Revealing the biotic origin of silicified Precambrian carbonaceous microstructures using Raman spectroscopic mapping, a potential method for the detection of microfossils on Mars

• Published in: Journal of Raman Spectroscopy
• Main Authors: Foucher, Frédéric, Ammar, Mohamed-Ramzi, Westall, Frances
• Other Authors: Centre de biophysique moléculaire (CBM), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC), Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux : Haute Température et Irradiation (CEMHTI), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Université d'Orléans (UO)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: Raman mapping; carbonaceous matter; microfossils; biogenicity; Mars; [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Svalbard
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01171233; https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.4687

International audience Demonstrating the biogenicity of carbonaceous microfossils can be relatively difficult because of their small size and simple shape, and to the degradation of the associated organic molecules with time. For Precambrian fossils, it generally requires the use of several techniques to study the shape and the composition of the structure itself, as well as its mineral environment. The ability to identify both organic matter and minerals using Raman spectroscopy makes it a key technique in the field of micropaleontology. Raman instruments are also being developed for the upcoming missions to Mars, ExoMars and Mars 2020, both dedicated to the search for past or present traces of life. However, demonstrating the biotic origin of carbonaceous matter in geological materials using this technique is controversial. Here, we show that Raman mapping instead of single spot analysis can detect variations in the composition of carbonaceous matter associated with fossilized microbes in the 800-Ma-old microfossils from the Draken Formation, Svalbard. This discovery is of great interest because it permits assessment of the biotic origin of a fossilized carbonaceous structure. Raman mapping could thus be of crucial importance in the near future for detecting potential fossilized microbial remains in Martian rocks.