Volcanic Rocks As Targets For Astrobiology Missions

Details Volcanic Rocks As Targets For Astrobiology Missions Volcanic Rocks As Targets For Astrobiology Missions

Dec 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufm.p13b1395b&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #P13B-1395

Biology

[0406] Biogeosciences / Astrobiology And Extraterrestrial Materials, [0424] Biogeosciences / Biosignatures And Proxies, [0450] Biogeosciences / Hydrothermal Systems, [1041] Geochemistry / Stable Isotope Geochemistry

Scientific paper

Almost two decades of study highlight the importance of terrestrial subaqueous volcanic rocks as microbial habitats, particularly in glass produced by the quenching of basaltic lava upon contact with water. On Earth, microbes rapidly begin colonizing glassy surfaces along fractures and cracks exposed to water. Microbial colonization of basaltic glass leads to enhanced alteration through production of characteristic granular and/or tubular bioalteration textures. Infilling of formerly hollow alteration textures by minerals enable their preservation through geologic time. Basaltic rocks are a major component of the Martian crust and are widespread on other solar system bodies. A variety of lines of evidence strongly suggest the long-term existence of abundant liquid water on ancient Mars. Recent orbiter, lander and rover missions have found evidence for the presence of transient liquid water on Mars, perhaps persisting to the present day. Many other solar system bodies, notably Europa, Enceladus and other icy satellites, may contain (or have once hosted) subaqueous basaltic glasses. The record of terrestrial glass bioalteration has been interpreted to extend back ~3.5 billion years and is widespread in modern oceanic crust and its ancient metamorphic equivalents. The terrestrial record of glass bioalteration strongly suggests that glassy or formerly glassy basaltic rocks on extraterrestrial bodies that have interacted with liquid water are high-value targets for astrobiological exploration.

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