Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.u61b..09g&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #U61B-09
Mathematics
Logic
0315 Biosphere/Atmosphere Interactions, 0400 Biogeosciences, 0933 Remote Sensing, 1055 Organic Geochemistry
Scientific paper
Life and its former traces can only be detected from space when they are abundant and exposed to the planetary atmosphere at the moment of investigation by orbiters. Exposed rock surfaces present a multifractal labyrinth of niches for microbial life. Based upon our studies of highly stress-resistant microcolonial fungi of stone monument and desert rock surfaces, we propose that microbial biofilms that develop and become preserved on rock surfaces can be identified remotely by the following characteristics: (1) the existence of spectroscopically identifiable compounds that display unique adsorption, diffraction, and reflection patterns characteristic of biogenerated organic compounds (e.g., chlorophylls, carotenes, melanins, and possibly mycosporines), (2) demonstrably biogenic geomorphological features (e.g., biopitting, biochipping, and bioexfoliation), and (3) biominerals produced in association with biofilms that occupy rock surfaces (e.g., oxalates, forsterite, and special types of carbonates, sulfides, and silicates). Such traces or biosignatures of former life could provide macroscopically visible morphotypes and chemically identifiable products uniquely indicative of life. This work was supported by DFG grants Go 897/2-1 and Kr 333/30-1.
Gorbushina Anna A.
Krumbein Wolfgang Elisabeth
Volkmann Marc
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