fe2+ oxidation (NDFO) for supporting simple life in the context of the early Mars environment. This draws on knowledge built up over several decades of remote and in situ observation, as well as recent discoveries that have shaped current understanding of early Mars. Our current understanding is that certain early martian environments fulfill several of the key requirements for microbes with NDFO metabolism. First, abundant Fe2+ has been identified on Mars and provides evidence of an accessible electron donor; evidence of anoxia suggests that abiotic Fe2+ oxidation by molecular oxygen would not have interfered and competed with microbial iron metabolism in these environments. Second, nitrate, which can be used by some iron oxidizing microorganisms as an electron acceptor, has also been confirmed in modern aeolian and ancient sediment deposits on Mars. In addition to redox substrates, reservoirs of both organic and inorganic carbon are available for biosynthesis, and geochemical evidence suggests that lacustrine systems during the hydrologically active Noachian period (4.1-3.7 Ga) match the circumneutral pH requirements of nitrate-dependent iron-oxidizing microorganisms. As well as potentially acting as a primary producer in early martian lakes and fluvial systems, the light-independent nature of NDFO suggests that such microbes could have persisted in sub-surface aquifers long after the desiccation of the surface, provided that adequate carbon and nitrates sources were prevalent. Traces of NDFO microorganisms may be preserved in the rock record by biomineralization and cellular encrustation in zones of high Fe2+ concentrations. These processes could produce morphological biosignatures, preserve distinctive Fe-isotope variation patterns, and enhance preservation of biological organic compounds. Such biosignatures could be detectable by future missions to Mars with appropriate instrumentation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alex Price
- Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria K. Pearson
- Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - Susanne P. Schwenzer
- Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - Jennyfer Miot
- CNRS, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie – Sorbonne Universités, UMR 7590, Paris, France
| | - Karen Olsson-Francis
- Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Peretyazhko TS, Niles PB, Sutter B, Morris RV, Agresti DG, Le L, Ming DW. Smectite formation in the presence of sulfuric acid: Implications for acidic smectite formation on early Mars. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA 2018; 220:248-260. [PMID: 32801388 PMCID: PMC7427815 DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2017.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The excess of orbital detection of smectite deposits compared to carbonate deposits on the martian surface presents an enigma because smectite and carbonate formations are both favored alteration products of basalt under neutral to alkaline conditions. We propose that Mars experienced acidic events caused by sulfuric acid (H2SO4) that permitted phyllosilicate, but inhibited carbonate, formation. To experimentally verify this hypothesis, we report the first synthesis of smectite from Mars-analogue glass-rich basalt simulant (66 wt% glass, 32 wt% olivine, 2 wt% chromite) in the presence of H2SO4 under hydrothermal conditions (~200 °C). Smectites were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy, visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy and electron microprobe to characterize mineralogy and chemical composition. Solution chemistry was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Basalt simulant suspensions in 11-42 mM H2SO4 were acidic with pH ≤ 2 at the beginning of incubation and varied from acidic (pH 1.8) to mildly alkaline (pH 8.4) at the end of incubation. Alteration of glass phase during reaction of the basalt simulant with H2SO4 led to formation of the dioctahedral smectite at final pH ~3 and trioctahedral smectite saponite at final pH ~4 and higher. Anhydrite and hematite formed in the final pH range from 1.8 to 8.4 while natroalunite was detected at pH 1.8. Hematite was precipitated as a result of oxidative dissolution of olivine present in Adirondack basalt simulant. Formation of secondary phases, including smectite, resulted in release of variable amounts of Si, Mg, Na and Ca while solubilization of Al and Fe was low. Comparison of mineralogical and solution chemistry data indicated that the type of smectite (i.e., dioctahedral vs trioctahedral) was likely controlled by Mg leaching from altering basalt and substantial Mg loss created favorable conditions for formation of dioctahedral smectite. We present a model for global-scale smectite formation on Mars via acid-sulfate conditions created by the volcanic outgassing of SO2 in the Noachian and early Hesperian.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - P B Niles
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058
| | - B Sutter
- Jacobs, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058
| | - R V Morris
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058
| | - D G Agresti
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294
| | - L Le
- Jacobs, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058
| | - D W Ming
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Sklute EC, Kashyap S, Dyar MD, Holden JF, Tague T, Wang P, Jaret SJ. Spectral and morphological characteristics of synthetic nanophase iron (oxyhydr)oxides. PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF MINERALS 2018; 45:1-26. [PMID: 30135614 PMCID: PMC6101973 DOI: 10.1007/s00269-017-0897-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Nanophase iron (oxyhydr)oxides are ubiquitous on Earth, globally distributed on Mars, and likely present on numerous other rocky solar system bodies. They are often structurally and, therefore, spectrally distinct from iron (oxyhydr)oxide bulk phases. Because their spectra vary with grain size, they can be difficult to identify or distinguish unless multiple analysis techniques are used in tandem. Yet, most literature reports fail to use multiple techniques or adequately parameterize sample morphology, making it difficult to understand how morphology affects spectral characteristics across techniques. Here, we present transmission electron microscopy, Raman, visible and near-infrared, and mid-infrared attenuated total reflectance data on synthetic, nanophase akaganéite, lepidocrocite, goethite, hematite, ferrihydrite, magnetite, and maghemite. Feature positions are tabulated and compared to those for bulk (oxyhydr)oxides and other nanophase iron (oxyhydr)oxides from the literature. The utility and limitations of each technique in analyzing nanophase iron (oxyhydr)oxides are discussed. Raman, mid-infrared, and visible near-infrared spectra show broadening, loss of some spectral features, and shifted positions compared to bulk phases. Raman and mid-infrared spectroscopies are useful in identifying and distinguishing akaganéite, lepidocrocite, goethite, and hematite, though ferrihydrite, magnetite, and maghemite have overlapped band positions. Visible near-infrared spectroscopy can identify and distinguish among ferrihydrite, magnetite, and maghemite in pure spectra, though akaganéite, lepidocrocite, and goethite can have overlapping bands. It is clear from this work that further understanding of variable spectral features in nanophase iron (oxyhydr)oxides must await additional studies to robustly assess effects of morphology. This study establishes a template for future work.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C. Sklute
- Department of Astronomy, Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075, USA
| | - Srishti Kashyap
- Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, N418 Morrill Science Center IV North, 639 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - M. Darby Dyar
- Department of Astronomy, Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075, USA
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395, USA
| | - James F. Holden
- Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, N418 Morrill Science Center IV North, 639 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Thomas Tague
- Bruker Optics Inc., 19 Fortune Dr., Billerica, MA 01821, USA
| | - Peng Wang
- Bruker Optics Inc., 19 Fortune Dr., Billerica, MA 01821, USA
| | - Steven J. Jaret
- Department of Geoscience, Stony Brook University, 255 Earth and Space Science Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Ehlmann BL, Edgett KS, Sutter B, Achilles CN, Litvak ML, Lapotre MGA, Sullivan R, Fraeman AA, Arvidson RE, Blake DF, Bridges NT, Conrad PG, Cousin A, Downs RT, Gabriel TSJ, Gellert R, Hamilton VE, Hardgrove C, Johnson JR, Kuhn S, Mahaffy PR, Maurice S, McHenry M, Meslin PY, Ming DW, Minitti ME, Morookian JM, Morris RV, O'Connell-Cooper CD, Pinet PC, Rowland SK, Schröder S, Siebach KL, Stein NT, Thompson LM, Vaniman DT, Vasavada AR, Wellington DF, Wiens RC, Yen AS. Chemistry, mineralogy, and grain properties at Namib and High dunes, Bagnold dune field, Gale crater, Mars: A synthesis of Curiosity rover observations. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2017; 122:2510-2543. [PMID: 29497589 DOI: 10.1002/2016je005225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover performed coordinated measurements to examine the textures and compositions of aeolian sands in the active Bagnold dune field. The Bagnold sands are rounded to subrounded, very fine to medium sized (~45-500 μm) with ≥6 distinct grain colors. In contrast to sands examined by Curiosity in a dust-covered, inactive bedform called Rocknest and soils at other landing sites, Bagnold sands are darker, less red, better sorted, have fewer silt-sized or smaller grains, and show no evidence for cohesion. Nevertheless, Bagnold mineralogy and Rocknest mineralogy are similar with plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxenes in similar proportions comprising >90% of crystalline phases, along with a substantial amorphous component (35% ± 15%). Yet Bagnold and Rocknest bulk chemistry differ. Bagnold sands are Si enriched relative to other soils at Gale crater, and H2O, S, and Cl are lower relative to all previously measured Martian soils and most Gale crater rocks. Mg, Ni, Fe, and Mn are enriched in the coarse-sieved fraction of Bagnold sands, corroborated by visible/near-infrared spectra that suggest enrichment of olivine. Collectively, patterns in major element chemistry and volatile release data indicate two distinctive volatile reservoirs in Martian soils: (1) amorphous components in the sand-sized fraction (represented by Bagnold) that are Si-enriched, hydroxylated alteration products and/or H2O- or OH-bearing impact or volcanic glasses and (2) amorphous components in the fine fraction (<40 μm; represented by Rocknest and other bright soils) that are Fe, S, and Cl enriched with low Si and adsorbed and structural H2O.
Collapse
|
17
|
Ehlmann BL, Edgett KS, Sutter B, Achilles CN, Litvak ML, Lapotre MGA, Sullivan R, Fraeman AA, Arvidson RE, Blake DF, Bridges NT, Conrad PG, Cousin A, Downs RT, Gabriel TSJ, Gellert R, Hamilton VE, Hardgrove C, Johnson JR, Kuhn S, Mahaffy PR, Maurice S, McHenry M, Meslin P, Ming DW, Minitti ME, Morookian JM, Morris RV, O'Connell‐Cooper CD, Pinet PC, Rowland SK, Schröder S, Siebach KL, Stein NT, Thompson LM, Vaniman DT, Vasavada AR, Wellington DF, Wiens RC, Yen AS. Chemistry, mineralogy, and grain properties at Namib and High dunes, Bagnold dune field, Gale crater, Mars: A synthesis of Curiosity rover observations. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2017; 122:2510-2543. [PMID: 29497589 PMCID: PMC5815393 DOI: 10.1002/2017je005267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover performed coordinated measurements to examine the textures and compositions of aeolian sands in the active Bagnold dune field. The Bagnold sands are rounded to subrounded, very fine to medium sized (~45-500 μm) with ≥6 distinct grain colors. In contrast to sands examined by Curiosity in a dust-covered, inactive bedform called Rocknest and soils at other landing sites, Bagnold sands are darker, less red, better sorted, have fewer silt-sized or smaller grains, and show no evidence for cohesion. Nevertheless, Bagnold mineralogy and Rocknest mineralogy are similar with plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxenes in similar proportions comprising >90% of crystalline phases, along with a substantial amorphous component (35% ± 15%). Yet Bagnold and Rocknest bulk chemistry differ. Bagnold sands are Si enriched relative to other soils at Gale crater, and H2O, S, and Cl are lower relative to all previously measured Martian soils and most Gale crater rocks. Mg, Ni, Fe, and Mn are enriched in the coarse-sieved fraction of Bagnold sands, corroborated by visible/near-infrared spectra that suggest enrichment of olivine. Collectively, patterns in major element chemistry and volatile release data indicate two distinctive volatile reservoirs in Martian soils: (1) amorphous components in the sand-sized fraction (represented by Bagnold) that are Si-enriched, hydroxylated alteration products and/or H2O- or OH-bearing impact or volcanic glasses and (2) amorphous components in the fine fraction (<40 μm; represented by Rocknest and other bright soils) that are Fe, S, and Cl enriched with low Si and adsorbed and structural H2O.
Collapse
|
18
|
Mojarro A, Ruvkun G, Zuber MT, Carr CE. Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in situ Life Detection. ASTROBIOLOGY 2017; 17:747-760. [PMID: 28704064 PMCID: PMC5567878 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Biological informational polymers such as nucleic acids have the potential to provide unambiguous evidence of life beyond Earth. To this end, we are developing an automated in situ life-detection instrument that integrates nucleic acid extraction and nanopore sequencing: the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG) instrument. Our goal is to isolate and determine the sequence of nucleic acids from extant or preserved life on Mars, if, for example, there is common ancestry to life on Mars and Earth. As is true of metagenomic analysis of terrestrial environmental samples, the SETG instrument must isolate nucleic acids from crude samples and then determine the DNA sequence of the unknown nucleic acids. Our initial DNA extraction experiments resulted in low to undetectable amounts of DNA due to soil chemistry-dependent soil-DNA interactions, namely adsorption to mineral surfaces, binding to divalent/trivalent cations, destruction by iron redox cycling, and acidic conditions. Subsequently, we developed soil-specific extraction protocols that increase DNA yields through a combination of desalting, utilization of competitive binders, and promotion of anaerobic conditions. Our results suggest that a combination of desalting and utilizing competitive binders may establish a "universal" nucleic acid extraction protocol suitable for analyzing samples from diverse soils on Mars. Key Words: Life-detection instruments-Nucleic acids-Mars-Panspermia. Astrobiology 17, 747-760.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Angel Mojarro
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Gary Ruvkun
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Maria T. Zuber
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher E. Carr
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Severin J, Jund P. Thermal conductivity calculation in anisotropic crystals by molecular dynamics: Application to α-Fe 2O 3. J Chem Phys 2017; 146:054505. [PMID: 28178828 DOI: 10.1063/1.4974933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In this work, we aim to study the thermal properties of materials using classical molecular dynamics simulations and specialized numerical methods. We focus primarily on the thermal conductivity κ using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) to study the response of a crystalline solid, namely hematite (α-Fe2O3), to an imposed heat flux as is the case in real life applications. We present a methodology for the calculation of κ as well as an adapted potential for hematite. Taking into account the size of the simulation box, we show that not only the longitudinal size (in the direction of the heat flux) but also the transverse size plays a role in the determination of κ and should be converged properly in order to have reliable results. Moreover we propose a comparison of thermal conductivity calculations in two different crystallographic directions to highlight the spatial anisotropy and we investigate the non-linear temperature behavior typically observed in NEMD methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Severin
- UMR 5253 CNRS-UM-ENSCM, Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, Place E. Bataillon CC1506, 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Philippe Jund
- UMR 5253 CNRS-UM-ENSCM, Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, Place E. Bataillon CC1506, 34095 Montpellier, France
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Wilson EH, Atreya SK, Kaiser RI, Mahaffy PR. Perchlorate formation on Mars through surface radiolysis-initiated atmospheric chemistry: A potential mechanism. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2016; 121:1472-1487. [PMID: 27774369 PMCID: PMC5054826 DOI: 10.1002/2016je005078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Revised: 08/02/2016] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Recent observations of the Martian surface by the Phoenix lander and the Sample Analysis at Mars indicate the presence of perchlorate (ClO4-). The abundance and isotopic composition of these perchlorates suggest that the mechanisms responsible for their formation in the Martian environment may be unique in our solar system. With this in mind, we propose a potential mechanism for the production of Martian perchlorate: the radiolysis of the Martian surface by galactic cosmic rays, followed by the sublimation of chlorine oxides into the atmosphere and their subsequent synthesis to form perchloric acid (HClO4) in the atmosphere, and the surface deposition and subsequent mineralization of HClO4 in the regolith to form surface perchlorates. To evaluate the viability of this mechanism, we employ a one-dimensional chemical model, examining chlorine chemistry in the context of Martian atmospheric chemistry. Considering the chlorine oxide, OClO, we find that an OClO flux as low as 3.2 × 107 molecules cm-2 s-1 sublimated into the atmosphere from the surface could produce sufficient HClO4 to explain the perchlorate concentration on Mars, assuming an accumulation depth of 30 cm and integrated over the Amazonian period. Radiolysis provides an efficient pathway for the oxidation of chlorine, bypassing the efficient Cl/HCl recycling mechanism that characterizes HClO4 formation mechanisms proposed for the Earth but not Mars.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric H. Wilson
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and EngineeringUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Sushil K. Atreya
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and EngineeringUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of Hawai'i at MānoaHonoluluHawaiiUSA
| | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Ruecker A, Schröder C, Byrne J, Weigold P, Behrens S, Kappler A. Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Western Australian Salt Lake Sediments: Implications for Meridiani Planum on Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2016; 16:525-538. [PMID: 27258848 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Hypersaline lakes are characteristic for Western Australia and display a rare combination of geochemical and mineralogical properties that make these lakes potential analogues for past conditions on Mars. In our study, we focused on the geochemistry and mineralogy of Lake Orr and Lake Whurr. While both lakes are poor in organic carbon (<1%), the sediments' pH values differ and range from 3.8 to 4.8 in Lake Orr and from 5.4 to 6.3 in Lake Whurr sediments. Lake Whurr sediments were dominated by orange and red sediment zones in which the main Fe minerals were identified as hematite, goethite, and tentatively jarosite and pyrite. Lake Orr was dominated by brownish and blackish sediments where the main Fe minerals were goethite and another paramagnetic Fe(III)-phase that could not be identified. Furthermore, a likely secondary Fe(II)-phase was observed in Lake Orr sediments. The mineralogy of these two salt lakes in the sampling area is strongly influenced by events such as flooding, evaporation, and desiccation, processes that explain at least to some extent the observed differences between Lake Orr and Lake Whurr. The iron mineralogy of Lake Whurr sediments and the high salinity make this lake a suitable analogue for Meridiani Planum on Mars, and in particular the tentative identification of pyrite in Lake Whurr sediments has implications for the interpretation of the Fe mineralogy of Meridiani Planum sediments. KEY WORDS Western Australia-Salt lakes-Jarosite-Hematite-Pyrite-Mars analogue. Astrobiology 16, 525-538.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Ruecker
- 1 Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany
| | - C Schröder
- 2 Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling , Stirling, Scotland, UK
| | - J Byrne
- 1 Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany
| | - P Weigold
- 1 Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany
| | - S Behrens
- 1 Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany
| | - A Kappler
- 1 Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Cockell CS, Bush T, Bryce C, Direito S, Fox-Powell M, Harrison JP, Lammer H, Landenmark H, Martin-Torres J, Nicholson N, Noack L, O'Malley-James J, Payler SJ, Rushby A, Samuels T, Schwendner P, Wadsworth J, Zorzano MP. Habitability: A Review. ASTROBIOLOGY 2016; 16:89-117. [PMID: 26741054 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Habitability is a widely used word in the geoscience, planetary science, and astrobiology literature, but what does it mean? In this review on habitability, we define it as the ability of an environment to support the activity of at least one known organism. We adopt a binary definition of "habitability" and a "habitable environment." An environment either can or cannot sustain a given organism. However, environments such as entire planets might be capable of supporting more or less species diversity or biomass compared with that of Earth. A clarity in understanding habitability can be obtained by defining instantaneous habitability as the conditions at any given time in a given environment required to sustain the activity of at least one known organism, and continuous planetary habitability as the capacity of a planetary body to sustain habitable conditions on some areas of its surface or within its interior over geological timescales. We also distinguish between surface liquid water worlds (such as Earth) that can sustain liquid water on their surfaces and interior liquid water worlds, such as icy moons and terrestrial-type rocky planets with liquid water only in their interiors. This distinction is important since, while the former can potentially sustain habitable conditions for oxygenic photosynthesis that leads to the rise of atmospheric oxygen and potentially complex multicellularity and intelligence over geological timescales, the latter are unlikely to. Habitable environments do not need to contain life. Although the decoupling of habitability and the presence of life may be rare on Earth, it may be important for understanding the habitability of other planetary bodies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C S Cockell
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - T Bush
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - C Bryce
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - S Direito
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - M Fox-Powell
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - J P Harrison
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - H Lammer
- 2 Austrian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute , Graz, Austria
| | - H Landenmark
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - J Martin-Torres
- 3 Division of Space Technology, Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology , Kiruna, Sweden; and Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - N Nicholson
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - L Noack
- 4 Department of Reference Systems and Planetology, Royal Observatory of Belgium , Brussels, Belgium
| | - J O'Malley-James
- 5 School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews , St Andrews, UK; now at the Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - S J Payler
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - A Rushby
- 6 Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Science (COAS), School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia , Norwich, UK
| | - T Samuels
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - P Schwendner
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - J Wadsworth
- 1 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| | - M P Zorzano
- 3 Division of Space Technology, Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology , Kiruna, Sweden; and Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Armilla, Granada, Spain
- 7 Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA) , Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Kinch KM, Bell JF, Goetz W, Johnson JR, Joseph J, Madsen MB, Sohl-Dickstein J. Dust deposition on the decks of the Mars Exploration Rovers: 10 years of dust dynamics on the Panoramic Camera calibration targets. EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE (HOBOKEN, N.J.) 2015; 2:144-172. [PMID: 27981072 PMCID: PMC5125412 DOI: 10.1002/2014ea000073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2014] [Revised: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/26/2015] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The Panoramic Cameras on NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers have each returned more than 17,000 images of their calibration targets. In order to make optimal use of this data set for reflectance calibration, a correction must be made for the presence of air fall dust. Here we present an improved dust correction procedure based on a two-layer scattering model, and we present a dust reflectance spectrum derived from long-term trends in the data set. The dust on the calibration targets appears brighter than dusty areas of the Martian surface. We derive detailed histories of dust deposition and removal revealing two distinct environments: At the Spirit landing site, half the year is dominated by dust deposition, the other half by dust removal, usually in brief, sharp events. At the Opportunity landing site the Martian year has a semiannual dust cycle with dust removal happening gradually throughout two removal seasons each year. The highest observed optical depth of settled dust on the calibration target is 1.5 on Spirit and 1.1 on Opportunity (at 601 nm). We derive a general prediction for dust deposition rates of 0.004 ± 0.001 in units of surface optical depth deposited per sol (Martian solar day) per unit atmospheric optical depth. We expect this procedure to lead to improved reflectance-calibration of the Panoramic Camera data set. In addition, it is easily adapted to similar data sets from other missions in order to deliver improved reflectance calibration as well as data on dust reflectance properties and deposition and removal history.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kjartan M Kinch
- Niels Bohr Institute University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
| | - James F Bell
- School of Earth and Space Exploration Arizona State University Phoenix Arizona USA
| | - Walter Goetz
- Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research Göttingen Germany
| | - Jeffrey R Johnson
- Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins University Laurel Maryland USA
| | - Jonathan Joseph
- Department of Astronomy Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Morten Bo Madsen
- Niels Bohr Institute University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Jascha Sohl-Dickstein
- Neural Dynamics and Computation Laboratory Stanford University Stanford California USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Lewis JMT, Watson JS, Najorka J, Luong D, Sephton MA. Sulfate minerals: a problem for the detection of organic compounds on Mars? ASTROBIOLOGY 2015; 15:247-58. [PMID: 25695727 PMCID: PMC4363818 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2014.1160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2014] [Accepted: 12/27/2014] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The search for in situ organic matter on Mars involves encounters with minerals and requires an understanding of their influence on lander and rover experiments. Inorganic host materials can be helpful by aiding the preservation of organic compounds or unhelpful by causing the destruction of organic matter during thermal extraction steps. Perchlorates are recognized as confounding minerals for thermal degradation studies. On heating, perchlorates can decompose to produce oxygen, which then oxidizes organic matter. Other common minerals on Mars, such as sulfates, may also produce oxygen upon thermal decay, presenting an additional complication. Different sulfate species decompose within a large range of temperatures. We performed a series of experiments on a sample containing the ferric sulfate jarosite. The sulfate ions within jarosite break down from 500 °C. Carbon dioxide detected during heating of the sample was attributed to oxidation of organic matter. A laboratory standard of ferric sulfate hydrate released sulfur dioxide from 550 °C, and an oxygen peak was detected in the products. Calcium sulfate did not decompose below 1000 °C. Oxygen released from sulfate minerals may have already affected organic compound detection during in situ thermal experiments on Mars missions. A combination of preliminary mineralogical analyses and suitably selected pyrolysis temperatures may increase future success in the search for past or present life on Mars.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James M T Lewis
- 1 Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London , London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
25
|
Cockell CS. Trajectories of martian habitability. ASTROBIOLOGY 2014; 14:182-203. [PMID: 24506485 PMCID: PMC3929387 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2013.1106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2013] [Accepted: 12/29/2013] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Beginning from two plausible starting points-an uninhabited or inhabited Mars-this paper discusses the possible trajectories of martian habitability over time. On an uninhabited Mars, the trajectories follow paths determined by the abundance of uninhabitable environments and uninhabited habitats. On an inhabited Mars, the addition of a third environment type, inhabited habitats, results in other trajectories, including ones where the planet remains inhabited today or others where planetary-scale life extinction occurs. By identifying different trajectories of habitability, corresponding hypotheses can be described that allow for the various trajectories to be disentangled and ultimately a determination of which trajectory Mars has taken and the changing relative abundance of its constituent environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charles S Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh, UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Meslin PY, Gasnault O, Forni O, Schröder S, Cousin A, Berger G, Clegg SM, Lasue J, Maurice S, Sautter V, Le Mouélic S, Wiens RC, Fabre C, Goetz W, Bish D, Mangold N, Ehlmann B, Lanza N, Harri AM, Anderson R, Rampe E, McConnochie TH, Pinet P, Blaney D, Léveillé R, Archer D, Barraclough B, Bender S, Blake D, Blank JG, Bridges N, Clark BC, DeFlores L, Delapp D, Dromart G, Dyar MD, Fisk M, Gondet B, Grotzinger J, Herkenhoff K, Johnson J, Lacour JL, Langevin Y, Leshin L, Lewin E, Madsen MB, Melikechi N, Mezzacappa A, Mischna MA, Moores JE, Newsom H, Ollila A, Perez R, Renno N, Sirven JB, Tokar R, de la Torre M, d'Uston L, Vaniman D, Yingst A. Soil diversity and hydration as observed by ChemCam at Gale crater, Mars. Science 2013; 341:1238670. [PMID: 24072924 DOI: 10.1126/science.1238670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 190] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The ChemCam instrument, which provides insight into martian soil chemistry at the submillimeter scale, identified two principal soil types along the Curiosity rover traverse: a fine-grained mafic type and a locally derived, coarse-grained felsic type. The mafic soil component is representative of widespread martian soils and is similar in composition to the martian dust. It possesses a ubiquitous hydrogen signature in ChemCam spectra, corresponding to the hydration of the amorphous phases found in the soil by the CheMin instrument. This hydration likely accounts for an important fraction of the global hydration of the surface seen by previous orbital measurements. ChemCam analyses did not reveal any significant exchange of water vapor between the regolith and the atmosphere. These observations provide constraints on the nature of the amorphous phases and their hydration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- P-Y Meslin
- Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, 31028 Toulouse, France.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
McGlynn IO, Fedo CM, McSween HY. Soil mineralogy at the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites: An assessment of the competing roles of physical sorting and chemical weathering. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2011je003861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
28
|
McHenry LJ, Chevrier V, Schröder C. Jarosite in a Pleistocene East African saline-alkaline paleolacustrine deposit: Implications for Mars aqueous geochemistry. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
29
|
Sullivan R, Anderson R, Biesiadecki J, Bond T, Stewart H. Cohesions, friction angles, and other physical properties of Martian regolith from Mars Exploration Rover wheel trenches and wheel scuffs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
30
|
McSween HY, McGlynn IO, Rogers AD. Determining the modal mineralogy of Martian soils. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
31
|
Chappelow JE, Golombek MP. Event and conditions that produced the iron meteorite Block Island on Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
32
|
Fleischer I, Brückner J, Schröder C, Farrand W, Tréguier E, Morris R, Klingelhöfer G, Herkenhoff K, Mittlefehldt D, Ashley J, Golombek M, Johnson JR, Jolliff B, Squyres SW, Weitz C, Gellert R, de Souza PA, Cohen BA. Mineralogy and chemistry of cobbles at Meridiani Planum, Mars, investigated by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
33
|
Goetz W, Pike WT, Hviid SF, Madsen MB, Morris RV, Hecht MH, Staufer U, Leer K, Sykulska H, Hemmig E, Marshall J, Morookian JM, Parrat D, Vijendran S, Bos BJ, El Maarry MR, Keller HU, Kramm R, Markiewicz WJ, Drube L, Blaney D, Arvidson RE, Bell JF, Reynolds R, Smith PH, Woida P, Woida R, Tanner R. Microscopy analysis of soils at the Phoenix landing site, Mars: Classification of soil particles and description of their optical and magnetic properties. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
34
|
Wiseman SM, Arvidson RE, Morris RV, Poulet F, Andrews-Hanna JC, Bishop JL, Murchie SL, Seelos FP, Des Marais D, Griffes JL. Spectral and stratigraphic mapping of hydrated sulfate and phyllosilicate-bearing deposits in northern Sinus Meridiani, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
35
|
Lichtenberg KA, Arvidson RE, Morris RV, Murchie SL, Bishop JL, Fernandez Remolar D, Glotch TD, Noe Dobrea E, Mustard JF, Andrews-Hanna J, Roach LH. Stratigraphy of hydrated sulfates in the sedimentary deposits of Aram Chaos, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
36
|
The Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C): a potential rover mission for 2018. Final report of the Mars Mid-Range Rover Science Analysis Group (MRR-SAG) October 14, 2009. ASTROBIOLOGY 2010; 10:127-163. [PMID: 20298148 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2010.0462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
This report documents the work of the Mid-Range Rover Science Analysis Group (MRR-SAG), which was assigned to formulate a concept for a potential rover mission that could be launched to Mars in 2018. Based on programmatic and engineering considerations as of April 2009, our deliberations assumed that the potential mission would use the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) sky-crane landing system and include a single solar-powered rover. The mission would also have a targeting accuracy of approximately 7 km (semimajor axis landing ellipse), a mobility range of at least 10 km, and a lifetime on the martian surface of at least 1 Earth year. An additional key consideration, given recently declining budgets and cost growth issues with MSL, is that the proposed rover must have lower cost and cost risk than those of MSL--this is an essential consideration for the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG). The MRR-SAG was asked to formulate a mission concept that would address two general objectives: (1) conduct high priority in situ science and (2) make concrete steps toward the potential return of samples to Earth. The proposed means of achieving these two goals while balancing the trade-offs between them are described here in detail. We propose the name Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher(MAX-C) to reflect the dual purpose of this potential 2018 rover mission.
Collapse
|
37
|
Ordered ferrimagnetic form of ferrihydrite reveals links among structure, composition, and magnetism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:2787-92. [PMID: 20133643 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0910170107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The natural nanomineral ferrihydrite is an important component of many environmental and soil systems and has been implicated as the inorganic core of ferritin in biological systems. Knowledge of its basic structure, composition, and extent of structural disorder is essential for understanding its reactivity, stability, and magnetic behavior, as well as changes in these properties during aging. Here we investigate compositional, structural, and magnetic changes that occur upon aging of "2-line" ferrihydrite in the presence of adsorbed citrate at elevated temperature. Whereas aging under these conditions ultimately results in the formation of hematite, analysis of the atomic pair distribution function and complementary physicochemical and magnetic data indicate formation of an intermediate ferrihydrite phase of larger particle size with few defects, more structural relaxation and electron spin ordering, and pronounced ferrimagnetism relative to its disordered ferrihydrite precursor. Our results represent an important conceptual advance in understanding the nature of structural disorder in ferrihydrite and its relation to the magnetic structure and also serve to validate a controversial, recently proposed structural model for this phase. In addition, the pathway we identify for forming ferrimagnetic ferrihydrite potentially explains the magnetic enhancement that typically precedes formation of hematite in aerobic soil and weathering environments. Such magnetic enhancement has been attributed to the formation of poorly understood, nano-sized ferrimagnets from a ferrihydrite precursor. Whereas elevated temperatures drive the transformation on timescales feasible for laboratory studies, our results also suggest that ferrimagnetic ferrihydrite could form naturally at ambient temperature given sufficient time.
Collapse
|
38
|
Karunatillake S, Wray JJ, Squyres SW, Taylor GJ, Gasnault O, McLennan SM, Boynton W, El Maarry MR, Dohm JM. Chemically striking regions on Mars and Stealth revisited. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1029/2008je003303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
39
|
Wang A, Freeman JJ, Jolliff BL. Phase transition pathways of the hydrates of magnesium sulfate in the temperature range 50°C to 5°C: Implication for sulfates on Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1029/2008je003266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
40
|
Hamilton VE, Morris RV, Gruener JE, Mertzman SA. Visible, near-infrared, and middle infrared spectroscopy of altered basaltic tephras: Spectral signatures of phyllosilicates, sulfates, and other aqueous alteration products with application to the mineralogy of the Columbia Hills of Gusev Crater, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je003049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
41
|
Morris RV, Klingelhöfer G, Schröder C, Fleischer I, Ming DW, Yen AS, Gellert R, Arvidson RE, Rodionov DS, Crumpler LS, Clark BC, Cohen BA, McCoy TJ, Mittlefehldt DW, Schmidt ME, de Souza PA, Squyres SW. Iron mineralogy and aqueous alteration from Husband Hill through Home Plate at Gusev Crater, Mars: Results from the Mössbauer instrument on the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2008je003201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
42
|
Massé M, Le Mouélic S, Bourgeois O, Combe JP, Le Deit L, Sotin C, Bibring JP, Gondet B, Langevin Y. Mineralogical composition, structure, morphology, and geological history of Aram Chaos crater fill on Mars derived from OMEGA Mars Express data. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2008je003131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
43
|
Calvin WM, Shoffner JD, Johnson JR, Knoll AH, Pocock JM, Squyres SW, Weitz CM, Arvidson RE, Bell JF, Christensen PR, de Souza PA, Farrand WH, Glotch TD, Herkenhoff KE, Jolliff BL, Knudson AT, McLennan SM, Rogers AD, Thompson SD. Hematite spherules at Meridiani: Results from MI, Mini-TES, and Pancam. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je003048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
44
|
Herkenhoff KE, Grotzinger J, Knoll AH, McLennan SM, Weitz C, Yingst A, Anderson R, Archinal BA, Arvidson RE, Barrett JM, Becker KJ, Bell JF, Budney C, Chapman MG, Cook D, Ehlmann B, Franklin B, Gaddis LR, Galuszka DM, Garcia PA, Geissler P, Hare TM, Howington-Kraus E, Johnson JR, Keszthelyi L, Kirk RL, Lanagan P, Lee EM, Leff C, Maki JN, Mullins KF, Parker TJ, Redding BL, Rosiek MR, Sims MH, Soderblom LA, Spanovich N, Springer R, Squyres SW, Stolper D, Sucharski RM, Sucharski T, Sullivan R, Torson JM. Surface processes recorded by rocks and soils on Meridiani Planum, Mars: Microscopic Imager observations during Opportunity's first three extended missions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2008je003100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
45
|
Tréguier E, d'Uston C, Pinet PC, Berger G, Toplis MJ, McCoy TJ, Gellert R, Brückner J. Overview of Mars surface geochemical diversity through Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer data multidimensional analysis: First attempt at modeling rock alteration. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je003010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
46
|
Le Deit L, Le Mouélic S, Bourgeois O, Combe JP, Mège D, Sotin C, Gendrin A, Hauber E, Mangold N, Bibring JP. Ferric oxides in East Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris (Mars) inferred from analysis of OMEGA/Mars Express data: Identification and geological interpretation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je002950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
47
|
McSween HY, Ruff SW, Morris RV, Gellert R, Klingelhöfer G, Christensen PR, McCoy TJ, Ghosh A, Moersch JM, Cohen BA, Rogers AD, Schröder C, Squyres SW, Crisp J, Yen A. Mineralogy of volcanic rocks in Gusev Crater, Mars: Reconciling Mössbauer, Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer, and Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer spectra. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je002970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
48
|
Tosca NJ, McLennan SM, Dyar MD, Sklute EC, Michel FM. Fe oxidation processes at Meridiani Planum and implications for secondary Fe mineralogy on Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je003019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
49
|
Goetz W, Leer K, Gunnlaugsson HP, Bartlett P, Basso B, Bell J, Bertelsen P, Binau CS, Chu PC, Gorevan S, Hansen MF, Hviid SF, Kinch KM, Klingelhöfer G, Kusack A, Madsen MB, Ming DW, Morris RV, Mumm E, Myrick T, Olsen M, Squyres SW, Wilson J, Yen A. Search for magnetic minerals in Martian rocks: Overview of the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) magnet investigation on Spirit and Opportunity. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2006je002819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
50
|
Knoll AH, Jolliff BL, Farrand WH, Bell III JF, Clark BC, Gellert R, Golombek MP, Grotzinger JP, Herkenhoff KE, Johnson JR, McLennan SM, Morris R, Squyres SW, Sullivan R, Tosca NJ, Yen A, Learner Z. Veneers, rinds, and fracture fills: Relatively late alteration of sedimentary rocks at Meridiani Planum, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je002949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|