Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology.
Jotun springs in Svalbard, Norway, is a rare warm environment in the Arctic that actively forms travertine. In this study, we assessed the microbial ecology of Jotun's active (aquatic) spring and dry spring transects. We evaluated the microbial preservation potential and mode, as well as the as...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0130 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38985714 |
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ftpubmed:38985714 2024-09-15T18:38:26+00:00 Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology. Ugwuanyi, Ifeoma R Steele, Andrew Glamoclija, Mihaela 2024 Jul https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0130 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38985714 eng eng Atypon https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0130 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38985714 Astrobiology ISSN:1557-8070 Volume:24 Issue:7 Jotun—Geothermal spring—Travertine—MAGs—Microbial adaptation—Jezero Crater Journal Article 2024 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0130 2024-07-18T16:03:00Z Jotun springs in Svalbard, Norway, is a rare warm environment in the Arctic that actively forms travertine. In this study, we assessed the microbial ecology of Jotun's active (aquatic) spring and dry spring transects. We evaluated the microbial preservation potential and mode, as well as the astrobiological relevance of the travertines to marginal carbonates mapped at Jezero Crater on Mars (the Mars 2020 landing site). Our results revealed that microbial communities exhibited spatial dynamics controlled by temperature, fluid availability, and geochemistry. Amorphous carbonates and silica precipitated within biofilm and on the surface of filamentous microorganisms. The water discharged at the source is warm, with near neutral pH, and undersaturated in silica. Hence, silicification possibly occurred through cooling, dehydration, and partially by a microbial presence or activities that promote silica precipitation. CO2 degassing and possible microbial contributions induced calcite precipitation and travertine formation. Jotun revealed that warm systems that are not very productive in carbonate formation may still produce significant carbonate buildups and provide settings favorable for fossilization through silicification and calcification. Our findings suggest that the potential for amorphous silica precipitation may be essential for Jezero Crater's marginal carbonates because it significantly increases the preservation potential of putative martian organisms. Article in Journal/Newspaper Svalbard PubMed Central (PMC) Astrobiology 24 7 734 753 |
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Open Polar |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Jotun—Geothermal spring—Travertine—MAGs—Microbial adaptation—Jezero Crater |
spellingShingle |
Jotun—Geothermal spring—Travertine—MAGs—Microbial adaptation—Jezero Crater Ugwuanyi, Ifeoma R Steele, Andrew Glamoclija, Mihaela Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology. |
topic_facet |
Jotun—Geothermal spring—Travertine—MAGs—Microbial adaptation—Jezero Crater |
description |
Jotun springs in Svalbard, Norway, is a rare warm environment in the Arctic that actively forms travertine. In this study, we assessed the microbial ecology of Jotun's active (aquatic) spring and dry spring transects. We evaluated the microbial preservation potential and mode, as well as the astrobiological relevance of the travertines to marginal carbonates mapped at Jezero Crater on Mars (the Mars 2020 landing site). Our results revealed that microbial communities exhibited spatial dynamics controlled by temperature, fluid availability, and geochemistry. Amorphous carbonates and silica precipitated within biofilm and on the surface of filamentous microorganisms. The water discharged at the source is warm, with near neutral pH, and undersaturated in silica. Hence, silicification possibly occurred through cooling, dehydration, and partially by a microbial presence or activities that promote silica precipitation. CO2 degassing and possible microbial contributions induced calcite precipitation and travertine formation. Jotun revealed that warm systems that are not very productive in carbonate formation may still produce significant carbonate buildups and provide settings favorable for fossilization through silicification and calcification. Our findings suggest that the potential for amorphous silica precipitation may be essential for Jezero Crater's marginal carbonates because it significantly increases the preservation potential of putative martian organisms. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ugwuanyi, Ifeoma R Steele, Andrew Glamoclija, Mihaela |
author_facet |
Ugwuanyi, Ifeoma R Steele, Andrew Glamoclija, Mihaela |
author_sort |
Ugwuanyi, Ifeoma R |
title |
Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology. |
title_short |
Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology. |
title_full |
Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology. |
title_fullStr |
Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microbial Ecology of an Arctic Travertine Geothermal Spring: Implications for Biosignature Preservation and Astrobiology. |
title_sort |
microbial ecology of an arctic travertine geothermal spring: implications for biosignature preservation and astrobiology. |
publisher |
Atypon |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0130 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38985714 |
genre |
Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Svalbard |
op_source |
Astrobiology ISSN:1557-8070 Volume:24 Issue:7 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0130 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38985714 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0130 |
container_title |
Astrobiology |
container_volume |
24 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
734 |
op_container_end_page |
753 |
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1810482838006398976 |