Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars
Over the last two decades, conspicuously “biogenic-looking” corrosion microtextures have been found to occur globally within volcanic glass of the in situ oceanic crust, ophiolites, and greenstone belts dating back to ~3.5 Ga. These so-called “tubular” and “granular” microtextures are widely interpr...
Published in: | International Journal of Geophysics |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ded9ead756b64efea0f9962a13058e43 2023-05-15T17:34:06+02:00 Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars Jason E. French David F. Blake 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2410573 https://doaj.org/article/ded9ead756b64efea0f9962a13058e43 EN eng Hindawi Limited http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2410573 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-885X https://doaj.org/toc/1687-8868 1687-885X 1687-8868 doi:10.1155/2016/2410573 https://doaj.org/article/ded9ead756b64efea0f9962a13058e43 International Journal of Geophysics, Vol 2016 (2016) Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2410573 2022-12-31T01:36:30Z Over the last two decades, conspicuously “biogenic-looking” corrosion microtextures have been found to occur globally within volcanic glass of the in situ oceanic crust, ophiolites, and greenstone belts dating back to ~3.5 Ga. These so-called “tubular” and “granular” microtextures are widely interpreted to represent bona fide microbial trace fossils; however, possible nonbiological origins for these complex alteration microtextures have yet to be explored. Here, we reevaluate the origin of these enigmatic microtextures from a strictly nonbiological standpoint, using a case study on submarine glasses from the western North Atlantic Ocean (DSDP 418A). By combining petrographic and SEM observations of corrosion microtextures at the glass-palagonite interface, considerations of the tectonic setting, measurement of U and Th concentrations of fresh basaltic glass by ICP-MS, and theoretical modelling of the present-day distribution of radiation damage in basaltic glass caused by radioactive decay of U and Th, we reinterpret these enigmatic microtextures as the end product of the preferential corrosion/dissolution of radiation damage (alpha-recoil tracks and fission tracks) in the glass by seawater, possibly combined with pressure solution etch-tunnelling. Our findings have important implications for geomicrobiology, astrobiological exploration of Mars, and understanding of the long-term breakdown of nuclear waste glass. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles International Journal of Geophysics 2016 1 50 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
spellingShingle |
Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 Jason E. French David F. Blake Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars |
topic_facet |
Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
description |
Over the last two decades, conspicuously “biogenic-looking” corrosion microtextures have been found to occur globally within volcanic glass of the in situ oceanic crust, ophiolites, and greenstone belts dating back to ~3.5 Ga. These so-called “tubular” and “granular” microtextures are widely interpreted to represent bona fide microbial trace fossils; however, possible nonbiological origins for these complex alteration microtextures have yet to be explored. Here, we reevaluate the origin of these enigmatic microtextures from a strictly nonbiological standpoint, using a case study on submarine glasses from the western North Atlantic Ocean (DSDP 418A). By combining petrographic and SEM observations of corrosion microtextures at the glass-palagonite interface, considerations of the tectonic setting, measurement of U and Th concentrations of fresh basaltic glass by ICP-MS, and theoretical modelling of the present-day distribution of radiation damage in basaltic glass caused by radioactive decay of U and Th, we reinterpret these enigmatic microtextures as the end product of the preferential corrosion/dissolution of radiation damage (alpha-recoil tracks and fission tracks) in the glass by seawater, possibly combined with pressure solution etch-tunnelling. Our findings have important implications for geomicrobiology, astrobiological exploration of Mars, and understanding of the long-term breakdown of nuclear waste glass. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jason E. French David F. Blake |
author_facet |
Jason E. French David F. Blake |
author_sort |
Jason E. French |
title |
Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars |
title_short |
Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars |
title_full |
Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars |
title_fullStr |
Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars |
title_full_unstemmed |
Discovery of Naturally Etched Fission Tracks and Alpha-Recoil Tracks in Submarine Glasses: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars |
title_sort |
discovery of naturally etched fission tracks and alpha-recoil tracks in submarine glasses: reevaluation of a putative biosignature for earth and mars |
publisher |
Hindawi Limited |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2410573 https://doaj.org/article/ded9ead756b64efea0f9962a13058e43 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
International Journal of Geophysics, Vol 2016 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2410573 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-885X https://doaj.org/toc/1687-8868 1687-885X 1687-8868 doi:10.1155/2016/2410573 https://doaj.org/article/ded9ead756b64efea0f9962a13058e43 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2410573 |
container_title |
International Journal of Geophysics |
container_volume |
2016 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
50 |
_version_ |
1766132832915161088 |